There is definitely not a shortage of time-lapse footage out there on the Internet, and in 4K no less. Photographer Toby Smith created this fixed, single perspective time-lapse from the control deck of a large transport barge. The interesting angle hovers over the carefully arranged storage containers as they make their journey from Ho-Chi Minh, Vietnam to Ningbo, China. A container ship on its way to China is hardly a new sight, nor the notion of shipping large quantities of products in and out of major ports around the world. This seven minute video serves as a very accurate micro look into the goings on and basic transactions of large shipping vessels. The long journey across the South China Sea and into the Hangzhou Bay, the ship comes to a stop in Ningbo, Zhejiang where is it unloaded and loaded for its next journey.
The fascinating thing about this world is that it works tirelessly day and night; it is the fluidity of it at scale that I find incredibly fascinating. Carrying a massive array of an eclectic arrangement of goods to anywhere in the world seems at the surface like an unmanageable project. This glimpse into the daily (and equally nightly) routine perks interest as to how smooth everything really can run on the surface of the unpredictable sea.
A sight recounted in high-quality sharp 4K time-lapse, it is easy to overlook the deviations and last minute adjustments set to ensure an on time and safe delivery. A seemingly mundane sight that is happening at any given moment all over the world.
With goods coming and going from countries all over, it is also intriguing to imagine the contents of the containers being loaded and unloaded from this massive vessel. During the port segment (1:30–5:30) the ship is rearranged with precision, surely reloaded in specific, painstaking detail and scheduled to avoid port fines and sanctions.
Once adequately loaded, the Gunhilde sets off to her next location, off into the darkness to bring a toy stamped with “Made In China” to a child in Nebraska, a new tool belt to a woodworker in Denmark, or perhaps with a twist of coincidence, she carries a shipment of 4K cameras identical to the one used to film this interesting short film.
[via Toby Smith]
