The Martian‘s Mark Watney learned the hard way just how perilous a sandstorm can be. As did Ethan Hunt and his team in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. But, when you’re safely far away from them, they’re a lot less violent and a lot more beautiful. And you can see why sandstorms are gorgeous in this stunning time-lapse video. It features ten years of exciting, intense, breathtaking storms filmed by an expert.
This four-minute montage (which we first saw at PetaPixel) comes from storm chaser Mike Olbinski. He’s been shooting haboobs, sand and dust storms caused by extreme wind, since 2011. He writes that “the amount of haboob goodness I’ve witnessed and captured on camera has been a blast.” They’ve also proved, for obvious reasons, popular with his YouTube followers. And shooting them has been lucrative for him, also. He turned what he describes as an “incredibly fun, exhilarating and rewarding” passion into an actual business. Olbinski serves as a consult to production companies on how to shoot haboobs.
This sandstorm video compilation, made up of his favorite sequences from 2011 to 2021, is the only resume he needs to give potential new clients. Even the older footage, which predates his switch to shooting entirely in 8K during 2016, is epic. These storms seem conjured from nothingness into swirling and sweeping entities that look and feel like living beings. And seeing them roll over and entirely envelop a city, road, or pastural setting is like seeing nature’s greatest magic trick. Watch the landscape…disappear!
You can find more of these videos at Olbinksi’s YouTube page. You can also learn more about what he does at his official website. Both are far more preferable to accidentally finding yourself in the middle of a dangerous, massive sandstorm. Whether fictional or real, they’re much safer when you enjoy watching them on screen.
