In one embodiment a method and apparatus is provided for a digital camera controlled by a remote computer. The remote computer commands the digital camera as to when to take pictures, how long to pause before taking subsequent pictures, and when to stop taking pictures. The digital camera senses current photographic conditions, which are later requested by the remote computer. Based upon the digital camera's current photographic conditions, the remote computer calculates the appropriate exposure parameters for the digital camera and commands the digital camera to set its exposure parameters accordingly. After a picture is taken, the picture is stored as image data in volatile memory in the digital camera. The image data is then transferred to the remote computer for compression and storage in the remote computer's non-volatile memory. The remote computer subsequently encodes the stored image data into a time-lapse video file.