Here's another example of how a simple idea, well executed, can capture the essence of a complex event. Photographer Michael Black created this wonderful illustration of the power of the Boxing Day blizzard still blanketing the Northeast a day later, and he did it in his suburban New Jersey backyard with a static camera on a tripod.
It's one photo every five minutes, or 20 hours of snow fury condensed into 40 gentle seconds. Watch what he has to go through to keep the clock visible.