Monsoon V (4K)

BluRay discs (new combo BluRay of Monsoon I-V) available here: mikeolbinski.com/shop/
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Music: Avalon and Legend by Ryan Taubert (through TheMusicbed.com, sign-up for licensing here:share.mscbd.fm/mikeolbinski)
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My original plan this past summer was to collect as much footage as normal, but to not put out a "Monsoon V" until 2019 when I had two years worth of crazy haboobs and lightning to make it truly spectacular. But the monsoon had different plans and put on a pretty dang good show in 2018, starting off with a decent dust storm on July 5th, then the best haboob chase I've ever had on July 9th, an epic green hail core on July 11th and finally another fantastic dust storm day on August 2nd.

Sprinkled in there...more dust storm, some at night, spectacular lightning, and tons of microbursts and stormy clouds, plus a few rotating supercells to put some icing on the cake. It was one of the best monsoon seasons I've chased, so I couldn't help but get to work on Monsoon V a few weeks ago.

I love doing these films so much. So much hard work for months on end goes into capturing them. Almost 15,000 miles this summer across Arizona. 85,000+ frames with plenty more deleted. A total of 32 days out there chasing over three months. Sleep deprivation, tons of gas money, crappy food and yes, sometimes missing storms I wish I had been on.

But the highs were amazing. Chasing with my kiddos...sharing the July 9th haboob bonanza with Lyla and Eli...or an all-night chase with my youngest, Asher. They were so awesome to have along. Two workshops with five fantastic people. Both were so fun and the storms we saw were just wonderful.  I feel so blessed to teach people and show the monsoon off to those who have never seen it before.

Big, huge thanks to my buddy Jay Worsley for helping mix the songs on this film to extend them a bit and even blend two songs together. You're a life-saver my friend and your skills are unmatched!

As always is the case...this year, including tornado season, I chased the most I ever have. Which means more time away from home. And Jina...my incredible wife...she's so supportive of my passion and this business. Taking care of the kids and running everything at home during those months...I am forever amazed at how she always has my back, even during the times when it's too hard and she'd rather not. I can't thank her enough for allowing me to chase my dreams.

I do want to thank all of you watching this...over the years, so many people have seen the films, left kind words, purchased DVDs, prints and even books. I don't know how many people asked me this year about when Monsoon V was coming out, and I have to say...it was extremely motivating. So thank you for the support and kind words of encouragement and excitement about these storm movies...I can honestly say you are a huge reason why I keep making them!

Technical Details:

Everything shot with two Canon 5DSRs and various Canon lenses. Might be a couple lightning sequences with the Sony A7R3

Processed in Lightroom, LR Timelapse, After Effects and Premiere Pro.

Cast: Mike Olbinski

Tags: timelapse, time-lapse, hail, rain, storms, haboob, arizona, lightning, video, monsoon, desert, thunderstorm, gila bend, saguaro, tucson, grand canyon, yuma, phoenix, dust storm and 4K