Time Lapse Movies

Go to the Home Page






Scottsdale Thunderstorm, October 11, 2012

Scattered thunderstorms blew through the east valley on Thursday, October 11, 2012. The speed of the action has been increased by a factor of 27.5

Monsoon Weather Over Pioneer Valley, August 24 - September 4, 2012

Monsoon Weather Over Pioneer Valley, August 24 - September 4, 2012 I spent twelve days in Pioneer Valley, northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona photographing the summer thunderstorms associated with the monsoon weather. I shot over 70,000 exposures to assemble a dozen time lapse movies. It was the most spectacular monsoon weather I have seen in many years. Every day brought new phenomena. Each mountain creates its own orographic clouds. Look for cumulonimbus clouds that spread out when they reach the stratosphere. Lenticular clouds hover over the mountains when the speed of the air mass increases.

Monsoon Weather Over the Valley of the Sun, July 28 - 29, 2012

Time lapse movies of rainfall and turbulence on the underside of a cumulonimbus cloud over Scottsdale on July 28 and the approach of a cumulonimbus cell toward Phoenix on July 29, 2012. The speed of the action has been increased by a factor of 150.

Monsoon Weather Over Flagstaff Time Lapse Movie, July 19 - 24, 2012

I spent several days in Pioneer Valley, northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona photographing the summer thunderstorms associated with the monsoon weather. Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico moved into the area on Thursday, July 19. I shot exposures at five second intervals to assemble a time lapse movie. At night the exposures were four seconds long to capture the flashes of lightning.

Pioneer Valley Lightning Time Lapse Movie, July 21 - 24, 2012

I reprocessed the lightning sequences from my Monsoon Weather Over Flagstaff video to improve the visibility of the lightning.

Flagstaff Weather Time Lapse Movie, September 15 - 21, 2011

A low pressure zone hovering over southern Utah directed unstable air into northern Arizona from the west, opposite the usual monsoon flow. Cumulus clouds form over the San Francisco peaks, building to the stratosphere, becoming cumulonimbus clouds that drop heavy rain, and spout downbursts. as they drift across the landscape. The speed of the action in this time lapse movie has been increased by a factor of 120.

Phoenix Thunderstorm Time Lapse Movie, September 10, 2011

Cumulonimbus clouds drift across the east valley bringing rain, lightning, and thunder. The speed of the action in this time lapse movie has been increased by a factor of 120 during the day and 150 after sunsset.

Phoenix Thunderstorm, September 10, 2011 This image was assembled from 22 exposures taken between 7:42 PM and 7:54 PM.

Flagstaff Monsoon Season Time Lapse Movie, August 24 - 31, 2011

Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico brings turbulent air, cumulus clouds and localized showers to the Flagstaff area. Towering Cumulonimbus clouds rise seven miles to the bottom of the Stratosphere and then spread across the sky. The San Francisco Peaks can be seen to produce their own orographic cloudes. This movie was shot from August 24 to August 27. The speed of the action in this time lapse movie has been increased by a factor of 120.

This movie was shot from August 28 to August 31.

Phoenix Haboob Time Lapse Movie, August 18, 2011

Time lapse movie of another Haboob blowing through Phoenix, Arizona on August 18, 2011. This time lapse movie speeds up the action by a factor of 120.

Phoenix Monsoon Season Time Lapse Movie, July 31, 2011

Time lapse movie of monsoon weather over Phoenix, Arizona on July 31, 2011. A large thundercell approaches Phoenix from the southeast. A Haboob blows across the lower frame from left to right. After sunset, lightning flashes illuminate the clouds. Air traffic at Sky Harbor Airport reroutes to avoid the dust and storm clouds. This time lapse movie speeds up the action by a factor of 120.

Flagstaff Monsoon Season Time Lapse Movie, July 21 - 27, 2011

Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico brings turbulent air, cumulus clouds and localized showers to the Flagstaff area. The San FArancisco Peaks can be seen to produce their own orographic cloudes. The speed of the action in this video has been increased by a factor of 120.

Phoenix Monsoon Season Time Lapse Movie, July 18, 2011

Time lapse movie of monsoon weather over Phoenix, Arizona on July 18, 2011. The turbulent skies produced a haboob that swept across Phoenix and fumigated the neighborhood with dust. This time lapse movie speeds up the action by a factor of 120.

Phoenix Monsoon Season Time Lapse Movie, July 4 - 9, 2011

Moist air from the gulf of Mexico is bringing cloudy skies and thunderstorms to Arizona. This time lapse movie speeds up the action by a factor of 60.

Scottsdale Haboob, July 5, 2011

Here's a short time lapse of the Haboob that blew across the valley this afternoon.

Cumulus Buildup Over San Francisco Peaks Time Lapse, October 16, 2010

Cumulus clouds build up over the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff as the day heats up. The speed of the action has been increased by a factor of 150.

Monsoon Over Flagstaff, Arizona, August 28 - 29, 2010

Two days of monsoon weather over Flagstaff, Arizona on August 28 and 29, 2010. The speed of the action has been increased by a factor of 150.

