Sohdo Solaris

The Ehden Solar Pendulum

The Vision

The sun does not fall the same way twice. Capturing its lateral drift across a season, invisible from any single sunset, undeniable across a hundred and eighty, is as much an endeavor in patience as it is a visual novelty rarely attempted at this scale.

Shooting begins on the upcoming equinox (approximately September 22–23, 2026), from a fixed position at a 1,710m altitude in Kirset Hmaysroun (Ehden). The project consists of a daily sunset and select twilight timelapse, shot over two years, facing westward toward the Mediterranean Sea. It tracks the sun's full 57.03-degree lateral movement across four solstice-to-solstice cycles.

The arc spans from the summer solstice in June, through the equinox at the midpoint, to the winter solstice in December, and back. Kirset Hmaysroun's dramatic seasonal range, including heavy snowfall, adds a second layer of visual richness on top of the sun's movement, giving each season its own distinct character.

The ultimate artistic outcome is a numbered collection of 24 curated artworks, each a visual continuum spanning a full 6-month solstice-to-solstice season.

OBSERVATIONAL PROFILE

Designed to document high-altitude astronomical events and optical atmospheric refractions over a 24-month timeline from 1,710 meters above sea level.

Hosted at the official location of Kirset Hmaysroun, with special acknowledgment to the landowners and future project endorsers, Aden & Al Jawze.

57.03°
Lateral Arc
1710m
Elevation
4
Solstice Cycles

The Solar Pendulum Cycle

March Equinox

Vernal Equinox

The sun crosses the celestial equator, setting due West (270.53°). Day and night reach equal length.

Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice

The sun reaches its northernmost lateral limit (299.35°), marking the longest day and the peak of solar drift.

September Equinox

Autumnal Equinox

The midpoint of the cycle, where the sun sets due West (270.67°), starting the transition toward winter.

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice

The sun reaches its southernmost lateral limit (241.80°), marking the shortest day and completing the pendulum cycle.

The Eye Behind

The project is led by Alexy Frangieh, a Nikon Ambassador and International Timelapse Instructor. His career is built specifically around long-term, multi-year timelapse work and the data modeling behind these extended timespans.

The underlying methodology relies on massive continuous capture, sifted through data-driven curation, and distilled into deliberately chosen final frames that tell a larger story than any single shot could.

Nikon joins the project as a media partner. The setup utilizes twin flagship Nikon bodies and supreme Nikkor optics, run in parallel for full redundancy.

CAMPAIGN EQUIPMENT

Two complete systems operate in active parallel alignment to guarantee continuous ingestion.

Nikon Partnership
Utilizing twin flagship digital imaging platforms and calibrated precision focal systems.

The Technology

To guarantee zero data loss over a multi-year environmental deployment, the project utilizes a highly innovative, hybrid capture technology. A rigid analog trigger controller acts as the fail-safe anchor, running side-by-side with IoT, edge computing, and AI-driven capture. The AI dynamically adapts to distinctive weather and rare astronomical events in real-time.

Because the project's scope is modular, stability comes first; new features are only introduced based on how smoothly the core operation is running. The system carries unprecedented intricacy and complexity, but never at the expense of the aesthetics, or of honoring this land's sacred status.

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

Analog Anchor
Rigid physical timing hardware acting as a fail-safe backup controller.
Edge Computing
Real-time local processing of environmental parameters and telemetry.
AI Dynamic Capture
Automated adaptation to unique atmospheric conditions and astronomical events.
Redundancy Matrix
Modular multi-node sync preventing data loss over multi-year cycles.

Milestones: July 2026

Before active timelapse ingestion begins, key structural and astronomical thresholds have been successfully met and validated in the field:

The initial campaign relies on empirical validation of celestial telemetry and environmental modeling, locking the coordinates system for the entire 24-month project duration.

CAMPAIGN STATUS

Site Scouting & Calibration
Scouting completed, heading calibration established, and the official location spot at Kirset Hmaysroun ratified.
Ephemeris Verification
Real-life verification of ephemeris and celestial computations, confirming mathematical accuracy down to 6 seconds.
Enclosure Prototyping
Structural engineering designs and physical prototyping of the environmental protection housing finalized.
Trigger Design
Development and validation of custom interval trigger systems for redundant camera operation.