Eastern Washington Wind Power
Whiskey Dick Wind Farm, near Ellensburg, WA Oct 2008
Nikon D300, 70-200VR @ 90mm, ISO 100 @ 1/40 sec & f22
Back in October, I traveled to Ellensburg to photograph what has become an annual fall Yakima River float trip. This year was a bust with very high winds that blew us off of the river and very cold temperatures to boot. Not wanting to freeze to death on the river, a group of us headed for the wind farm between Ellensburg and Vantage, WA. This outing was also my first chance to use my new Nikon 600 VR. Despite having to start going to the gym to lift this animal, it is one wonderful piece of glass. Shooting groups of multiple objects that are perpendicular to the ground always presents a challenge with visual alignment, as not all of them will seem to be square to one another. In this case, the perceived lack of square between the masts is due to the uneven ground and my camera angle. With access restrictions, this location proved to be the best angle. Shooting from a tripod with a leveling head, the shutter was slowed to create a feeling of motion with the blade tips. Each blade is about 120 feet in length and rotates at 65-ish RPM. Image was shot in RAW and converted to B&W in Lightroom.