Timelapse videos are a dime a dozen, but every once in a while we come across one that’s truly well done—even stunning. This timelapse of the beauty of the Western states, made by Portland adventure photographer Leif Smith, might just be one of those:
Shot mostly in the western United States and Canada, Smith’s “Vista” timelapse captures glimpses from some of the West’s more amazing natural landscapes. Crater Lake, Joshua Tree National Park, Mt. Shasta—all of these offer amazing opportunities for photography, and Smith, after 2 to 3 years of shooting and editing, doesn’t disappoint.
Timelapse photography is extremely labor-intensive, especially in the post-processing. This particular video took Smith tens of thousands of hours editing and compiling. And that to the amount of travel needed to cover all of these amazing places and the equipment hauling and you get one major project on your hands. And while Smith is a professional photographer in his own right, the particular video was his “passion project for a long time now” and that passion definitely shows.
Equipment Used
- Canon 5D MIII
- Nikon D600
- Emotimo TB3 pan/tilt head
- Dynamic Perception Stage Zero rail
So what do you think? Would you rate this as simply well done or absolutely stunning?
For Further Training on Timelapse Photography:
There is a COMPLETE guide (146 pages) to shooting, processing and rendering time-lapses using a dslr camera. Found here: The Timelapse Photography Guide
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Fantastic video, but your article needs a correction: it was not “tens of thousands of hours”(!!). Leif’s vimeo page says “…2-3 years of shooting, countless miles traveled, tens of thousands of images processed and days of editing…”
The amount of time that must have taken! Great job!