Un Dia En La Vida – Medellin, Colombia

Gareth Leonard - Parque Envigado
Table of Contents

While I’m happy to be home visiting friends and family for a few months, putting together this little piece really made me miss life back in Medellin. The music, food, language, culture and women… I fell in love with Colombia in the 5 short months of living in Medellin and I can’t wait to get back soon.

I shot all the clips for this Medellin time-lapse video the day before returning to the States. I sat for 25 minutes at 20 different locations around Medellin and Envigado. I wish I had more footage of the housing and neighborhoods but for safety measures, I decided against. I actually ventured across town and up to one of the hoods of Medellin that afternoon to film, but with some advice from a local friend, I never took the camera out of my bag. Next time.

As you can see at the very end of the video, I attracted the attention of Medellin Policia during my shooting of Plaza Cisneros, who informed me (after they had some fun) that I will definitely get robbed if I film any longer. Fair enough.

Also, while filming, I got kicked out of the Envigado metro station and was booted from a hotel downtown where I snuck up to an open balcony to get the Plaza Botero footage.

Shots featured in the Medellin Time-lapse video:

  1. My bed in Envigado
  2. Envigado Central Market near Parque Envigado
  3. The outdoor gym I frequented in Envigado
  4. Soccer “Stadium” right in front of the outdoor gym in Envigado.
  5. Envigado Metro Station
  6. Plaza Botero
  7. Parque Explora and the Botanical Gardens of Medellin shot from the Universidad Metro Station.
  8. Children playing in the fountains at the Parque de Los Deseos (Wishes Park) near the Planetarium and University of Antioquia.
  9. Plaza Cisneros in central Medellin.
  10. One of the most popular nightlife areas in Medellin, Parque Lleras in Poblado.
Gareth Leonard - Parque Envigado
Starting my day off with some light reading in Parque Envigado

37 Responses

  1. wow, I love the video!! I want to do this, I’ll have to research it more as I’ve never done any time lapse photography. What kind of camera did you use/have.

    Anyway, yes, be careful, sometimes getting that perfect shot, atmosphere, environment can come at a cost. I love it though so cheers to you for capturing the mood of the streets in Colombia and sharing it with us.
    Michael recently posted..Travel Writing Contest – Win $200 toward your next Travel AdventureMy Profile

    1. Thanks Michael. I have been using an out-dated Sony Handycam to film everything up until now, but I just purchased a Canon S95 that I’m super pumped to start shooting video with!

  2. I just wanted to drop a comment and let you know I really enjoy coming to your website! I can tell you put a lot of effort and hard work into it. Thank you 🙂 Cheers

  3. Gareth- I have been reading your blog for over a year – since I was planning my trip to BsAs. I have read every entry. This video was so great. Really loved it. The time lapse video showed several little episodes and aspects of city life in a few short minutes. (The train station platform and the night life scenes were my favorites, for different reasons.) Very well done. Congrats and keep it up. -AndyC in DC

  4. Thanks Mark, I wish I could have taken more video from different neighborhoods around Medellin, but didn’t want to push the limits too far.

  5. I’m sure its not what you intended but the hordes of people moving around like this reminds me of scurrying rats or a plague of cockroaches. There are so many people in this world it scares me.

  6. Pingback: Un Dia En La Vida
  7. I have read through other blogs, but they are cumbersome and confusing more than your post. I hope you continue to have such quality articles to share with everyone! I believe a lot of people will be like to read this article!

  8. I have read through some similar topics! However, your post has given me a very special impression, unlike other posts. I hope you continue to have valuable articles like this or more to share with everyone!

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