the wind problem..

I have been trying to photograph wild floweres but am getting frustrated by the wind more than usual this year.

Has any one got a neat DIY wind tent/box design that is very portable?

Dave

How about an umbrella and a tent peg.

If you use a white/silver/black one, you can us it to control the light as well! Use the peg to hold down the umbrella.

Pick the flower and take in out of the wind, then put it in a vase for the lady of the house.
I use my greenhouse, by the way, covered in algee. Gives a magicaal difused light.
Seriously!! Never had much joy with the tent solution. The light is never the same in my experience.

Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints.

You could end up in trouble. link

Look at the Wimberley 'The Plamp' for a ready made solution,(about £30), but I've made a similar device using Manfrotto flexible arms and clamps; bit more versatile in that I can mount flash guns, ball heads, etc on it. Clamps to a tripod leg or similar.

My preference is to grow my own flowers through the season. Have never needed to visit parks or other places, hence the ability to pick and shoot.
Would never advocate taking flowers from public sources. No serious photographer would tread that route. I had assumed that as read!!.

Ross Hoddinott, in his book 'Digital Macro Photography' advocates the plamp as the kindest and best method of restraining wild plants without causing damage. This is suitable for ground species but does not help with waving branches etc.

Close by is an wild quarry area growing several species of orchids. Have tried different methods but have yet to succeed with these plants. Even on the calmest of days, this quarry generates air flow. It's an on your belly exercise. If someone has a solution I would welcome it.

Dave. I had missed that you were photographing 'wild' flowers, sorry.
It depends on your personal approach to wild flower photography.

Just to put the record straight, it is not a 'crime' nor have ever been to pick a wild flower..provided..

1. It is not on the protected list,

2. You do so without damage to the plant itself or cause damage to the surrounding area in doing so. Sometimes it is the only way to effectively photograph some species.

Something that is really annoying is that it is illegal to pick wild plants for propagation! For example, British bluebells are getting rarer but you are not allowed to pick and propagate. Spanish bluebells, and invasive species, you can buy at any garden centre and help make the problem worse for our native species.

Gareth. Yes!! I am sure.
Not that I would advocate picking from an area that is sparse. Common sense applies. A single flower from an area that is prolific is not causing a problem.
Having been brought up on a farm and spent the whole of my life in the countryside I am a naturalist at heart. I spend a lot of my time helping to maintain a balance of plants in the countryside.
Watching for, and removing plants that have an adverse effect on our native varieties is an essential need due to invasive foreign varieties escaping from imported sources.

Maintaining fruit varieties, mainly apple that are in the countryside is another important task. These are an important source of new varieties as well as providing food for our birds.

Tyr. Only in some areas is there a problem with the spanish bluebell problem. I believe there is a move to ban the spanish variety. From a personal viewpoint, I believe it is wiser to allow the specialist nurseries to continue to propogate our native species. Bluebell bulbs are very deep in the soil. Digging them in the wild would cause a lot of damage.

Again, common sense applies with all our photographic endeavours.

regards thoramay.

I am with you Gareth but do appreciate the difference. " uproot plants for commercial purposes"
It is an offence to remove a PLANT, that is, flower and root. It is not an offence to remove A FLOWER.
Taking more than one flower or lots can get you into trouble for vandalising, albeit not for removing the flower. Therein lies the difference.

Conservationalists will always dissaude you from removing anything in the wild and for very good reasons. When villages were just that and townies never ventured there, the locals knew their wildlife and treated it with care.
So many people now have slant idea of what is protected and what is not and unless you know your wildlife I would join forces and advise to stay on the safe side.

Taking one flower or two for the purpose of photography is permitted. Picking bunches to save purchasing flowers could, but not necessarily, get you into trouble.

There is an old saying that landowners have abided by. If you plant it, it is yours. If you have not planted it, then it is free. Blackberries, sloes, rosehips, nuts and fungi and the like have been gathered for generations. Having said that, fungi is now protected and is not free to gather without permission.

Again, I say, common sense and being knowledgable is the key. I would never take any flower from a plant that is rare or protected. Doing so removes the seed for future flowers.

Taking common dead nettles, Campions, dandelions and even garden plants growing in the wild is never going to diminish these plants.

My advice will always be..if you don't know your wildlife..Don't touch.

Off now to try my luck with those wild orchids.

no easy solution to this one....
you could try using some foamcore and duct tape to make a foldable box to shield your flowers from the wind...

Dave. I have had moderate success using clear glazing plastic. Mine were 2 x 1.5 feet size.
If you can source a cloche clip that allows the sheets to be connected forming a cloche with something at the other end to stop the wind, then it does give a protected area. These sheets are light enough to carry.
Depends on the height of your flowers. If they are not too tall, then smaller sheets could be used but the weight would not then be sufficient to hold to the ground in strong winds.
I have seen a small contraption using secondary glazing plastic panels mounted in wooden frames. These are joined with hinges that allow the whole to fold together.
Maybe these ideas will give you food for thought