In various circumstances, shooting with a tripod is required and I often have one handy "just in case."
This works well most of the time but I ran into a situation tonight that was frustrating and I'm curious to know what others do.
The problem was wind. Not a strong wind, but just enough to make the camera move a little. When said camera is connected to a long lens, the tripod seems to become a pivot, rather than an anchor. For long exposure shots (> 1 second), this became troublesome. Because of the cross section of the lens, I'm not convinced that using a more steady tripod will work: the lens is still liable to get knocked around a bit. But what do others do to combat this?
Some alternatives that came to mind are:
* use your body as a wind breaker and stand upwind from the camera after lining it up and use cable release;
* keep a piece of equipment handy that can be used as a wind break - large piece of masonite, plywood, screen, etc;
* bump up the ISO so you can bump up the shuttle speed;
* give up and go home.
My enemy on this occasion was the evening sea breeze and I'm sure it'll be back, if I return, around sunset. Any advice on being "more prepared"?