Nothing has changed my photography more over the past decade than a tripod.

Oh sure, I still chase the magic light, moving with it quickly as it paints its way along the horizon, but since committing to making long exposures on a tripod in the dark or near dark, I feel as though I have discovered a whole new language.

I've owned a tripod for nearly as long as I've been a photographer but I didn't commit to using one until a few years ago. Tripod work can be slow and methodical and sometimes feels counter to my roots of documentary work, which is mostly about reacting quickly and exactly to moments as they happen.

I have learned however, that both are eventually about slowing down, breathing in a scene and seeing it through. Time-lapse work has been my best teacher in discovering the value of a tripod.

Sylvia Beach Hotel on Nye Beach. Photographed in June, 2008. Jamie Francis/The Oregonian

The trick of time-lapse is all about condensing time. This is done by making a series of still photographs over a given period of time and assembling them together in a video sequence that plays them back at a much quicker rate than real time. The result can be stunning.

I've used time-lapse in many pieces for The Oregonian and Oregonlive over the past few years. Some of my favorites are pieces about the Columbia River and Lost Lake and the Perseids Meteor shower.

One of the foundations of good time-lapse work is having the camera in a "locked-down" position, meaning that any movement that the camera does should be with intention which could mean locking it down to a moving car but often means means using a tripod.

I'm not sure why it took me so many years to fall in love with using a tripod but I do know that committing to one has opened up a new and exciting way of making pictures.

-- Jamie Francis