Have you ever seen those Disney movies with all the beautiful flowers opening and dancing – growing from seed to full bloom before your eyes? Then you’ve seen the work of Dr. John Nash Ott. Dr. Ott is known as the father of time lapse photography. In fact, he was asked by the Walt Disney Company to film the entire growth of a pumpkin for Disney animators to draw the transformation of Cinderella’s pumpkin into a carriage.

Filming had to take place indoors to protect the extensive camera equipment. At first the plant would grow and then die. Dr. Ott tried several things, but nothing would work. Then he changed the lighting. What he found was that under some lighting conditions, only male pumpkin flowers grew, but no females. The lights were adjusted and then only females were produced, but no males. After several experiments, Dr. Ott was able to provide the proper range of light wavelengths and the pumpkin grew.

Not only did he help Cinderella arrive at the ball, but this remarkable work sparked his imagination leading him to explore the benefits of natural daylight and how it can help people see and feel better. Learn more about OttLite's healthy lighting.