Watch this video with awe and experience the beauty of Mt. Everest at night in time-lapse.
Elia Saikaly explains, “While most climbers slept, I attempted to capture some of the magic that the Himalayan skies have to offer while climbing to the top of the world.”
He certainly achieved that with this stunning video of the world’s highest peak.
Some technical breakdowns of this short time-lapse film:
• 108 total time-lapses and setups over two years in the Himalayas
• 44,069 still images created
• Edited down to 26 shots, 1,896 stills or 2 mins and 18 seconds pending how you do the math
That means 82 shots or 42,173 stills are on the cutting room floor!
These time-lapse Images were captured as high as 6200m (camp 2) above sea level on Mt. Everest. We slept at 6000m for three consecutive nights on the summit of Mt. Lobuche East waiting for a glimpse of Everest from that vantage point. Around 11 pm on the 2nd night, the skies opened up and the top of the world revealed herself in all of her glory.
Nowhere else on the planet have I ever seen the Milky Way so clear, so vivid and so very much alive. It takes a great deal of discipline to stay up all night capturing the magic for the world to experience. Cameras freeze. Shutters freeze. Batteries freeze. Humans freeze. The high altitude environment is debilitating at best. Your body is taking a constant beating by the low levels of oxygen in the atmosphere. The higher you climb of course, the worse this becomes.
And yet… this is heaven on Earth for me. This is my comfort zone. This is where I feel alive. This is where the combination of my love for imagery, astrophotography, storytelling, and connection with the mountains all intersect. I toss logic out the window on clear nights and run all of my cameras until all batteries are exhausted, CF cards are filled and the sun re-emerges for yet another beautiful day. It’s my oxygen. It fuels me. Energizes me. And keeps me in a flow state.
