Time-lapse photographer Saengthit Kamlangchai is back with a new and improved video taken in Chiang Mai. Watch the timelapse video and then read how it was produced.

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The city of Chiang Mai comes alive in this timelapse video by Saengthit Kamlangchai.

Chiang Mai timelapse: How it was made

We first met Saengthit Kamlangchai back in March after he had just released his second time-lapse video of Bangkok called "The Beauty of Faith". In the story accompanying the video, he explained some of the techniques that went into making his film and you can read about them here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-together/402276/a-unique-video-view-of-bangkok

Now he is back with his third video, this time from Chiang Mai. It is entitled Chiang Mai: "Light of Heaven".

Once again, he uses two basic techniques. First there is traditional time-lapse – taking a still picture of the same scene every few seconds for a period of time and then combining them into a film, usually 30 pictures into one second of film. Second is hyper-lapse where the camera also shifts position slightly for every photo taken.

"For this time lapse," Saengthit explains, "you should notice that the hyper-lapse scenes are very stable compared to the Bangkok videos. Also, there is very little light flickering for this film. I think it's really the result of "practice makes perfect".

"For this Chiang Mai time-lapse, my objective, as always, was to portray the true essence of the city. I thus traveled to many popular destinations in and around Chiang Mai, most notably Doi Inthanon, Doi Suthep, Huay Tung Tao Lake, and nearly all the temples within the Chiang Mai city. Other notable locations that I did the filming but are not included in the final film are Wat Phra That Doi Kham, Mae Ya Waterfall and Chiang Mai Night Safari."

The locations Saengthit filmed in the Chiang Mai area.

Making a time-lapse video requires much more than photography skills, Saengthit stresses. "For a subject such as Chiang Mai, for example, you need physical stamina to journey up Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand, with your heavy equipment bag."

"Good communication skills," continues Saengthit, "help a lot when special filming permission is required for access to a site. My overnight stay at the Doi Inthanon summit was a last-minute approval – very lucky me."

"Also, it is very important for a time-lapse photographer to get over any fear of height, as getting a bird's-eye view of scenes is truly the essence of time-lapse. A very meaningful quote sticks with me: 'The closer you are to death, the more alive you'd feel'. Maintaining this mindset helps a lot," Saengthit says.

"Some other important things to consider for an upcountry trip are redundant batteries for your camera/equipment (I have 5 camera batteries), multivitamins (I traveled about 7-10 hours a day with no time for healthy food), and a GPS location app. Also, if you can't drive a car or motorcycle, learn. If you don't, the public transport can be slow and also more expensive."

"Lastly," says Saengthit, "I think you also need luck on your side. Weather conditions change and though the weather forecast does help, only God knows what is going to happen. Air pollution, light pollution or rain is a curse for any time-lapse project. Personally, I think I was very lucky during my trip, except for the smog problem in certain areas.

"Above all else, I think it is of utmost importance to have a positive mindset, and to improvise when the unexpected happens. When I first arrived at Chiang Mai, I was at Chom Thong District (near Doi Inthanon) where the smog was so bad that I had to wear a face mask. I could never have imagined on that first day how well the film would actually turn out. In fact, I thought for those first few moments my whole project was doomed."

"Fortunately though, luck was on my side," a relieved Saengthit says.

Note: Saengthit says his next time-lapse location is Phuket.