Category Archives: Timelapse

The Astrum

This is a short trailer of the 30+ minutes of timelapse I shot in 2020 at locations in South Dakota, Wyoming and Arizona. It was shot with Nikon D850 cameras in still mode and rendered at 8K resolution. My past features have aired on the DirecTV 4K channel, a few are on Stingray Naturescape on Youtube.

The Astrum feature may be available as a download in the future.

:30-:49 is Comet Neowise

Music “The Trailer” by Jeffrey Peterson. Licensed through Audiojungle.com 8K footage available for licensing.

SpaceX Starlink satellites are visible in parking orbit right after the Feb 17, 2020 launch in several of the shots. They look like scattered stars that aren’t moving across the sky. Normally satellites will streak across the sky in timelapse, Starlink do too once they are in operational orbit.

1:40 to the left of the saguaro

2:27 to the left of cactus.

2:43 lower left 1/4 of the frame

Field Of View – 4K UHD Timelapse

 

2016 Badlands Night Sky Workshops Join me this summer in the Badlands of SD and learn how to shoot stills and timelapse at night.

Field Of View is a compilation of timelapse I have shot in the last year. The first shot of the sunset supercell was done on July 23, 2015. That storm dropped multiple Tornadoes in eastern South Dakota, I was shooting it from central SD.  Other locations in the sequences are Aurora in central, western South Dakota and the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. The Red Desert in Wyoming, Bandlands and Buffalo Gap National Grasslands area of South Dakota. Bighorn and Teton Mountain areas in Wyoming.

You can see the rest of the 100+ full length sequences, on the 30+ minute “Field Of View” feature, which you can download here or the link below. Music on the feature is by Simon Wilkinson at http://www.thebluemask.com

Available in 4K UHD, up to 4096 X 2304, for licensing.

Download the 30 minute “Field Of View” feature – 1080p H.264 – For home use only.

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Contact me if you don’t receive a download link within a few minutes of the order.

 

Boars Tusk, Wyoming timelapse
Boars Tusk, Wyoming

Photography and Editing – Randy Halverson
Produced by Randy Halverson – Dakotalapse, LLC
Opening Dakotalapse graphics – Luke Arens
Music – “Uplifting” by Nick Perrin – licensed from Audiojungle

Flagstaff Micro Lite Camper while shooting timelapse in Wyoming
Flagstaff Micro Lite Camper and Aurora

Sponsors:
Cheyenne Camping Center – They gave me a great deal on a Flagstaff Micro Lite camper, which worked great while shooting timelapse in remote areas. They also have a great service department.

Dynamic Perception – The Stage Zero and Stage One dollies were used in many of the shots. I can’t recommend them enough for a quality product at a low price. http://www.dynamicperception.com/?Click=1228

eMotimo – Great pan and tilt motion control. This will also mount on the Dynamic Perception Dollies. See more about the eMotimo TB3’s on my website. dakotalapse.com/2014/01/emotimo-tb3-motion-control/

Camera Gear Used
Nikon D810
Sony AR7II
Canon 5D Mark III’s
Canon 6D

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

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

Follow:

Facebook 

Instagram

Twitter

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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

 

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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 Assistants – 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.

Dynamic Perception – The Stage Zero and Stage One dollies were used in many of the shots. I can’t recommend them enough for a quality product at a low price. http://www.dynamicperception.com/?Click=1228

eMotimo – Great pan and tilt motion control. This will also mount on the Dynamic Perception Dollies. See more about the eMotimo TB3’s on my website. dakotalapse.com/2014/01/emotimo-tb3-motion-control/

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

Follow:
Facebook facebook.com/dakotalapse

Instagram instagram.com/dakotalapse 

Twitter twitter.com/dakotalapse

Badlands Night Sky Workshop

Night Sky Workshop by Randy Halverson

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Date – August 22-24, 2014 – Badlands National Park, South Dakota

This workshop is over, but I can still give private workshops. Contact me if interested.

Class size limit – 6 Students

Badlands National Park features a rugged landscape and dark skies. In August, the summer traffic has died down, the nights are longer, and the Milky Way will be visible as soon as it is dark (9PM), making it a great time to shoot the Milky Way. We will take short hikes into the formations and capture the night sky. During the night we will shoot 2-3 different locations, with me giving instructions throughout the night. This workshop will focus on still photography, with some timelapse basics thrown in.

