Category Archives: Still Photos

Trails End UHD 4K Time Lapse

Trails End is a compilation of some of my favorite timelapse shots from 2014, with a few Aurora shots from early this year. On many of the locations, I used my Palomino SS-1251 truck camper from Cheyenne Camper Center, often ending up near the end of some remote trail.  It was shot in Wyoming, Utah and South Dakota. You can see the rest of the 100+ full length sequences, on the 30+ minute “Trails End” feature, which you can download here or the link below. Available in 4K UHD, up to 4096 X 2304, for licensing. 2016 Badlands Night Sky Workshop schedule

 

 

 

Canyonlands Utah Sunset
Canyonlands Utah Sunset

 

Some events to watch for:

The slower moving light streaks are airplanes, the fast ones are satellites. I also caught many meteors which are only 1 frame or 1/24th of a second on the timelapse.
:56 Bolide Meteor
1:01 Aurora at Devils Tower and throughout video
1:33 Two Bolide Meteors
Meteors With Persistent Trains 2:29 very fast and short persistent train to right of the Milky Way, a better one at 3:20
2:43 Final Boost Stage of GSSAP and ANGELS satellites
 2:55 Owl sitting in tree
3:00 Pink Aurora in the sand dunes of Wyoming’s Red Desert
3:14 Sprites and Gravity Waves

 

South Dakota Aurora
South Dakota Aurora

 

Photography and Editing – Randy Halverson
Production Assistant – River Halverson
Opening Title graphics – Luke Arens
Music – “The Last Stand” licensed from Audiojungle
Title and Credit Music – Simon Wilkinson at TheBlueMask.com

Palomino Truck Camper
Palomino Truck Camper

Sponsors:
Cheyenne Camping Center – They gave me a great deal on a Palomino Palomino SS-1251 camper which worked great, they also have a great service department.

Camera Gear Used

2 Canon 5D Mark III’s
1 Canon 6D
Nikon D810

Lenses
Nikon 14-24
Rokinon 35
Canon 16-35
Zeiss 21
Sigma 15mm Fisheye
Sigma 8mm Fisheye
Canon 200mm
Canon 70-300

Contact for licensing footage, shooting rates or anything else.
Randy Halverson
dakotalapse@gmail.com

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Instagram instagram.com/dakotalapse 

Twitter twitter.com/dakotalapse

Sprites, Gravity Waves, Airglow and Aurora

 

 

 

 

 

On August 20th, 2014 I timelapsed a storm over central South Dakota with multiple cameras. I left for Wyoming without looking at most of the frames. I saw a post by Tom Warner about Sprites he caught on the same storm. Sprites are large scale electrical discharges that occur high above clouds.

When I got back I went through the frames and found 7 with Sprites in them. I didn’t post 2 of them because they are very faint. The Sprites are only 1 frame each, so they will be a quick flash of red near the right side above the storm. The green Airglow is rippled by Gravity Waves, (gravity waves are not the same as gravitational waves) some faint Aurora moves in towards the end of the sequences, on the right side before the clouds cover it up. Thanks to Tom Warner and Dr. Walter Lyons for helping me identify Gravity Waves in my shots. Dr. Lyons also shared a link that will help identify which storms may have Sprites. Look for a large red cross on the map.

See the timelapse of the storm below, and more images in the gallery.

Sprites, Gravity Waves and Airglow from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

Music By Simon Wilkinson

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The Sprites are the red discharges above the storm on the right side. The gravity waves are the ripples you see in the airglow.

Sprite with Airglow and Gravity Waves over South Dakota
Sprite with Airglow and Gravity Waves over South Dakota

 

Sprite with Airglow and Gravity Waves over South Dakota
Sprite with Airglow and Gravity Waves over South Dakota

 

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Gallery of Sprites and Gravity Waves – Click to enlarge.

 

 

Meteor or Satellite?

 

 

 

These 2 timelapse frames are from my latest timelapse “Huelux”. Go to 3:20 in the video to see the timelapse.

A bright Satellite flash or Iridium flare, can sometimes look like a meteor in a long exposure star photo. If you are shooting timelapse, it is easy to distinguish between a meteor or satellite flash in the frames. Most meteors enter the atmosphere at 25,000 mph or faster, and burn up relatively fast at a much lower altitude than satellites.

If you are shooting a 30 second exposure with a 3 second interval, the meteor would have to be burning up for at least 34 seconds for it to show up in 2 consecutive frames. I have caught dozens of meteors in timelapse frames and seen many with my own eyes. The longest I have seen with my own eyes has lasted maybe 3 seconds. Satellites are moving much slower than meteors and are much higher, so they take longer to travel across the sky. So they will always be visible, even a faint trail, in 2 or more frames, if they are within the frame. Satellites are an important part of our exploration of space and they are put together with incredibly detailed technology and equipment like transmitters, solar panels, LVDT’s (you can look here for more information on this), to name a few, so to see one traveling across the sky at night is a sight to behold and we can only hope that it is not falling or breaking down.

In these two consecutive frames, you will see the bolide Meteor in the lower center, and a Satellite in the upper left, and another one to the right of the Milky Way core. This was 25 second exposures with a 3 second interval between the two photos. Click image to enlarge.

Meteor and Satellites
Meteor and Satellites

The Meteor is gone from the following frame, because it was travelling so fast and burned up, both satellites still have a trail. I think it also missed a bright part of the flare on the upper left Satellite, during the 3 second interval between shots. Some satellites will show up in 5 or more frames and will take minutes to cross the sky. Click image to enlarge.

Satellite trails
Satellite trails

Dakotalapse 2013 Top Photos

 

 

 

10 of my favorite stills from 2013. Most of these were taken from timelapse. Click arrows to navigate, click on photo to enlarge. Some of these are available as prints here.

See other stills from 2013 on this page.

Horizons Teaser

A few short clips from my upcoming timelapse film titled Horizons. The online short will feature an original score by Bear McCreary. http://www.bearmccreary.com 

There will also be an extended cut, available for download at https://dakotalapse.com

Music is “Nebula Drift” by Simon Wilkinson http://www.thebluemask.com

Sponsors:
Borrowlenses http://www.borrowlenses.com
Dynamic Perception dollies http://www.dynamicperception.com

Meteor, Lightning and the Milky Way

 

 

 

While editing timelapse I shot July 2012, I noticed a meteor in a frame. I caught it on 2 Canon 5D Mark III cameras. Last July, I posted a photo of the lightning and Milky Way, but missed the meteor. Phil Plait wrote about that photo last July.

Meteor with Canon 14mm on 5D Mark III Cropped from 14mm
Meteor with Canon 14mm on 5D Mark III Cropped from 14mm

I also caught it on a second camera, with a 25mm Zeiss F2.0 lens.

Meteor, Lightning and the Milky Way with Zeiss 25mm F2.0
Meteor, Lightning and the Milky Way with Zeiss 25mm F2.0

 

Print or Gallery Wrap, is available of the second photo here.

I borrowed both of the lenses from Borrowlenses.com, who is also a sponsor for my next timelapse video, that will be coming out this winter.

2012 – Favorite Photos

Some of my favorites from shooting timelapse in 2012. These were all frames from a timelapse. The timelapse will be out this winter.

Click on Photos to Enlarge

July storm and Milky Way in central South Dakota
July storm and Milky Way in central South Dakota

 

Near and Far – Frame from lightning timelapse in May 2012
Near and Far – Frame from lightning timelapse in May 2012
Late April Aurora in Badlands National Park
Late April Aurora in Badlands National Park

 

June Milky Way at Devils Tower in Wyoming.
June Milky Way at Devils Tower in Wyoming.
A crescent Moon sets under the Milky Way in SD.
A crescent Moon sets under the Milky Way in SD.
Meteor with persistent train – October 2012. One year earlier, I captured the same phenomena, in the same spot.
Meteor with persistent train – October 2012. One year earlier, I captured the same phenomena, in the same spot.
Aurora reflects off a pond in South Dakota.
Aurora reflects off a pond in South Dakota.
Sunset on the White River in South Dakota.
Sunset on the White River in South Dakota.
Late June Milky Way in Custer State Park of SD.
Late June Milky Way in Custer State Park of SD.
July sunset in South Dakota.
July sunset in South Dakota.
The Milky Way turns out better on some nights, this was one of them.
The Milky Way turns out better on some nights, this was one of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meteor Persistent Train – 2012

 

 

 

Update: Phil Plait also wrote this article about it.

What are the odds that you can catch a meteor with a persistent train, in the same spot, one year later? On October 6th, 2012, I setup timelapse, in the location that I caught this one.

2011 Meteor with persistent train – click to enlarge

2011 Meteor with persistent train
2011 Meteor with persistent train

 

I had not shot any timelapse at that spot, since October 2011. At 10:07 PM the camera caught a meteor, the following 40 frames show the persistent train drifting off to the east, then it disappears. It lasted over 20 minutes in real time. I don’t think it would have been visible to the naked eye, but with 30 second exposures, it is. Taken in central South Dakota with a Canon 5D Mark III, Nikon 14-24 with novoflex adapter, F2.8, 30 seconds, ISO 3200

Phil Plait wrote about meteor persistent trains, with my photos from last year, here.

The Meteor – click photo to enlarge

2012 Meteor with persistent train
2012 Meteor with persistent train

2 minutes 10 seconds later – close up of persistent train – click to enlarge

Meteor persistent train 2012

 

Meteor from 2nd Camera, a few hundred yards away – 5D Mark II with Canon 16-24

Meteor from 2nd Camera
Meteor from 2nd Camera