I was here the night before when it was perfectly clear skies but I assumed the weather would be the same the next day. So I went to sleep and did not film. Now seeing the cloudy skies in front of me, I started kicking myself for not seizing the opportunity when it was there. Now it is gone.

But I continued to film, not knowing what to expect. Perhaps it’ll get worse and I won’t be able to see anything at all. Or perhaps it may clear up over the course of the night. Either way, I am here. And I came all this way, 300 miles from Los Angeles and dragging 60 lbs of gear across a road closed to snow to be right where I am. With all my equipment set up and the camera shooting away, I went to sleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night, around 2:30am, to a light drizzle. This was followed by a bright flash in the sky. I quickly jumped out of my sleeping bag, thinking that a thunder storm may be approaching. At over 11,000 ft on top of the White Mountains, it was not quite the safest place to be during an approaching storm. There was no shelter and my car was a 20 minute hike away. Luckily, as I saw several additional flashes of lightning, I could see that the storm was some distance away, in the Eastern Sierra Range.

Mother nature can be unpredictable as it was that night. But I have found that if you are patient and wait it out, oftentimes you get rewarded with something great, something beyond your expectations. That night I was just hoping that the sky would clear up. And I stayed knowing that I may come out with nothing. But in the end I captured something even better, an electrical storm brewing 40 miles away.

Like mother nature, the path my life has taken has been unpredictable, and at times very unpleasant. But in the midst of whatever challenges life threw my way, I knew it was important to continue to do what I love and strive to be the person I want to become. Had I run away or give up on myself when life got tough, I wouldn’t be where I am now nor be the person that I am.

So before running away or giving up, whether it is about love, work or something else, consider the silver lining of the challenge facing you. You never know what reward awaits you if you can stick it out.

Here’s to life and mother nature’s unpredictability.

Shot in Joshua Tree National Park, this is the view of the galactic core of our galaxy. It’s an amazing view best seen in late Spring, Summer and early fall in the northern hemisphere. Head away from the light pollution of urban areas to a place that has a clear view of the east and south. You’ll see the galactic core rise out of the east to the south. Best seen during a new moon when there is no light interference from moon light.

This photo is available for sale as a digital download or as a print. See our products page for more info.

Called Hazdistazí, or “spiral rock arches” by the Navajo, Lower Antelope Canyon was formed through erosion by flash floods. Above is a view of the inside of the slot canyon. The water carves into the sandstone walls smoothing the rocks into beautiful flowing shapes and lines.

This photo is available for sale as a digital download or as a print. See our products page for more info.

California Wildflowers have been blooming for the past month. Pictured here are some Lupines or Blue Bonnets taken in the mountains of Los Olivos, north of Santa Barbara.

Shot over the 2011 New Year weekend when a winter storm arrived in Yosemite. Overcast skies the first day, followed by heavy snow on the second day, partly cloudy the third day and sunny the fourth day. You’ll see a mixture of shots from the different weather conditions. Enjoy!

Soundtrack: Xibalba by Clint Mansell

A total lunar eclipse is a rare event — the last one occurred back in 2008. Even rarer is one that takes place on the Winter Solstice when the Earth is tilted furthest from the sun. The last one happened in 1638, over three and a half centuries ago, and another won’t happen on the winter solstice until 2092.

I had been planning for this event for a while but due to unrelenting rain in Southern California, a rare event in itself, I had to seek clear skies elsewhere. And the closest place happened to be Tucson, Arizona. With rain and more clouds heading that way, I took my chances, packed the bags and drove 8 hours and almost 500 miles. With me on the trip was a 9.5″ telescope on loan from Shuan Monson. Thanks to him, I had a close-up and personal look at the moon, as you can see here.

This particular photo was taken about 1 minute after Total Eclipse, when the Earth’s shadow completely covers the moon. The moon turns red from leftover light passing through the Earth’s atmosphere.

[View with PicLens]

The Geminid meteor shower was spectacular this year. For this event, I headed out to the Eastern Sierras, around the Alabama Hills, and to Joshua Tree National park for 3 nights and 2 days. I was lucky enough not just to film the meteor shower under mostly clear skies, but I also filmed some amazing sunrise shots as well.

Because I was filming the night sky, I slept on location while the camera was clicking away. It’s a magical feeling falling asleep with nothing over my head but the sky and the universe.

Seeing the meteors also got me thinking: there are no do-overs in life. Like a meteor that burns up while entering Earth’s atmosphere, there are no rewind buttons or undo commands to make up for missed opportunities, lost time, should-haves, could-haves, mistakes or regrets. Whether we like it or not life keeps moving with or without us.

Life is fleeting. Each moment unique, precious and temporary. Opportunities, like meteors, may only last for a few moments and then is gone forever. And you never know when another will come again. It may be the next second. Or you may have to wait a whole life time.

Meteor showers don’t happen all the time. Amazing sunrises don’t just show up every day. Life’s opportunities don’t just knock on the door every day. And when they do occur, it is always just for a short period of time.

Don’t let your special moments slip away. Whether it’s love, friendship, family or business, take action. Follow your heart. Because if you wait or do nothing, the decision, or lack of decision, will come back to haunt you later.

This is why I titled the film “Fleeting Light: The High Desert and the Geminid Meteor Shower.” The gorgeous moments captured on film — the meteor showers and the sun rises — are now long gone.

In the film, you’ll see a lot of meteors. Sometimes 2 in the same frame. You’ll also see some airplanes and their trails. How do you tell the difference? Meteors last 1 or 2 frames at the most. Airplanes move a lot slower so they last for more frames. Some of the brighter ones will have a green tint near the head or tail of the streak. To really enjoy this film, I suggest watching in HD. Of course, watching this doesn’t beat the experience of actually sitting underneath the stars yourself. I was counting dozens per hour at the peak of the shower Monday night.

