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Night Skies

Bring back the night sky.

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ANGEL CITY
04:26

ANGEL CITY

Shot by Gavin Heffernan / www.SunchaserPictures.com. Music: HEAT by Elliot Goldenthal. For pics, news, and tips - LIKE our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SunchaserPicturesPage Or check out the album of the best Sunchaser Timelapses right here: https://vimeo.com/album/189653. Looking to beef up my Los Angeles timelapses, I rented a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II Lens from www.BorrowLenses.com and spent September 4th-11th shooting in a series of epic vantage points with two Canon 6Ds. The light of the latest "Supermoon" provided incredible extra definition in the darks of the city panoramas, while also giving some great separation to the skyscrapers. Since we're only 452 days away from the 20th anniversary of one my favorite movies HEAT, I set it to one of the soundtrack songs, an incredible piece of music by Elliot Goldenthal. The cityscapes of HEAT inspired me to make movies long ago, so it was a special treat looking down on LA from some similar angles to the classic Michael Mann film. I finished the edit with a few city captures from previous shoots and here's the result! Motion control shots www.DynamicPerception.com Stage Zero and others using 5K QT Panning. Stills Available for Download at FLICKR: https://www.flickr.com/photos/50014474@N05/sets/72157647361173617/ Special Thanks: John C. Brookins, Briana Nadeau. For more visit www.SunchaserPictures.com. Selected Shots Available for Stock Footage Licensing/Purchase: http://www.sunchaserpictures.com/license-footage
SKYGLOW: DISHDANCE
03:05

SKYGLOW: DISHDANCE

A SKYGLOW timelapse medley shot at Radio Astronomy facilities at Very Large Array Observatory in New Mexico, Owens Valley Observatory in Owens Valley California, and Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia. All three of these facilities have been or are still being partly used by the SETI (Search for the Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program. Shot by Harun Mehmedinovic (www.Bloodhoney.com) and Gavin Heffernan (www.SunchaserPictures.com) Music by Tom Boddy: “Thoughtful Reflections.” Edited by Harun Mehmedinovic Created for www.SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM, a crowdfunded quest to explore the effects and dangers of urban light pollution in contrast with some of the most incredible Dark Sky Preserves in North America. Visit the site for more! See our first SKYGLOW video (A Vimeo Staff Pick) with stars over cities here: https://vimeo.com/125108525 Via WIKIPEDIA "Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The initial detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was made in the 1930s, when Karl Jansky observed radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observations have identified a number of different sources of radio emission. These include stars and galaxies, as well as entirely new classes of objects, such as radio galaxies, quasars, pulsars, and masers. The discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation, regarded as evidence for the Big Bang theory, was made through radio astronomy." The large radio telescope at Green Bank is where scientists first attempted to “listen” to presence of extraterrestrials in the galaxy. Very Large Array was featured in the movie CONTACT (1997) while Owens Observatory was featured in THE ARRIVAL (1996). The huge meteorite streaking across the sky above Very Large Array (2:40) is from the Aquarids meteor shower.
TEMPEST VERMILION
03:01

TEMPEST VERMILION

Shot and Produced by Gavin Heffernan (www.SunchaserPictures.com) and Harun Mehmedinović (www.Bloodhoney.com) Created in association with BBC EARTH (bbc.com/earth/world). Now available in 1080 HD! Music: "White Dwarf 2" by Terry Devine-King. Performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Please like the Facebook page for our exciting upcoming Kickstarter venture SKYGLOW (https://www.facebook.com/skyglowproject). Launching April 3rd, SKYGLOW is a unique Kickstarter quest where Gavin and Harun will explore the most exotic dark sky locations in North America, while examining the complex biological and psychological impacts of light pollution on society. Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona hosts some of the most unique landscapes on the planet, from the red iron oxide cliffs of its namesake, to the Jurassic-era petrified sandstone of White Pocket. This area features what some have described as "brain rocks" and "cauliflower rocks," possibly formed through earthquakes after the landscape was lithified from sand into rock. White Pocket sees very few visitors, due to an hour-long drive by strenuous sand roads often impassable due to rain and snow. As the second part of a BBC Earth timelapse trilogy, our shoot consisted of two days and two nights of intense conditions, including high winds, thunderstorms, fog heavy rain, and other obstacles. Despite the adversity, the tempest broke and some incredible stars shone through to put on a show. Shot on Canon DSLR Cameras. Star trails created using rotation of earth's axis and STARSTAX. Wide motion control cliffs shot achieved with Dynamic Pecrception Stage Zero Dolly. Stills and Behind the Scenes Pictures Available at Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/50014474@N05/sets/72157650577597300/ The first timelapse of the BBC Earth trilogy (WAVELIGHT) is available here: https://vimeo.com/112008512 Thanks: Michron by Alpine Labs, Matt Walker, Thomas Martin, Vermilion Cliffs, NAU, Ty McNeeley, Greg Horvath
YIKÁÍSDÁHÁ
04:01

