Dealing with Wind

[paul stimac]

I use a portable tent/hunting blind. Works great in strong winds and only takes a few minutes to set up.

The one I use is called a penthouse. It's made for bow hunter's so it's tall enough to stand up inside. I bought it to shoot in the snow and rain but also use it when it's windy.


http://www.amazon.com/Ameristep-810-.../dp/B000BSZDTE

[Diane Maher]

I'm curious about any tricks people have for dealing with wind. I was out today on the edge of a storm with fantastic clouds shooting in gusty 50 MPH winds. I have been able in the past to get sharp images on exposure up to about 6 seconds in such conditions. Some of my tricks.

7) put my light meter soft case under the bellows so it doesn't vibrate.

Thanks for this tip, Kirk. I used my meter's soft case plus my Lee filter holder case on Friday afternoon while using my 19 in. Artar (and other lenses) on my 8x10 in some wind. I haven't developed the film yet, but the bellows wasn't flapping around. I'm hoping to get some decent shots.

[David_Senesac]

Wind through slight breezes depending on the target has always been the greatest natural impediment to getting many important images I've tried to shoot. From near wildflowers to water reflections to fall leaves in trees to stable targets in strong camera shaking winds. I've made some enormous efforts lugging huge weight backpacking into wilderness areas or long expensive road trips to Utah only to be shut out by wind or foul weather for that matter. Shooting through a car window or behind some windbreak is about the only thing that will work in strong wind if the location works haha.

There are times when wind will make getting a shot impossible. One just needs to know when to bag it and when to go out and gamble. At times the weather may look hopeless but the choice is either certainty missing a changing condition like peaking wildflowers or gambling the weather will surprise. It took me a half dozen 50 plus mile each way trips this spring to nail one image of wildflowers on ocean shore dunes. Five times over a period of about three weeks the wind or fog got in the way even though I was totally tuned into all the weather graphics and info possible. Understanding the weather can save a lot of wasted efforts as in my example I chose the best days to gamble out of many that would have been hopeless. ...David

[Robert Hall]

Has anyone seen this?

http://www.filmholders.com/wskit.html

I use this on my 8x10 and 12x20, it makes a huge difference.

[Janko Belaj]

3. Include the word "Wind" in the title of the print.

LOL ))

advice of the week. at least. so funny but so true!

[Kirk Gittings]

Robert, I worked out a similar solution some years ago on a very rickity 4x5 Tachihara. I put loop velcro on the top of front and rear standard and a strip of hook velcro down the length of my analogue Pentax lspot meter case. After focus was set and the light was metered, I simply put my light meter in its case on stuck it on the top of the standards. It worked like a charm.

[TLGG1]

I scout around and decide where I really want to shoot from and then set up an ice fishing tent. It has velcro windows I can pull out as well as zipped covers behind them. The velcro windows are large enough I can keep the lens on the 8x10 back a foot of so and still do well with no tent wall in the way and keep the camera lens well out of the wind. Inside it has a very nice 'plastic tray' to stand in or set a camera bag and stuff of. Protection from the mud, snow and water as I shoot. I am protected and can compose & focus with no problems. A lot easier than fighting the wind which can really sap ones enthusiasm, especially in cold from freezing to 44 below... not to mention I am out of the wind chill from the breeze.

The ice fishing tents set up quickly and take down quickly. Fit in the trunk or back of the truck easily and are a life saver. I like them better than backpacking tents because their height works better for the way I photograph. Nice and roomy and comfortable.

By getting the composition in mind first it saves a lot of time setting up and then having to reposition the tent a few times though I still do that from time to time.

[Doug Pollock]

I often shoot storm shots of the Los Angeles Basin from atop the Santa Monica Mountains. Lots of wind. I use a golf umbrella, my truck, weights hanging from the tripod, and the AWB Wind Stabilizer Kit (no connection to me) which ties together the tops of the front and rear standard. Installation requires screw holes in both standards! I use the kit when using my 720mm Nikon on my DLC45 also!

[Rodney Polden]

One suggestion I found interesting was from Christopher Nisperos in a related thread from 2006 :

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...reply&p=142255

.........
A long time ago a friend of mine did something like this, even though he was only shooting 'little' 4x5 (therefore, I don't know how much of a difference it made).

Basically, he set-up a kind of open-faced tent by sticking four poles into the ground and surrounding three sides AND THE TOP with some cloth (I don't remember what kind it was or how it was attached). He also used tent pegs with guy-lines to keep the whole thing upright...........

........He swore it was great, even citing the advantage of easier focussing and less chance of flare due to the shading effect of the thing............
........... I once told him he ought to commercialize the idea, but he was never interested. Then, I thought about it too, but there didn't seem to be a need at the time....

Though it might be time-consuming to set up, I guess that in some circumstances this would be the item of gear that made a shot possible. Now the question is how to come up with rods, pegs, guys and connectors holding a cloth/sheet material of some kind that's compact and light enough to be worth taking along on the hike.

One previous post recommended the Ameristep hunting blind, but at 22 lbs, that's more than I want to add to my pack. I'm not familiar with other duck-blind products available, so I don't know how light they are, but I'm looking for something with less weight than a tent ideally. Strong enough to resist a small gust, light enough to pack with the 8x10 and all its gear ....hmm?

[Scott Schroeder]

I had an 'invention' of sorts that came about after a trip to Death Valley. I never fully developed it but it definitely works. It's basically a wind block made out of silnylon so it's light, foldable, flexible, windproof and waterproof. I could be used as a windblock, a rainblock and even a diffuser. To get an idea of what it looks like, it's just a large sheet about 3' wide by 7' tall. Put a tent pole in the top and at the bottom. For a wind block you would compose, etc., then put your foot on the bottom pole and use one hand to hold the upper pole, essentially making a large wall next to you. This would block all the wind around the camera (sorry it can't block the wind in the grass in the photo ), so camera movement, bellows blowing, tripod vibration, etc. can be eliminated. You would still have a free hand to click the shutter. If you are doing an intimate scene you can use it the same way but as a diffuser (silnylon is semi transparent depending on color). You could also rig up a holder to use it as a large rain umbrella. Speaking of umbrellas, many people use them for a wind break, but they don't go all the way to the ground. Anyway, I made one up but haven't had any field time with it except my backyard on a windy day