Huelux from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

 

What is covered in the workshop:
Night sky overview
Scouting locations
Moon Phases
Camera settings
Sunset Photography
Night Still Photography
Timelapse basics
Lighting the foreground
High ISO tips and noise reduction
Focusing at night
Panoramas
Weather and shooting tips
Post processing

Gear Required
DSLR with wide angle lens, f2.8 or better. You can rent if necessary.
Intervalometer
Solid tripod
Memory cards and extra batteries
Headlight and small flashlight
For Post Processing – Laptop with Adobe Lightroom for still processing. LR Timelapse for timelapse post processing of individual clips.

Cost – $1050 per person, limit 6 students in the workshop. South Dakota sales tax included in price. 50% deposit of $525 required to hold spot. The remainder is due by June 22, 2014.
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Workshop Overview

August 22 and 23
Meet at first location 2 hours before sunset. Go over shooting sunset and night setup.
Shoot Sunset
Setup for night shoot
Night Shoot – 2-3 locations throughout the night, ends at 2-3AM

August 24
Meet at 12PM to cover post processing – 4 hours
Night shoot if we were clouded or rained out on any of the first 2 nights.

Schedule changes are possible due to the weather. For example if it looks like it will be 100% cloud cover on the 23rd, we may shoot sunset but not the night. We would then shoot on the night of the 24th.

Getting there
If you are flying, Rapid City Regional Airport is the closest to the Badlands. Car rental is also available there.

What is not provided or covered.
Park entrance fee.
Lodging/Camping
Transportation
Meals/Snacks – You may want to eat an early dinner before we shoot. Bring snacks or anything else you may need with you.

Cedar Pass Lodge has cabins and camping in the park. The next best lodging is in Wall, SD. Rapid City, SD has more hotel options and is a 45 minute drive from Wall. The post processing on the 24th will be held in a meeting room in Rapid City.

Additional Information:
A commercial use permit is required to hold workshops in any national park, I have a permit for Badlands National Park. I can not guarantee clear skies, but have scheduled an additional night of shooting, should one of the nights be rainy. We will try to shoot no matter what the cloud cover is. In long exposures, often the stars are still visible through thin clouds, even though it appears cloudy. If it looks like it will only be clear the first night, we may want to shoot all night that night.

Refund Policy and Conditions:
I am unable to give refunds due to weather. Deposits are non refundable, but for cancellations done within 60 days of the date, the remainder of payment will be refunded. If you cancel less than 60 days from the date of the workshop, a refund will not be given unless your spot can be filled. Dakotalapse, LLC is not responsible for any costs you incur during or travelling to or from the workshop. In the unlikely event the workshop is cancelled, Dakotalapse, LLC is not responsible for travel costs you incur.

If you have any questions about the workshop, email Randy Halverson

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Huelux

 

Storm over Farm time lapse frame 4K
Storm over Farm

 

Huelux from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

Huelux is also on Youtube below, in 4K Ultra HD resolution.



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Download the Huelux features on my site here.

I shot Huelux from April-November 2013 in South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. The weather in 2013 made it difficult for me to get some of the shots I wanted. There were many times I planned to shoot the Milky Way or Aurora, and the clouds would roll in. But that also allowed me to get more night storm timelapse than I have any other year. I was in Utah for 6 nights, it was clear only one night, it was also 95F at midnight that night. So I couldn’t shoot as high of an ISO as I wanted because of noise, but I still pulled off a few good shots in Zion Canyon.The weather was much the same while I was in Wyoming, it was cloudy 2/3 of the nights I was there. But I did get some of my best Milky Way shots of the year in Wyoming, see 1:45-2:05 in the video. The clouds did make for some good sunrise and sunset shots.

It was a funny coincidence – I took one tablet of Viagra and therefore, due to a rush of blood, I quickly reacted to the Aurora

On the Milky Way shots you will see a lot of slow and fast moving satellites, a few meteors and planes. The meteors are hard to see in timelapse, but you may see a quick flash because they only last one frame. If you see a light moving across the sky, it is either an airplane or satellite, not a meteor.

