This time-lapse video of the night sky over Joshua Tree uses no special effects; what you see is the path of stars across the sky as the Earth spins. The result looks a little like the painterly swirls of light in Van Gogh's Starry Night. You might recognize the technique from videos like this time-lapse shot from the International Space Station, which "stacks" multiple exposures to create the trails. Gavin Heffernan of Sunchaser Pictures has been shooting time-lapse videos in Joshua Tree for an ongoing series, documenting the national park's dramatic landscape by day and by night. Heffernan described the project in an interview with the Atlantic Video channel a while back, where you can also see another segment from the series, as well as some behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot.
The previous installment of the series doesn't include star trails, but it features a dynamic, stormy night sky.
For more work from Sunchaser Pictures, visit http://www.sunchaserpictures.com/.
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