This 4K black & white storm timelapse shows incredible tornadoes and thunderstorms

The name Mike Olbinski has become fairly synonymous with with amazing weather timelapse films. And he’s kicked 2017 off to an amazing start with Pulse, a 4K black & white timelapses showing some absolutely incredible storms and tornadoes.

We’re so used to seeing these things full of vibrant colour, that black & white often looks quite dull by comparison. Pulse, however, is beautifully processed, adding nothing but drama and a heightened sense of nature’s overwhelming power.

I’m normally not a huge fan of digital black & white conversions, but this just blew me away. You can pick almost any single frame from this video, and it would stand up on its own.

For quite a few years now I’ve been wanting to do something different with my time-lapse films. I love color. Storms are full of color. The blues, the greens, the warm oranges and reds at sunset. The colors are sometimes what make a simple storm into something extra special.

But black and white speaks to my soul. I love it. There is something when you remove the color that lets you truly see the textures, movement and emotion of a storm.

I also went with a much wider aspect ratio than I’ve ever done before. I feel like it actually feels like it brings you in closer to the action, almost like you were standing right there with me.

It all comes together to produce a wonderful final film. I could just sit and watch it on repeat for hours.

As a big fan of storm chasing, this theme is common to Oblinski’s work. While I do like his pass work in colour, I really hope he starts to do more of them like this.

What do you think? Do you prefer the drama of black & white? Or do you think the vibrance of colour better suits the subject matter? Let us know in the comments.