Wind

[Eric Wagner]

I live in a wind-prone area 20 miles south of the Wyoming state line. Some years are definitely more windy than others. 1980, 1988 (the year Yellowstone burned) and 1993 stand out in my memory as especially windy in the summer in this area. Last fall was windy, but this winter was calmer than normal here. Wind seems to accompany drought, as in the 1930s.

In rapid succession in the 1970s, I owned Nagaoka, Ikeda, and Zone VI (Wista) field cameras. They all shook like a leaf in the wind and had problems with the wood warping and splitting in this arid climate too. I bought a Toyo-Field 45A in 1979 and have never lost an image due to wind with it. I have been using a Deardorff for some of my work in recent years and have lost no images due to wind with it either. For the last several years I have been using the "Morley Baer Wrap" (see View Camera, Sep/Oct 2000, page 64) and think that helps.

[Michael E. Gordon]

I defer to this quote (which I greatly enjoy):

"It seems likely that then, as now, wind was not in short supply in the Mojave Desert. Merely take the lens cap off your camera if you want a breeze; twist the focus ring if you want a full-blown gale."

Janice Emily Bowers; from Jack Dykinga's Desert

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

My favorite location is very windy on good days to horrific on bad. I just place my body between the wind and the camera. That is the sole benefit of being 270 lbs.

[John W. Randall]

Re: Leonard Evens: Yes.

Usually the winds really honk in the Mojave Desert areas that form so much of Southern California this time of the year. Maybe I've been fortunate, but the winds have been calm or non-existent during the periods I've been filming. The weather has been absolutely perfect, if a bit hazy, in the Panamint Valley area.

Since I had previously scouted this section extensively prior to shooting, and had been drooling with anticipation while observing the effects of late afternoon sunlight on the vast floor of that valley, perhaps I should chalk up my good fortune to the effects of serendipity on local climate.

And I feel confidant I got the shot.

Best regards,

[Kirk Gittings]

Yes I have experienced it too, but it has never kept me from shooting. I carry in my bag a small Lite Disc which I hold close to the camera at an angle so the wind skates over the top. I routinely shoot at 4 seconds and get sharp images. Moving trees? Work with it aesthetically. Movement implies the passage of time.

[Dan Fromm]

Last year I retired a Bogen 3063 head and replaced it with a used 3047. The first day I took the 3047 out of the house it was very windy and I had terrible problems.

Eventually I found that the the hex QR plate was a little undersized and moved a bit in the head. Replacing it tamed the winds considerably.

Cheers,

Dan

[Mike Lewis]

I just returned from a trip to Utah. While I was in the Salt Lake area, winds gusted up to 101 mph, blowing tractor-trailers off the road. Didn't budge my Linhof, of course. :-)

[Mark Windom]

If I'm out shooting wildflowers it is a guarantee that the wind will make an appearance as soon as I reach my destination. If it isn't that then it's contrails that test my patience.

[Chris Mallison]

Also, there's a general drought going on in the SW. Lake Powell is nearly 300 feet below normal levels, according to an article in Outdoor magazine (or was it Backpacker?). Anyways, this might well be affecting wind, sunsets, etc. The good news is that many canyons in the Glen Canyon/Escalante area that are usually underwater are now accessible. Take advantage while you can, as it's not likely they're going to remove that dam anytime soon...

[Brian C. Miller]

"when WH Jackson and Timothy O'Sullivan took their wet-plate mammoth cameras out to the west, the wind didn't blow at all."

Nah, it blew, but the cameras were so massive that even a force 4 hurricane wouldn't affect them. Jackson and O'Sullivan moved their cameras with the same techniques the Egyptians used to build the pyramids.

:-)