
A pair of photographers attempting to rediscover the beauty of the Milky Way captured some incredible time-lapse footage of Los Angeles.

Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinovic gained inspiration for the idea while studying for a Masters in Directing at the American Film Institute, and took numerous photographs to create a flick book animation.

The pair noticed that light pollution in major cities around the world has a profound effect on people and that the stars in California have been lost by the unrelenting glow from LA's sprawling metropolis.

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Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinovic gained inspiration for the idea while studying together at the American Film Institute

The pair used five-to-six Canon 6D and 5D mark III cameras and low light sensors combined with a long exposure to capture the images

After travelling to a darker parts of the state in order to take photographs, the duo rediscovered the stars and decided they wanted to bring the Milky Way back to the city and ultimately the world.

They now have plans to travel North America and capture both light polluted major cities and darker, preserved areas.

Speaking to MailOnline Travel, Gavin discussed the idea behind the project and the techniques used by the pair in order to capture the incredible photographs.

He said: ‘The inspiration for the entire thing came from capturing the galaxy in dark sky locations in our attempts to escape light pollution.

The photographers noticed that light pollution in major cities around the world has a profound effect on people and the stars

‘The more we did this the more we realised light pollution has a big impact and effect on people in more ways than we know.

‘It’s not an issue at the forefront of people’s minds but when was the last time you saw the Milky Way?

‘Everyone has a story about the first time they saw it, but it’s become a forgotten thing. We wanted to start a project that would highlight the night sky and also address a bigger issue.’

Taking the images on around five-to-six Canon 6D and 5D mark III cameras, the pair used low light sensors combined with a long exposure to capture the stars.

Gavin said they wanted to start a project that would highlight the beauty of the night sky and also address the bigger issue of light pollution

Harun and Gavin are attempting to rediscover the beauty of the Milky Way

The photographs were taken at 24 frames per second and for every ten seconds of video, 240 pictures were required.

This means that it took the duo around three hours to capture just ten seconds of footage.

Gavin said: ‘After that we put all the still frames together, like an old animated Disney flick book, and created the illusion of a video.’

The pair have since started a Kickstarter campaign and hope to raise funds, which will go towards future trips along the west coast of America and eventually Canada.

An educational book will then be released by the photographers, and will contain interviews, inspiring ideas for photographers and information regarding light pollution, to help raise awareness of the issue.

‘We have 12 days left on the Kickstarter campaign and have raised about half of the money ($34,765),’ said Gavin.

‘We need $40,000 though otherwise all could be lost – it’s kind of exciting and dramatic.

The photographers have started a Kickstarter campaign to fund future trips around North America to help bring awareness to the issue of light pollution

The pair hope to get a big RV and move up the west coast of America before heading to Canada and photographing the Northern Lights

‘We hope to get a big RV and move up the west coast of America and visit the satellite dish areas and then head into Canada to see the Northern Lights – that’s a big one for us.

‘The idea is to present the marriage between urban locations where there is extreme light pollution, such as Las Vegas, with the dark protected parks – the final frontier.

‘And explore the contrasts by fusing the night sky from the two locations in the one video.’

For more information and the opportunity to make a donation, visit the photographer’s Kickstarter page here.

The pair travelled to darker parts of California in order to rediscover the stars that have been lost to Los Angeles' excessive light pollution