Some of the Aurora I shot were unexpected with no advanced notice. Several nights I was setting up Milky Way shots, when I noticed the glow in the sky to the north. In one case an hour before I got any Aurora notification on my phone. The storm shot at 2:57 has Aurora behind it, which was quickly covered up by the storm. The low Aurora on the horizon were often yellow, while closer (higher in the sky) Aurora were green. If I adjusted the yellow Aurora on the horizon green, it threw the rest of the colors way off.

Aurora behind a buidling storm. Frame from Huelux timelapse
Aurora behind a building storm.

I came up with the title Huelux, which comes from hue (a color property), and lux which is latin for light. Some of the Aurora and Milky Way were difficult to color correct, so I spent a lot of time with the hue settings, white balance, etc. during the month and a half edit.

The end credit backgrounds are 10 second timelapse exposures of Andromeda Galaxy and Orion shot with a 200mm lens on an Ioptron Skytracker. You will see some satellites moving through the sequences.

Photography and Editing – Randy Halverson
Production Assistants – River Halverson and Kelly McILhone
Music by Peter Nanasi – peternanasi.com
Buy the soundtrack to Huelux here.

Dakotalapse opening title – Luke Arens

Sponsors:
Dynamic Perception – The Stage Zero and Stage One dollies were used in many of the shots. I can’t recommend them enough for a quality product at a low price. http://www.dynamicperception.com/?Click=1228

eMotimo – Great pan and tilt motion control. This will also mount on the Dynamic Perception Dollies. See more about the eMotimo TB3’s on my website. dakotalapse.com/2014/01/emotimo-tb3-motion-control/

Camera Gear Used

2 Canon 5D Mark III’s
1 Canon 6D

Lenses
Nikon 14-24 with Novoflex adapter
Rokinon 25 and 35
Canon 16-35
Zeiss 21
Sigma 15mm Fisheye
Canon 200mm
Canon 70-300

Available in 4K Ultra HD for licensing, in 10 and 35 minute features.

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

Follow:
Facebook facebook.com/dakotalapse
Twitter twitter.com/dakotalapse

Still Photos Below, click show picture list to enlarge.

 

 

Huelux Feature

 

Sunset in Badlands National Park
Sunset in Badlands National Park

Huelux 35 – 35 minute Huelux feature with more locations, sequences and longer shots than seen on Huelux 10.

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The Huelux 10 feature, is a ten minute edit of some of the 40+ minutes of timelapse I shot for Huelux in 2013. It has more locations and sequences than you see in the trailer, and also some longer cuts of the same shots.

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I shot Huelux from April-November 2013 in South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. The weather in 2013 made it difficult for me to get some of the shots I wanted. There were many times I planned to shoot the Milky Way or Aurora, and the clouds would roll in. But that also allowed me to get more night storm timelapse than I have any other year. I was in Utah for 6 nights, it was clear only one night, it was also 95F at midnight that night. So I couldn’t shoot as high of an ISO as I wanted because of noise, but I still pulled off a few good shots in Zion Canyon.The weather was much the same while I was in Wyoming, it was cloudy 2/3 of the nights I was there. But I did get some of my best Milky Way shots of the year in Wyoming, see 1:45-2:05 in the video. The clouds did make for some good sunrise and sunset shots.

On the Milky Way shots you will see a lot of slow and fast moving satellites, a few meteors and planes. The meteors are hard to see in timelapse, but you may see a quick flash because they only last one frame. If you see a light moving across the sky, it is either an airplane or satellite, not a meteor.

Some of the Aurora I shot were unexpected with no advanced notice. Several nights I was setting up Milky Way shots, when I noticed the glow in the sky to the north. In one case an hour before I got any Aurora notification on my phone. The storm shot at 2:57 has Aurora behind it, which was quickly covered up by the storm.

Aurora behind buidling storm.
Aurora behind building storm.

I came up with the title Huelux, which comes from hue (a color property), and lux which is latin for light. Some of the Aurora and Milky Way were difficult to color correct, so I spent a lot of time with the hue settings, white balance, etc. during the month and a half edit. The low Aurora on the horizon were often yellow, while closer (higher in the sky) Aurora were green. If I adjusted the yellow Aurora on the horizon green, it threw the rest of the colors way off.

