18-Year-Old‘s Stunning Time Slice Photo Captures the Changing Sky in One Brilliant Image

Pylon Timeslice by Cal Cole

Cal Cole may be only 18 years old, but he's already getting attention for his time slice photography. The British student recently saw his creative photo of a pylon go viral on Reddit, which was a welcome surprise. One look at the photo and it's no surprise that it garnered so much attention.

Cole cleverly used the pylon as a sort of stained glass window. Indeed, its geometric architecture makes the perfect frame for the different colors of the sky that Cole photographed over the course of an hour. In total, 14 photographs were used to craft the image, which Cole tells us is heavily influenced by the work of artist Alex Hyner. The post-production process took about five or six hours; and, initially, Cole wasn't quite sure what to make of the result.

“For a long time, I wasn’t sure how well it would turn out,” Cole tells My Modern Met. “But I sent the image to my friends— something I always do as they give me an honest opinion—and they said it was one of my best photos. That’s when I realized it was something I was very happy with.”

This story just proves that oftentimes, it's hard for creatives to objectively see the power of what they've produced. Thankfully, Cole did post his photo and even shared some of his editing secrets on Instagram. From there, it was posted to Reddit, where it racked up over 87,000 upvotes. While Cole was flattered by the attention, the original poster had not given him credit for his work, which he noted was “frustrating.” Luckily, others in the thread gave him the credit that he deserved so that more people could discover his work.

As for what the future holds, Cole is not quite sure. What he does know is that he hopes to embark on a creative career either in film, photography, or graphic design. Given what he's accomplished so far, we're sure that he'll reach his goal.

18-year-old Cal Cole shared how he edited his viral time slice photo, which was made from 14 photos.

Cal Cole Photo Editing Tips

The final result is a creative image that shows the stunning colors of the sky.

Cal Cole Photo Editing Tips

Check out some of the talented photographer's other time slice photos.

Cityscape Time Slice by Cal Cole Cityscape Time Slice by Cal Cole

Cal Cole: Website | Instagram | Twitter

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Cal Cole.

Related Articles:

Stunning Cityscapes Formed with Photographic Slices of Time

Gorgeous “Time Slice” Photo Collages Vividly Illustrate the Passage of Time

Multiple Photos of Iconic Places Taken Over Time are Sliced into Single Images

Mesmerizing “Time Slice” Photos Show Single Locations at Different Times of Day

Jessica Stewart

Jessica Stewart is a Staff Editor and Digital Media Specialist for My Modern Met, as well as a curator and art historian. Since 2020, she is also one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. She earned her MA in Renaissance Studies from University College London and now lives in Rome, Italy. She cultivated expertise in street art which led to the purchase of her photographic archive by the Treccani Italian Encyclopedia in 2014. When she’s not spending time with her three dogs, she also manages the studio of a successful street artist. In 2013, she authored the book "Street Art Stories Roma" and most recently contributed to "Crossroads: A Glimpse Into the Life of Alice Pasquini." You can follow her adventures online at @romephotoblog.
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