Timestacking is a photographic process developed by photographer Matt Molloy. And when done right, the result can be a visually spectacular final product. To understand timestacking, though, you first have to understand time-lapse video.
A traditional time-lapse video is created by joining a series of still images taken moments apart into a video that compresses the passage of time they capture. With timestacking, those same photos are stacked on top of each other and blended together to create a single, otherworldly still image.
In the mesmerizing video above, videographer Parker Paul uses his own version of timestacking. Titled “Dark Skytrails,” his video essentially combines the two approaches. He’s taken timestacked images of the night sky—captured in St Ives, Cornwall, England, at the Knill’s Monument and Smeatons Pier—and then layered them on top of time-lapse sky videos. The result is a series of living, swirling skyscapes that are nearly impossible to take your eyes off of.