YIKÁÍSDÁHÁ

YIKÁÍSDÁHÁ - Navajo for Milky Way or "That Which Awaits the Dawn" By Gavin Heffernan (www.SunchaserPictures.com) and Harun Mehmedinović (www.Bloodhoney.com) NPR: "Look Up in the Sky and Live Big" http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2014/05/20/313952882/look-up-in-the-sky-and-live-big In April I had the privilege of being invited to Northern Arizona University as an "artist in residence" to speak with their Photography students about my timelapse experiences. While there, we also took shooting field trips to some of the magnificent locations a few hours away, most notably Grand Canyon National Park and Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park (spotted in many epic John Ford Westerns and countless other classics like EASY RIDER and BACK TO THE FUTURE III http://bit.ly/1lngv3x!) The weather was very intense at times, with high winds, frigid temperatures, and stormfronts passing over us, but the locations were absolutely stunning and the clouds parted for long enough to reveal some incredible starscapes, meteors, and the clearest Milky Way I've ever seen! This was also my first opportunity to collaborate with old friend and former American Film Institute classmate Harun Mehmedinović (www.bloodhoney.com), an incredibly accomplished photographer and now one of the professors at NAU. His passion and artists' eye really elevated the quality of the material in a big way. Thanks again to Harun and the whole class for their awesome enthusiasm. For Stills and Behind the Scenes shots of YIKÁÍSDÁHÁ visit FLICKR page here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/50014474@N05/sets/72157644225383707/ Most night shots were captured at 25 second exposures on our Canon EOS 6D's and Canon 5D mk3's with a variety of wide, fast lenses. Because the nights we picked had almost zero moon, the stars and Milky Way were exceptionally clear (once the storm clouds parted), which also made a perfect galactic palette for some star trails experiments, including a new mirroring/distortion effect at 2:56 that revealed a cool native pattern. For those not familiar with past vids, the star trails effect is created by tracing the rotation of the Earth's axis, using a long exposure timelapse pictures and an awesome rendering program called STARSTAX. Keep an eye out at 2:10 (top center) as a meteor seems to BURST through the atmosphere and leave a smoke trail in its wake. Maybe you scientists or astronomers out there can help explain in better language :) **UPDATE** The great PHIL PLAIT at Slate explains in his BAD ASTRONOMY blog: "At 2:10 in, a meteor flashes, and leaves behind a curling wisp of what looks like smoke. This is called a persistent train, the vaporized remains of the meteoroid itself, and can glow for several minutes. The upper level winds from 60 – 100 km above Earth’s surface are what blow it into those curlicues." Thanks Phil! Check out the article here: http://slate.me/RLWBoG Also, for those who were asking, the crazy burnt out forest seen in the Milky Way shots is all in Grand Canyon National Park, a much more diverse location than I imagined! Shot and Produced by: Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinović Music: A Seated Night (Ambient) by Moby. Courtesy www.MobyGratis.com / Unknown Native Chant (now believed this is a Navajo Skip song sung by the group "Central Navajo Wranglers") Thanks: Northern Arizona University, Grand Canyon National Park, Monument Valley Tribal Park. See other Sunchaser Timelapses on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/album/189653 LIKE Sunchaser Pictures on Facebook! facebook.com/SunchaserPicturesPage LIKE Bloodhoney on Facebook! www.facebook.com/blood.honey.by.harun.mehmedinovic For more from the artists: www.BloodHoney.com www.SunchaserPictures.com
SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM: KAIBAB ELEGY
02:35

SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM: KAIBAB ELEGY

Millions of visitors a year come to Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park, one of the seven natural wonders of the world and the most visited national park in the western United States. However, on extremely rare days when cold air is trapped in the canyon and topped by a layer of warm air, which in combination with moisture and condensation, form the phenomenon referred to as the full cloud inversion. In what resembles something between ocean waves and fast clouds, Grand Canyon is completely obscured by fog, making the visitors feel as if they are walking on clouds. This video was filmed as part of SKYGLOW (www.skyglowproject.com), an ongoing crowdfunded quest to explore the effects and dangers of urban light pollution in contrast with some of the most incredible dark sky areas in North America. This project is being produced in collaboration with International Dark-Sky Association (darksky.org), a non-profit fighting for the preservation of night skies around the globe. The film was shot on Canon 5DSR & 5DIII cameras & lenses sponsored by Canon USA, aided by Alpine Labs' Michron & Pulse, powered by Paul C. Buff Vagabond Mini. LRTimelapse was used to process some of the shots. Adobe Lightroom and Premiere used for editing and processing. Original video premiered on BBC Earth: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170502-on-rare-occasions-the-grand-canyon-fills-with-thick-cloud Follow up to this video, KAIBAB REQUIEM can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/246551452 KAIBAB ELEGY Photo Stills: http://bit.ly/2CkGARQ SKYGLOW Book Stills: http://bit.ly/2vXO7Ag Other Photos from SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM: http://bit.ly/2whWSaQ Credits: Producer/Editor/Shooter: Harun Mehmedinovic, Music: Pete Davis & James Banbury Special Thanks: Gavin Heffernan and Aida Bogunic, Semezdin & Sanja Mehmedinovic, Matt Walker & Pierangelo Pirak, Aaron McNally & Canon USA, Kevin Noble & Paul C. Buff Inc., Greg Horvath & Alpine Labs, International Dark-Sky Association, Northern Arizona University, State of Arizona & National Park Service Locations: Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona Follow/Contact: Facebook facebook.com/skyglowproject Instagram: instagram.com/skyglowproject Email: info@skyglowproject.com We appreciate all your shares, comments and likes, thanks for checking out this video! For more videos please visit: https://vimeo.com/harun This video is COPYRIGHT 2017 Harun Mehmedinovic / SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM. Any use beyond embedding this video in it's unaltered form and properly credited to SKYGLOW PROJECT/SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM on another website requires permission from the creator. Any use of the entirety or portion(s) of this video to drive advertising traffic, sales or any other profit-driven venture on a third party website without express permission from the content creator will result in prosecution to the full extent of the law. ------- Timelapse artists and filmmakers Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinović are proud to introduce WWW.SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM, a 192-page hardcover photobook and timelapse video series exploring North America’s remaining magnificent night skies and the increasing impact of light pollution on our highly fragile environment. A blend of images, stories, essays, and anecdotal captions, SKYGLOW explores the history and mythology of celestial observation and the proliferation of electrical outdoor lighting that spurred the rise of the phenomena known as “light pollution,” a grave threat not only to our incredible starscapes but also to the very ecosystem itself. After a highly publicized Kickstarter campaign that ended as the fourth-most earning Photobook campaign ever, Harun and Gavin traveled over 150,000 miles and logged more than 3,000,000 photos on their grueling three-year quest. From incredible locations like the active Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii to Alberta’s majestic Northern Lights, SKYGLOW takes viewers on a visual journey through time, exploring our civilization’s evolving relationship with light and the night sky through the ages. See how the ancient Puebloan archaeoastronomy sites of our native elders have now been replaced with the blinding “artificial day” of over-lit modern metropolises, and learn about the “Dark Sky Movement” fighting to reclaim the pristine darkness the Earth had enjoyed for billions of years. The importance of America’s threatened National Parks is also highlighted in a section of stunning landscapes from numerous parks, including Shenandoah, Yosemite, Acadia, Death Valley, Yellowstone and many more. Completed in collaboration with the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), SKYGLOW also explores the numerous towns and sites that IDA has identified as official “Dark-Sky” Communities, Cities, Parks, Reserves and Sanctuaries.
Urban Roots
Image by Casey Horner
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