To create this stunning time-lapse video featuring landscapes from the Pacific Northwest, Oregon photographer John Eklund of The Art Of Time-Lapse weaved together about 260,000 photographs he had spent about a year capturing.

"I originally got into landscape photography because I had an interest in capturing the beauty in nature," Eklund said in an email to the Smithsonian Magazine.

"Then one day, I discovered a photographer online by the screen name of Mockmoon on YouTube. I was blown away by his timelapse work of the stars and Milky Way. After discovering timelapse photography, I viewed the typical landscape photography as static. With timelapse photography, it’s more dynamic. It captures the movement and changes in light that happens constantly in nature."

In this new video, entitled "Purely Pacific Northwest," beautiful natural landscapes, such as Crater Lake in southern Oregon and Mount Shuksan in Washington, from Eklund's home turf are not only brought to life but are given an almost timeless, other-worldly quality.

And that seems to be exactly what Eklund was going for.


"I choose to shoot locations that appeal to the way I would like to interpret the story of time," said Eklund on his website. "Here in the Pacific Northwest, there are endless opportunities to document the magnificence of the world around us. My dream –- and goal -– is to travel all over the world, shooting breathtaking locations, and telling our planet’s story. I have discovered that when time is the storyteller, a special kind of truth emerges."

The Pacific Northwest is a diverse geographic region known for its towering mountain ranges, lush forests and gorgeous coastline. The region is also known to be one of the most environmentally conscious in the country, with two of its major cities (Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash.) tying with San Francisco, Calif., as the most green city in the country this year.


However, the Pacific Northwest has not been immune to the affects of pollution and climate change. For example, Washington's Puget Sound has "experienced declines in many species -- from the iconic chinook salmon and the high-profile predatory orca to lesser known prey species such as Pacific herring" -- due to pollution and other factors. As of 2006, more than 40 species in the Puget Sound basin are considered threatened or endangered, according to the Puget Sound Partnership.(SOURCE)