Capturing Architectural Photography: Bonneville

Posted on November 15, 2007

The big story this season for Studio 3, Inc. was partnering with Bonneville Environmental Foundation on an opportunity to photograph some architectural photography of the construction of wind turbines at White Creek Wind Farm in Roosevelt, Washington.High up above the north side of the Columbia River in Klickitat County are towering wind turbines, 89 of them, manufactured by Siemens AG overlooking the ridges and capturing the winds that come howling through the Columbia River Gorge.They are in nice neat rows one after another on a wheat farm that is now multipurpose. They are the future of power generation because they provide the answers to concerns such as emissions from coal fired generation plants and fish migration on the Columbia River.Wind power is clean and renewable and does not impact salmon migration up the Columbia to their spawning grounds as do hydro-electric dams along the river.All of this wind farm construction is driving new employment in rural Klickitat County, a place that has struggled with high unemployment after good jobs in lumber and aluminum industries dried up.

The tips of the turbine blades soar 415 feet off the ground, creating an imposing view from the wheat farms and cattle ranches dotting the hills surrounding Goldendale. With winds of 30 mph, one 290 ton turbine can generate enough power to supply 100 homes for a day. That’s amazing! Read below to see how Henry captured some great architectural photography images:

My idea was to show how farming and wind power generation can co-exist together.Farmers and ranchers essentially now have a secondary revenue stream without impacting their primary business of growing crops or raising cattle.I used a large format Hasselblad H2 with an Imacon digital recording back.Various prime lenses were used from a 35mm wide to a 210mm tele.Some images were shot with my handy Leica LX5 giving me a little more portability.There was always some danger lurking all around with cranes, towers, loaded trucks with a single tower section, and construction crews that may not be aware of my presence. So I always had to be wearing full safety gear including steel toe shoes, hard hat, and safety vest.  In the end, I got fantastic images.Bonneville Environmental Foundation strives to increase the visibility of clean, renewable, distributed energy technologies and Studio 3, Inc. is proud to be a part of this project.

B 0876  — Studio 3, Inc.
B 0797  — Studio 3, Inc.
HN 13826L Bonneville Siemens 1  — Studio 3, Inc.
HN 13826L Bonneville Energy 1  — Studio 3, Inc.
HN 13826L Bonneville e SP 1500 1  — Studio 3, Inc.

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