A night over a rocky landscape, winter mountains under a small bank of clouds include Mt Whitney.
Very small, lower clouds rapidly roll in the sky in the upper frame with the stars in the blue
moonlight. Mt Whitney is shown as a snowy saw-toothed ridge in the distance.
Time-lapse length (30 fps):
4 seconds and 21 frames.
What makes these scudding lower clouds so bright? Lights from nearby Walnut Creek impose their light
from below on them, incandescent and brightest where the city itself is. The brightened clouds
silhouette the trees of the hillside, as airplanes pass overhead rapidly. The sky has stars, and
their number pales in comparison to the city lights in the landscape below on the lower-right of the
frame. Now clip# NGT087.
Time-lapse length (30 fps):
4 seconds and 23 frames.
… is seen in deep dark colors of stars 1 of 2. Above a cloud which is caught on the mountain it
shrouds this night, the stars whirl. The low cloud has motion blur due to the exposure length. The
clouds roll leftward at high speed, only the slightest outline is illuminated by moonlight. The Milky
Way is slightly visible. There are at least four airplanes that speed through the night.
Time-lapse length (30 fps):
7 seconds and 24 frames.
A small portion of the frame has the mountains silhouetted on the Northern Lights. The other roughly
95 percent of the frame comprises stars. The Aurora flash stochastically as the long exposures span
the length of time that the light intensifies and dims.
Time-lapse length (30 fps):
7 seconds and 21 frames.
Light rays at sunset. Crepuscular rays fall from high humidity on mountaintops. The sun glows on the
clouds as it sets behind Mt Whitney and the mountain ridge. The middle and background dims. The
sunbeams shift as the clouds move and the sun sets below. The vivid, sharp rays are defined by the
staggered peaks.
Time-lapse length (30 fps):
12 seconds and 25 frames.
The finest details are shown as these mid-level clouds above the Grand Tetons mountain range peaks
above the tree line, far away. The very fine texture of a smaller cloud in particular, glowing in
reds and pinks, lives shortly as the sun fades after it has already set. Juniper trees frame the
mountains and span the vertical axis of the frame.
Time-lapse length (30 fps):
11 seconds and 14 frames.
…at San Francisco Airport, SFO at night under rainy clouds. Rain is shown entering the frame from
left in the rain clouds over the airport as planes continue to land, moving against the rain’s
direction in the frame, over the water. As with the other three in this series, the clouds are
largely illuminated by city lights.
Time-lapse length (30 fps):
8 seconds and 7 frames.
The sunset on Yosemite Valley. The shadows of the nearby mountains and ridges fall on Half Dome last,
with colors shifting redder with time. Facing east towards Cloud’s Rest in the distance.
Time-lapse length (30 fps):
11 seconds and 28 frames.