Mogollon Rim, Arizona, August 8, 2010

Panoramas and time lapse taken on and around the Mogollon Rim near Payson, Arizona on August 8, 2010 .

Monsoon Over Flagstaff, Arizona July 2010

Time lapse movies of Cumulus Cloud development during the Monsoon Season near Flagstaff, Arizona. Heavy rainfall from thunderstorms is causing repeated flooding. Immediately after the sequence photographed on July 30, a storm moved in, bringing heavy rain, and cloud to ground lightning from at least three thundercells struck in all directions.

Skies Over Flagstaff, Arizona, May - June 2010

Time lapse movies of sunrises, sunsets, cumulus clouds, and smoke from wildfires around Flagstaff, Arizona. The 89 Mesa Fire and the Shultz Fire generated plumes of smoke that drifted with the wind. Moist air flowing through the area creates cumulus clouds as it rises over sources of heat and mountains.

Cloud Stream Over Mojave, California, February 20, 2010

Strong winds blowing along the face of the Tehachapi Mountains created a fast moving stream of clouds. This was photographed at the Mojave Airport. the airplane is a McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II that serves as a gate guard at the airport. The speed of the action has been increased by a factor of 30.

Delta-II/Wide-Field Infra-Red Survey Explorer Launch Cloud, December 14, 2009

The Delta-II rocket carrying the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer climbed into sunlight during the last minutes of the launch. Upper level winds quickly distorted the exhaust trail from the rocket. Ten minutes have been compressed to twenty seconds in this time lapse video.

Jesusita Fire Above Santa Barbara, California, May 8, 2009

The plume of smoke from the Jesusita Fire drifted slowly on relatively calm winds on the morning of May 8. The speed of this time lapse video has been increased by a factor of 30.

Jesusita Fire Above Santa Barbara, California, May 5, 2009

The Jesusita Fire broke out in San Roque Canyon above Santa Barbara at 1:30 PM on May 5, 2009.

Taurus/Orbiting Carbon Observatory Launch Attempt, February 24, 2009

A Taurus booster launched the orbiting Carbon Observatory from SLC-576E Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1:55 AM on Tuesday, February 24, but the payload shroud failed to separate. Luminous clouds remained after the launch where the second stage had been jettisoned and the third stage ignited. They dissipated over the next half hour. The clouds are normal and are not associated with the payload shroud failure.

Winter Weather Over the Apache Trail, December 26, 2008

Cumulus clouds cast shadows on the Arizona landscape between Saguaro Lake and Canyon Lake along the Apache Trail.

Spring Time in Saline Valley, March 2008

Time lapse clips of spring time weather in the Saline Valley

Delta II/Worldview 1 Launch, September 18, 2007

Delta II/Worldview 1 Launch, September 18, 2007 The Worldview-1 satellite was launched from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base on a Delta-II rocket at 11:35 AM PDT on September 18, 2007.

The speed of the action has been increased by 25x in this time lapse movie.

Lightning, August 30, 2007

A thunderstorm blew across western Santa Barbara County early in the morning on August 30, 2007. The speed of the action has been increased by 60x.

Electric Eye: Different perspective of the lightning storm.

Total Lunar Eclipse, August 28, 2007

The Moon slides into the shadow of the Earth on the morning of August 28, 2007. Clouds obscured the later stages of the eclipse. The frames were taken at one-minute intervals from 1:44 AM to 4:00 AM PDT. The speed of the action is increased by 600x.

Minotaur Launch, August 23, 2007

Launch of a Minotaur rocket from LF-06 at Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1:31 Am on Thursday, August 23, 2007. Clips show the separation of the first stage and a cloud of smoke remaining from the separation charge.

ISS and Space Shuttle Endeavor over Goleta, August 20, 2007

ISS and Space Shuttle Endeavor over Goleta The International Space Station and the Space Shuttle Endeavor streak across the sky north of Goleta at 9:31 to 9:35 PM on the evening of August 20. The two streaks end where the space ships enter the shadow of the Earth.

Time lapse movie of the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle Endeavor. The action has been speeded up by a factor of 25x.

Night Sky, August 13, 2007

The starry sky revolves around the North Star over 2-1/2 hours in this time lapse video taken during the Perseid Meteor Shower. Several Asia bound airliners cross the sky and a couple of Perseid Meteors flash by. The Earth's rotation is speeded up by a factor of 275x.

Star Trails Stacking the 796 exposures taken during the meteor shower produced this image of star trails circling Polaris.

Zaca Fire, August 4 - 14, 2007

Compilation of time lapse movies of pyrocumulus clouds forming over the Zaca Fire on August 4, 9, 12, and 14, 2007. The action is speeded up 125x. Three of the segments are repeated at higher magnification.

Cumulus over San Francisco Peaks, July 7, 2007

Cumulus buildup over San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff between 10:53 AM and 1:01 PM on 7/7/7. The action is speeded up 250x.





Go to the Home PageSend a message to Brian.