Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.   SUBSCRIBE
The Kid Should See This

Slow Life: Incredible macro video of fluorescing corals & sponges

Watch more with these video collections:

If you’ve seen how underwater time-lapse can show the secret life of a coral reef on this site, then you already know that brilliantly fluorescing corals and sponges have fascinating, unseen experiences. But you’ve never seen “slow” marine animals like this: Slow Life by University of Queensland PhD student Daniel Stoupin.

To make this little clip I took 150000 shots. Why so many? Because macro photography involves shallow depth of field. To extend it, I used focus stacking. Each frame of the video is actually a stack that consists of 3-12 shots where in-focus areas are merged. Just the intro and last scene are regular real-time footage. One frame required about 10 minutes of processing time (raw conversion + stacking). Unfortunately, the success rate was very low due to copious technical challenges and I spent almost 9 long months just to learn how to make these kinds of videos and understand how to work with these delicate creatures.

tumblr_n3adk7FBBm1r0q28po1_1280

tumblr_n3adk7FBBm1r0q28po3_1280

tumblr_n3adk7FBBm1r0q28po2_1280

In the archives: more coral and time lapse.

via Kottke. Thanks, @cmykadam.

This Webby award-winning video collection exists to help teachers, librarians, and families spark kid wonder and curiosity. TKSST features smarter, more meaningful content than what's usually served up by YouTube's algorithms, and amplifies the creators who make that content.

Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

Wild Oceans: Coral Reef In Technicolor

Rion Nakaya

Whale sharks, the gentle giants of Thailand

Rion Nakaya

Underwater time lapse can show the secret life of a coral reef

Rion Nakaya

Underwater fluorescence with Philippe Cousteau and BBC Oceans

Rion Nakaya

Turning Oil Rigs Into Reefs

Rion Nakaya

There’s no such thing as a jellyfish

Rion Nakaya

The Unseen Sea, a time lapse of clouds and fog around San Francisco

Rion Nakaya

The Unlikely Tale of a Tenacious Snail – Science Friday

Rion Nakaya

The Secret Life of Plankton

Rion Nakaya