In this incredible composite image by architectural photographer Mike Kelley, we see every departure from LAX’s South Complex over an eight hour period. In a detailed blog post, Kelley explains:

I spent about 16 hours shooting and putting this image together… I set up a tripod and photographed every single plane that flew across my frame anywhere from 3 to 10 times, using sandbags to ensure that the camera didn’t move… this resulted in over 400 images from which the composition is built, but not all of them were used… Heat haze, the changing angle of the sun, and other traffic on the ramp all had to be mitigated. The best way I found to do this was using masks and selections in photoshop to isolate every single plane in the final image and then piece them all together one by one, nudging them slightly so that they all lined up. I took some liberties with the positioning of each of the planes in order to make a more compositionally interesting photo. [source]

 

Prints of the shot are available in 18 x 36, 27 x 48, and 36 x 64 on Hahnemuhle archival fine art paper through PurePhoto. Be sure to check out Mike’s website and blog for some really impressive architectural photography.