Death Valley Dreamlapse
Timelapse of the Day – January 20, 2013
This is a really wonderful mix of timelapse and real time shot in Death Valley. It has some really stunning shots. As Gavin says, watch it in HD with headphones on & volume cranked!
Gavin writes:
(Watch in HD with headphones on & volume cranked, if you can!)
After the great response to our SUNCHASER STAR TRAILS video, my brave team and I trekked to the world-famous Eureka Dunes in Death Valley National Park to search for some of the darkest skies on Earth. Despite temps below freezing, we went on December 13th, 2012 – the night of the Geminid Meteor Shower Peak, and a night of great planetary alignment! Armed only with boxed wine, firewood, and our DSLRs, we had to conquer epic climbs, sand roads with the 4×4 Jeep, and the occasional UFO…
But it was all worth it when the skies cleared and showed us an incredible galactic palette! Star Trails shot at 25 sec exposures. No special effects used, just the rotation of the earth’s axis. Photography Merging: STARSTAX. Used Canon 5D & 7D, with a 24mm/1.4 lens and a 28mm/1.8. The Geminids get crazy as the sun comes up (2:20–2:35) but you can spot a bunch more throughout, if you look closely — or here’s a nice shot (bit.ly/SkZGdw). There’s also some passing planets (1:15–1:30 and2:15–2:25). I think these are Jupiter and Mars(?), but maybe some smart astronomer out there can verify?
The “UFO” appears at (1:30–1:35) and makes three broad circular sweeps over the desert. Though in timelapse it appears to be moving fast, consider the 5 seconds = about 50 minutes, so it’s creeping. Closer picture here (bit.ly/T3yK3s). It can also be seen cutting through the circular star trails in the shot used above!
Shot and Edited by: Gavin Heffernan twitter.com/GavinHeffernan
Producers: Michael Darrow, Rachel Payne, Ben Dally
Music: “Stay Down (Ambient)” by MOBY (License Courtesy MobyGratis.Com – very cool!)
Thanks: Adam Jeremy Williams, Briana NadeauFor more on this this and other upcoming projects, visit SunchaserPictures.com or twitter.com/GavinHeffernan
To see more of our other Sunchaser Pictures Timelapses, visit our album here: bit.ly/LFy9KJ
