360 view of the SolarSalle/Gen6 Time Lapse Camera Housing Rig.
Frank Salle and I launched Time Lapse Systems in November of 2010 to offer time lapse photography services to our corporate photography clients. We began fabricating extreme weather, solar and AC powered time lapse photography camera systems using a combination of off the shelf and custom components using Frank’s original housing concept and design as the chasis. The Gen 6 rig shown here was completed by Frank Salle, Christopher Barr, Jim Meyers and Darrel Bednarek in April of 2011 and installed in the Solar Overlay Zone outside Gila Bend, Arizona. This and a Gen 5 rig shot continuously at 15 minute intervals during daylight hours for 9 months during the construction of the Cotton Center Solar Array for the Solon Corporation, APS and McCarthy Construction. Housings were attached to a 35′ scaffold, sustained 38°-116° temperatures, 40 mph winds and severe dust conditions.
During development, camera temperature tolerances were expected to be exceeded by 25°+ inside the housing during the summer and was our biggest concern. After several consultations with Canon engineers, we decided against integrating a HVAC system into the rig in favor of a insulation solution that successfully kept heat inside the housing to within 14° of camera tolerance by limiting interior housing temperatures to within 1.5° of exterior ambient…to our relief, no temperature related failures occurred. Currently we have Gen 7 systems shooting in California and Florida. A Gen 8 system with a upgraded controller is now being assembled for a 10 month corporate photography / time lapse project in Phoenix.
Solar Powered Time Lapse Camera Housing (Gen6) © Christopher Barr / Frank Salle 2012
