Dealing with Wind

[Kirk Gittings]

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.

1) decide aesthetically whether I can live with movement of trees grasses etc.

2) if the potential image passes #1, I......

3) Carry a small Lite Disk (handy for other things as well, I get them black on one side and silver on the other). I hold this disk upwind of the camera pined between my head and shoulder and clasped with my right hand (the right hand also holds the readyload darkslide so it doesn't vibrate). I hold the disk at an angle so it doesn't block the wind so much as redirect it over the camera. I try to hold it as close to the camera as I can without touching it. With my left hand I trip the shutter etc. This is what I have found works the best. It may not work as well with 8x10 and larger formats as the size of the disk would need to be larger and much harder to hold without folding in a strong wind. I have also.....

4) Sometimes hang my bag from the center column letting it touch the ground slightly so it doesn't swing.

5) Park my truck up wind right next to the tripod and shoot from its wind shadow.

6) use a shorter lens so the bellows is not so extended.

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

8) tied a length of cord to the bottom of the center column and stepped on it to steady the tripod.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Wind can drive you nuts, especially when you are under the cloth trying to compose. I like to let leaves and branches go blurry because I think than can add something to the composition.
I wrap my dark cloth around the bellows and use an umbrella over my shoulder, with the back to the wind. I also do the string tied to the centre column and held taut with my foot, thing. The light metre case under the bellows thing is a great idea. I saw Rob Skeoch do this.
I try to expose between gusts, but sometimes that is impossible if the moment is fleeting.
I prefer to shoot headon into the wind than wind from the side. One morning in early September I was shooting up on the Fraser River. The wind was blowing fiercly, head on. I had a 600mm lens on, I could see the camera bouncing up and down! I was thinking "well, this isn't going to work!" I waited for a slight lull, pulled down on the front of the camera bed slightly, and made the 3 second exposure. The negative looks terrific.

I was shooting a detail of an Arbutus tree trunk and a little leaf...during the exposure a gust of wind blew the leaf away...I didn't have any tape to hold it down...but I did have some chewing gum. That did the trick! The wind was coming in from the side. I didn't have my umbrella with me, but my dark cloth really help shield the camera.

Sometimes I'll give up a bit of DOF to get a slightly fast shutter speed.

So, I think if you have something to shield your camera with, and weight the tripod down with, you'll do okay.

[Capocheny]

Hi Kirk,

So, how did the shot turn out in the 50 mph wind using all the tricks and techniques you wrote about?

That's pretty darn blustery!


Hi Andrew,

An umbrella, especially one of those large golf ones, sounds like a great idea! Then, if it starts to rain...

Cheers

[GPS]

I made my cameras so that I can put them on 2 tripods. You can laugh at winds then... I take a lot of meteorology pictures, sometimes in high mountains, no problem with wind with this setup.

[SteveL]

I carry a large, black golfing brollie, which makes a great windbreak, and doubles up as a walking stick and er.........a brollie

[MJSfoto1956]

My IR-land photos (done with a BetterLight scan back) were a nightmare -- each exposure took from 5 minutes up to 10 minutes and wind was a constant battle in the Emerald Isle. I used a bag of rocks attached to the tripod AND I held an umbrella downwind of the camera to prevent gusts from upsetting the scan. Didn't always work I can tell you -- especially with a 500mm Nikkor! What I've come to realize with a scan back is that you also need to weight the camera itself (unless said camera has no bellows). This is one of the reasons I purchased the Gaoersi -- solid metal, nothing to move. Of course, with such a camera you can kiss that 500mm goodbye.

[j.e.simmons]

1. Orbit (heavy) version of the C-1 Black Beast
2. Zone VI standard (heavy) tripod
3. Include the word "Wind" in the title of the print.

juan

[Bruce Barlow]

I moved away from Chicago...

[Kirk Gittings]

HDC, I'll let you know! I was shooting at from 1-3 seconds. I have pulled it off in the past.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I'll sometimes stand with my darkcloth spread out as a windbreak.

If I know that wind will be a problem, I tend to shoot my Tech V, which holds up better to the wind than my lighter or bigger cameras.