The end credit backgrounds are 10 second timelapse exposures of Andromeda Galaxy and Orion shot with a 200mm lens on an Ioptron Skytracker. You will see some satellites moving through the sequences.

Photography and Editing – Randy Halverson
Production Assistants – River Halverson and Kelly McILhone
Music by Peter Nanasi – peternanasi.com
Dakotalapse opening title – Luke Arens

Sponsors:
Dynamic Perception – The Stage Zero and Stage One dollies were used in many of the shots. I can’t recommend them enough for a quality product at a low price. dynamicperception.com/#oid=1005_1

eMotimo – Great pan and tilt motion control. This will also mount on the Dynamic Perception Dollies. See more about the eMotimo TB3’s on my website. dakotalapse.com/2014/01/emotimo-tb3-motion-control/

Camera Gear Used

2 Canon 5D Mark III’s
1 Canon 6D

Lenses
Nikon 14-24 with Novoflex adapter
Rokinon 25 and 35
Canon 16-35
Zeiss 21
Sigma 15mm Fisheye
Canon 200mm
Canon 70-300

Available in 4K Ultra HD for licensing, in 10 and 35 minute features.

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

Follow:
Facebook facebook.com/dakotalapse
Twitter twitter.com/dakotalapse

Below are some of the additional scenes on the Huelux 10 feature.

 

eMotimo TB3 Motion Control

eMotimo TB3

eMotimo TB3 video music by Simon Wilkinson

In 2012 I had been looking for a new pan/tilt solution to replace the buggy Merlin or Orion head I had been using. I spoke to the creator of the eMotimo TB3 Brian Burling about the TB3, and it sounded like what I was looking for. In December 2012 I received a TB3 Orange and I was impressed with it right away.  I didn’t do any real shoots with it for a few months. Then I packed it with me when I went to Australia, a few months later, and it performed flawlessly after traveling more than 11,000 miles (one way) to Western Australia. The small size of the unit is great for travel and it will fit in a camera bag easily. My camera bags were full of cameras and lenses, so it had to go in another larger bag with tripods and Dynamic Perception dollies. So it rode in the belly of the planes throughout the flights.

I liked the TB3 so much, when I got back from Australia I ordered a TB3 Black, which has a few more features than the TB3 Orange. In the Spring-Fall of 2013 I used both of them on dozens of shots. The setup is extremely simple and it can be set up in minutes. It takes me longer to frame the shot than it does to set up the TB3. Setting up a 2 axis move with a TB3 on a tripod, will take 5 minutes or less. You plug the power in, set the start and stop points, set the interval, move duration, static time and ramp if needed.

In the fall of 2013 I also upgraded my TB3 Orange, so it now it has the same features as the TB3 Black. You see my upgraded Orange TB3 in the video above.

For 3 axis moves, I also use the TB3’s on my Dynamic Perception Stage Zero dollies. For that, you will need to get a geared stepper motor from eMotimo. Setup is the same, except now you also move the dolly from end to end when setting the start and stop points in the setup menu. It will take a few more minutes to setup with a dolly, only because it takes a few minutes to move the dolly from one end to the other, then back to start it. I haven’t had any major issues with the TB3’s, only a few minor ones, and the company was quick to get them fixed, or send replacement parts.

The playback of the timelapse I have shot on the TB3, or a combination of Stage Zero Dolly and TB3, have all been smooth. It will add a new range of shots, to your setups.

If you are looking for portable, smooth and easy to set up motion control for timelapse, I highly recommend the eMotimo TB3’s!

Below – Photos of the TB3’s – You may see gaff tape on the TB3’s, I cover the lcd’s and led’s for night shots, and I usually leave it on them so they are ready.

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Horizons

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Horizons from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

If you have ever been in a wide open landscape the most interesting thing isn’t necessarily the landscape itself, but what you see coming over the horizon. Growing up in South Dakota the landscape itself can be beautiful at times, but that doesn’t compare to what the sky can do, especially at night. Combine that with the landscape, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

Get the 30 minute long Horizons feature here

Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, Defiance, Battlestar Galactica, etc) once again helped me with some original music for the video. This time he suggested adding vocals to the mix. Brendan McCreary and his band (Young Beautiful in a Hurry) did just that. They came up with “I Forever” The single is available on iTunes, Amazon and other online sources.

