Time-lapse of clouds rolling by.

Last Sunday conditions aligned with a time-lapse I've been thinking about for a few years. I woke up early and was on trail just after 4AM with the goal of shooting until sunset that night. I made my way through the darkness to be greeted by a wonderful sunrise, and a lot of steepness. I love hikes that are delicate, that cause a need for deliberate action. Loose rocks in steep terrain where you have to slow down mentally and flow.

After cresting the plateau I did a little exploring and began to shoot the first scenes. It's a strange experience to hustle up a big mountain, get to the top and then just stay up there all day. I'm not the type of photographer to wait for perfect light, or spend hours waiting for the perfect shot. I try to be dynamic, always moving and changing settings on the fly to what my environment demands.

It was a really great being up there alone though, hiding in small slivers of shade, taking short naps while my camera clicked away. It was surreal watching the clouds roll and swirl by, the light rains in the distance, the shadows dancing through the canyon and on the cliffs.

I eventually scrambled up the not quite summit to get a view of my favorite temple hoping for the golden hour light to break through the clouds. It wasn't likely to come with the clouds engulfing the west though, with this knowledge I started down before I ran out of light, making the decent much faster. I arrived at my car at 10:30PM long after I left it, but very happy (and hungry)

Time lapses can be a very humbling experience. You pay for seconds of footage with hours of shooting.