Vorticity: A Time-Lapse Photographer Chases Tornadoes for 20,000 Miles

“Vorticity” is a new time-lapse short film by Mike Olbinski, a storm-chasing wedding photographer based in Phoenix, Arizona. Olbinski spent 18 days driving 20,000 miles across 9 states and shooting 60,000 frames to create what you see in the 6-minute video above.

“Blood. Sweat. Tears. Joy. That’s what this spring was for me,” Olbinski writes. “The miles, the grind, the failing, the epic days missed, the lack of sleep, the jubilation, the friendships strengthened, and the time away from my family.”

“And when the chasing was all done…wondering, was worth it all? Heck yeah it was.”

His initial goal was to get a tornado on time-lapse, but he ended up capturing seven of them on camera between April 15th and June 15th.

Equipment-wise, Olbinski shot with a Canon 5DS R, a Canon 5D III, Canon 11-24mm f/4, 16-35mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 135mm. The shots were processed in Lightroom, LR Timelapse, After Effects, and Premiere Pro.

Olbinski is the same photographer who got a lot of attention last year for his time-lapse of monsoon storms over Arizona.

(via Mike Olbinski via DPReview)