NYC Magic Hour

About Armand Dijcks

Dutch photographer and videographer Armand Dijcks blurs the boundaries of visual storytelling. By combining traditional photography with movement, he creates a visual hybrid: an animated still photo. In his work, Dijcks loves to play… Read more

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Dutch photographer and videographer Armand Dijcks blurs the boundaries of visual storytelling. By combining traditional photography with movement, he creates a visual hybrid: an animated still photo.

In his work, Dijcks loves to play with time. Photographs freeze a moment, but Dijcks uses video montages and computer generated effects to produce pieces that convey movement – despite being still. He describes his work as “living moments caught in time.”

Dijcks often presents his work on oversized, high-definition screens to give the viewer a highly immersive experience. We sink into his work, losing track of reality. The artificial dream world defies logic, and yet we never doubt the authenticity of what we are seeing.

New York City Time-Lapse

Dijcks has spent time teaching workshops in New York City, where he found perfect locations for his time-lapse technique. Shooting from a pier in New Jersey, he captured the stunning Manhattan skyline. This spot, he says, gives the skyscrapers a very unique symmetry and balance. To find better angles and show the sheer immensity of the island, he also shot from Brooklyn Bridge Park, placing the famous bridge prominently. But he was meticulous about more than just the locations for his time-lapse pieces; he also selected very specifics points in time.

The numerous photographs produced during one of Dijcks’ time-lapse sessions are the beginning of a long and laborious editing process. A fraction of a degree difference can make the horizon appear to bend, so he corrects the alignment by hand to achieve the desired effect. Sometimes, he has to correct every individual photo. Perfect results require a great deal of time and effort. Originally, the time-lapse pieces were conceived to be cinemagraphs presented on digital screens. As lenticulars, however, it is now possible to enjoy these works of art without any electronics.

NFT in a Box

In order to depict Manhattan in the red evening glow, Armand Dijcks heads to Jersey City and captures the city’s skyline from the west bank of the Hudson River. The glass facades of the skyscrapers reflect the last daylight with metallic iridescence. Above them, the daytime sky fades away in hues of orange and blue. The entire scene exudes calmness and quietude, with the only movement coming from the river. The waves rise and fall gently, a counter-current adds a subtle texture, and the rolling dark river sets the rhythm of the evening mood. Just above the skyline, two birds traverse the full width of the picture. Everything is focused on the contemplative moment, with the composition’s moving elements in particular amplifying the visual impression and accentuating, with great authority and liveliness, the timeless nature of the image.

A second composition shows a large-scale time-lapse view of the financial district as it transitions from day to night. The buildings light up, like stars rising not in the night sky but in the buildings themselves. The sky forms a dark contrasting background for this delicate geometric play of light over the dreaming, out-of-focus river. Then the daylight again sweeps the night out of the picture, and the star-studded architectural sky fades, giving way to the metallic silos of the skyscrapers. But the day literally races along like a swiftly flowing wave and is quickly followed by night. The old saying is thus beautifully flipped on its head: in Dijcks’s New York, it isn’t the night but the day that never sleeps.

Stephan Reisner

VITA

Armand Dijcks was born in 1970 in Sittard, Netherlands: After studying Architecture and Real Estate Management at the Technical University of Delft, he began working as a real estate consultant. He explains his interest in architecture as a fondness for the combination of design and technology. Since 2012, he and his company, Armand Dijcks Visuals, have been pioneers in the field of time-lapse photography, creating artworks for clients around the world. Working with other celebrated photographers, he also develops tutorial programs and leads workshops.