Music soundtrack is titled Happiness. It is a song from Jónsi and Alex’s Riceboy Sleeps. This track was performed live by Jónsi & Alex with the Hilliard Ensemble, Latvian National Choir, Wordless Music Orchestra, and Jeffrey Milarsky (Conductor).

Filming was done between Dec. 12 and Dec. 14, 2010 with a Canon 5D Mk II using both video (during the day) and timelapse stop motion techniques (during the night). Surprisingly the only lens I used was the Canon 16-35mm 2.8L. This ultrawide angle lens is essential to capture a wide swath of the sky. A headlamp was used to illuminate foreground objects in the night shots while high iso was used to see the milky way.

[View with PicLens]

Autumn is a great time to be in Yosemite National Park. The summer crowds are gone, the temperatures cool down, and the leaves change color.

It is also an unpredictable time of year. Last year, it was dry. No snow yet and the waterfalls were down to a trickle. This year early winter storms dropped a ton of snow on the Sierras. A warm spell followed, melting all the snow in the valley. Temperatures were in the 60s during the day and the waterfalls were flowing well due to snow melt. The warm temperatures also delayed the leaves changing color. Thanks to mother nature, I arrived just in time for the peak fall foliage.

This year I spent 3 days filming around Yosemite. Because of the snow, Tioga pass and Glacier point road were closed to cars. Determined to get up to Glacier point and Sentinel Dome, I hiked up the 4 Mile trail. 2700 foot elevation. It was still icy in some parts and at the top there was about 1-2 feet of snow. I forgot my winter boots so I was hiking in trail walkers. Luckily it was warm during the day and my wool socks kept my feet relatively dry and comfortable. Still, it was a crazy hike — about 13 miles round trip from the valley to Glacier point to Sentinel dome. If you ever go, please make sure you go prepared. Winters are no joke up there.

In the editing room, I decided to make this film deliberately subdued and slow to reflect the characteristics of this time of year. It’s more of a film for meditation and contemplation than one to get you pumped up for a 13 mile hike across ice and snow. Some of this footage will probably end up in my Best of 2010 film, to be released soon. In the meantime, enjoy!

Special thanks to Angela Chung for helping to make this film possible.

Shot with a Canon 5D Mk II with a 16-35mm 2.8 L and 24-70 2.8 L.

[View with PicLens]

Timelapse night photography of the Leonid Meteor shower over Joshua Tree National Park. Shot between 12:30am and 5:00am on the morning of November 18, 2010.

Due to the brightness of the moon, it was difficult to see the showers until after it set, which was around 3:30am.

You’ll see a few meteors in the video: 0:06, 0:13, 0:14, 0:17, 0:29, 0:30.

There’s 2 meteors in the same frame at 0:29.

You’ll also notice the planet Venus rising over the horizon.

Enjoy!

Music: Starálfur by Sigur Rós

Film by Henry Jun Wah Lee and Kim Reid.

Music: Sinking Friendships by Jónsi. Recorded live at the Wiltern.

We had a great time shooting this timelapse film of Jónsi’s concert at The Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on Oct. 17, 2010. The concert was truly amazing – Jónsi’s music, his band, the stunning visuals, the energy, the fans and the historic location. In the film, we wanted to capture all of these elements that made the concert so unique and memorable.

Background
I’m normally a nature and landscape photographer so this was a very different kind of shoot. Luckily my invaluable assistant producer, Kim Reid, has experience shooting at concerts. Lighting can be very tricky. And with the thousands of concertgoers in the theater, moving around was not an option. So planning was key.

Planning
The idea was to shoot a timelapse of the concert but differently than what I’ve seen done before. Having gone to his San Diego concert two days prior to the shoot, the animated background visuals were a huge part of the set and I wanted to capture that on film. The tricky thing with timelapse is that scenes go by too fast and you can miss all the subtle details that make the visuals so gorgeous and immersive. I decided to shoot long sequences using traditional timelapse techniques – shooting one still frame every few seconds and putting it together later as a video in post. But shorter sequences were to be shot on video and sped up later during editing. This way we won’t miss the little details that we may want to highlight later. Similarly, I wanted to avoid any long exposure shots. They would ghost or blur out some of the action I wanted to keep sharp.

Equipment
Due to the video needs and short exposure time lapse shots, the film was shot primarily using 2 Canon 5D Mk II’s. Full frame still cameras that can also capture 1080p video. Fast lenses were used: Canon 24L 1.4, Canon 50L 1.2, Canon 16-35L 2.8, Canon 24-70L 2.8, Canon 70-200L 2.8, and Sigma 20mm 1.8. We also had a Canon 20D for dedicated timelapse duty. For the slow pans, we used a Kessler Crane Pocket Dolly with a motorized motion control system.

The Day of the Shoot
Concert wasn’t until 8pm but we arrived at the Wiltern around 1pm, just as the production team was unloading and setting up. We set up the three cameras around the Wiltern to shoot from set up to closing. Back stage, up in the balcony, at the front of the stage, sides, etc. The 20D did long term stationary timelapse duty. It pretty much stayed at the same place the entire day. Meanwhile we moved the two Canon 5D MK II’s around the theater every 1-2 hours to capture either interesting sequences up close or just different angles. Once the concert got underway, we switched mostly to video, shooting short 4 to 8 minute segments.

Special Thanks
I want to thank of Jónsi, his manager John Best, and the rest of Jonsi’s staff and crew for their openness and help in making this film possible. A special thanks to Darren Webb of jonsi.com for connecting us all together. And to Shaun Monson and Ian Ng for their equipment and support.

Please visit jonsi.com for more information about Jónsi’s album and concerts.