I shot Horizons from April – October 2012 mostly in South Dakota, but also some at Devils Tower in Wyoming. From the rugged Badlands, the White River valley and the Black Hills of South Dakota, the horizons seem to endlessly change. I edited Horizons in 4K resolution and the feature is available in 4K.

Download 1080p 15mbps h.264 [add_to_cart item=”1101″ quantity=”user:1″ ]

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Download 720p h.264  [add_to_cart item=”1100″ quantity=”user:1″ ]

More downloads and information here

tower

Photography and Editing – Randy Halverson
Production Assistants – River Halverson and Kelly McILhone
Color Correction – Jeff Zueger – Spectrum Films 

Sponsors:
Dynamic Perception – The Stage Zero and Stage One dollies were used in many of the shots. I can’t recommend them enough for a quality product at a low price.

Borrowlenses – Throughout the summer I got some great Canon and Zeiss lenses from Borrowlenses to use in the shoot. They have great service and every lense performed flawlessly. So if you ever want to try out a lens ,or just need one for an special shoot, give them a try!

Granite Bay Software – I try to avoid flicker in sunset or daytime timelapse while shooting. But sometimes it is unavoidable. I used GBDeflicker to smooth out the flicker in some of the sunset timelapse.

Equipment Used
Canon 5D Mark III, sometimes with a 2nd from Borrowlenses
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 60D

I used a variety of lenses, many from Borrowlenses

Canon 14, 16-35, 24-70, 50 F1.2, 70-200mm lenses

Zeiss 21, 25, 35mm lenses

Nikon 14-24mm with Novoflex Adapter

Available in 4K resolution for licensing.

_________________________________________

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

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/dakotalapse

Twitter http://www.twitter.com/dakotalapse

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Horizons Feature

 

 

 

Above: Preview the first 2 minutes of the Horizons Feature.

Opening Scene from Horizons 30 minute long feature film.
Opening Scene from Horizons 30 minute long feature film.

The Horizons feature is 30 minutes of new and never before seen Milky Way, Aurora, Clouds, Sunrise and Sunset timelapse. Set to the music “Frozen White Light” composed by Simon Wilkinson at http://www.thebluemask.com

If you have ever been in a wide open landscape the most interesting thing isn’t necessarily the landscape itself, but what you see coming over the horizon. Growing up in South Dakota the landscape itself can be beautiful at times, but that doesn’t compare to what the sky can do, especially at night. Combine that with the landscape, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

I shot Horizons from April – October 2012 mostly in South Dakota, but also some at Devils Tower in Wyoming. From the rugged Badlands, the White River valley and the Black Hills of South Dakota, the horizons seem to endlessly change. I edited Horizons in 4K resolution and this feature is available in 4K upon request.

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Downloads of the Horizons Feature – 720p and 1080p 6mbps, is better for slow connections and slower computers.

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You can also watch the video on demand, with a free download, at Vimeo On Demand.

More videos and information on downloads at the download page.

Sponsors:
Dynamic Perception – The Stage Zero and Stage One Dollies were used in many of the shots. I can’t recommend them enough for a quality product at a low price.

Borrowlenses – Throughout the summer I got some great Canon and Zeiss lenses, and sometimes a second 5D Mark III from Borrowlenses to use in the shoot. They have great service and every lens performed flawlessly. So if you ever want to try out a lens ,or just need one for an special shoot, give them a try!

Granite Bay Software – I try to avoid flicker in sunset or daytime timelapse while shooting. But sometimes it is unavoidable. I used GBDeflicker to smooth out the flicker in some of the sunset timelapse.

Equipment Used
Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 60D

I used a variety of lenses

Canon 14, 16-35, 24-70, 50 F1.2, 70-200mm lenses

Zeiss 21, 25, 35mm lenses

Nikon 14-24mm with Novoflex Adapter

Available in 4K resolution

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

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/dakotalapse

Twitter http://www.twitter.com/dakotalapse

 

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