Wind movement in scenes especially with large format photography

[Vaughn]

Two 4x5 negatives from the same day on the Eureka Valley Sand Dunes. Early in the day before the wind, and on top of the dunes with wind (sand blowing through scene.)

[Alan Klein]

Maris Rusis, I've read that Strand used that technique. Certain of his nature close-ups from the 1920s suggest it; I'm thinking of a well-known image of a toadstool.
Dugan, you've described a law of nature.
John Layton, your discovery surprises me. I live surrounded by saguaros now; but the light here is generally so bright that long exposures are difficult. And I don't photograph in the late afternoon when the wind blows hard...

That's a good point, Mark. Often the wind is calmer after sunrise than during the day when the sun's heating effect starts the wind blowing.

[Drew Wiley]

Well, the laws of nature don't necessarily obey the laws of Paul Strand or any of us. I've been playing cat and mouse with the intricate twigs and shadows of the redwoods and cloud forest fir trees for decades now; and quite often, once they do settle down, the specific lighting and compositional pattern itself will have changed, making re-composition with the ground glass necessary. I have better statistical odds using MF gear, but of course, prefer the greater textural potential of LF film.
In this area, including today, there is soft enveloping fog in the morning, and things are relatively motionless. Then around noon or so, the sun comes out, the contrast goes extreme in the woods, and there is some off and on wind gusts. Still, easier to manage than in unprotected areas, where the wind can be incessant this time of year, up till around mid-August. But climate change has made a lot of things schizophrenic and unpredictable.

But Death Valley and wind? Nope. Never want that again. The fine clay and blowing alkali dust gets into everything. Avoid the month of March like the plague.

[Ben Horne]

With my photography, I try to portray a sense of calm. Awkward movement of leaves would look more like a sloppy mistake and distract from the subject. If on the other hand one embraces the wind and perhaps uses a ND filter to further lengthen the exposure until the movement looks deliberate, then I'm good with it.

[SergeyT]

Movement in nature can work for you as well as against you.

Dick Arentz made a photo once with a 12X20 camera inside a large building where chickens were raised, printed as palladium print. The long exposure of several seconds shows the white chickens as a blur as they run around in front of the camera. I wanted to make the same type of image but those type of buildings where chickens were raised that were at one time common in the south have pretty much disappeared.

Sandy

Once I took a couple of photos of ocean cliffs and many-many seagulls taking off and landing onto those cliffs in a close proximity to my camera during dawn. Shutter speed measured in many seconds. Moving and flying seagulls created all sorts of interesting effects in the images, probably very similar to what was described above .

[SergeyT]

It has been said, by Paul Strand I think, that a tree disturbed by a gust of wind will settle back as it was before the gust arrived. This exactly for every leaf, twig, and branch. I haven't done enough daylight time exposures to confirm this. Can anyone?

In my experience of making color photographs by exposing 3 frames of B&W film on a scene - that is mostly true. "Mostly" because it is hard at times to get each of the 3 in a complete stillness (in between the gusts)

[Andrew O'Neill]

Yes, there was a time when I was quite anal about this. Over the last few years, if it's windy, it's windy. The wind can add a unique quality... sometimes. There still are times though when I want the leaves to behave!

[Andrew O'Neill]

...and I've noticed that it has become a bit more windier here over the last couple of years

[Alan Klein]

I think when just some of the leaves move is more annoying.

[Chuck Pere]

Locally I usually choose to go out photographing on calm days. When traveling you are often at a place on a windy day. In that case I just go with the flow but mostly use medium format. I'm just not that great at picking the right moment and roll film gives me a lot of choices. This is 4x5 though: