Beautiful Mt. Everest Time Lapse
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Elia Saikaly worked on this film for two years. He writes:
“Experience the beauty of Mt. Everest at night in time-lapse. 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.
“These time lapse Images were captured as high as 6,200 meters (camp 2) above sea level on Mt. Everest. We slept at 6,000 meters for three consecutive nights on the summit of Mt. Lobuche East waiting for a glimpse of Everest from that vantage point. Around 11 P.M. on the second night, the skies opened up and the top of the world revealed herself in all of her glory.
“No where 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.
“All processing done in a tent on Mt. Everest at basecamp.”
For more info about how Saikaly created the film, check out Everest – A time lapse film II: How I did it. See more of Saikaly’s work at eliasaikaly.com, and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.