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Florian Nick
@flo.nick
Photographer based in Germany
When I hiked up to the viewpoint of Lake O’Hara for sunset, I found one of the most captivating sceneries I have ever experienced. Even my widest lens was not able to capture it to its full extent. As always, time was running against me as I had to set up a shot before the sun disappeared behind the Canadian Rockies. I had the idea to shoot the timelapse inverse and turn the sunset into a post-production sunrise to show off the beautiful lakes in the valley. Shot four years ago and still remains my favorite timelapse, yet – everything just seemed to perfectly come together for that shot.
"My passion for photography and traveling came pretty much hand in hand."
When I first started traveling at a younger age, I owned a very simple compact camera and pointed it at literally anything. Over time, I discovered my fascination for capturing landscapes and worked my way into photography and filmmaking. Today, my videos mostly revolve around nature, the outdoors, travel, and sports. These places and the people I have met with interesting stories are what I feel most inspired by as a filmmaker. Ultimately, my work is about storytelling, trying to make the viewer feel moved or inspired by my work.
"In particular, with my timelapse work, I try to raise more appreciation for our planet by showing nature from its most beautiful side."
In 2015, I studied at Stuttgart Media School in Germany, and went off to Iceland with a friend and fellow student to shoot my first film project. As a young filmmaker, I felt so connected with nature and drew lots of inspiration from being outdoors and relentlessly shooting such incredible landscapes with full dedication. It was truly the collection of great outdoor moments from that trip that pushed me towards becoming a filmmaker. During my Iceland trip, I also shot my first timelapse. I quickly became fascinated by being able to connect my passion for landscape photography with filmmaking.
Ultimately, timelapse is still based on photography. Location, composition, timing, and lighting remain the most critical factors for a great image. I like to shoot my timelapse sequences in short intervals and keep cloud or sun movements relatively slow and natural. Even though a static timelapse shot can be fantastic for some compositions, I like to add camera movement using a motorized slider and motion controller. This can create remarkable three-dimensionality in the scene and offers almost endless creative opportunities when shooting.
"On top of that, a project can get lifted to a whole new level with the right combination of visuals and music."
I’m very picky when it comes to music for my videos because I want to make my videos as original as possible, visually but also musically. Chances are low that any stock music exactly fits my video’s emotion, which is why I decided to collaborate with a musician to create a custom soundtrack for me. Julian Lindenmann is a very talented music composer, and his style compliments mine perfectly. The collaboration process between us usually starts with the first edit of the video where we get on the same page. I like to give as much creative freedom as possible and allow the musician to interpret it as their own before we fine-tune. The results have always blown me away and made me realize the importance of music and sound design in the creative process.
It’s easy to watch a video and think that it’s great because of the gear used, but that’s not the case. I currently use my Sony A7SII on most of my projects, but I think the type of camera people use is becoming increasingly less important. Although there’s pressure to keep up with the latest camera gear, it’s not always needed to produce high-quality content. Of course, an expensive camera helps in many situations, but in the end, it’s just a tool.
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