The YouTube channel I run, "Setouchi Ambience," focuses on "environmental video works" that convey the sounds of rain, fog, and the atmosphere of each season.
For this reason, the most important thing is "accurate weather forecasting.
Beautiful footage can be taken on both sunny and rainy days, but an accurate weather forecast is essential to decide on a filming date that matches the natural changes.
Until 2024, I was a long-time user of the Yahoo! Weather app, which is the easiest to use in Japan.
The accuracy of the rainfall confirmation and rain cloud radar on the day was very high, and it is still useful for making decisions just before shooting.
However, one thing that bothered me when planning my shooting schedule the lack of accuracy of the long-term forecasts for more than a week .
When shooting in the rain, the impression of the work is greatly influenced by "where, when, and how much it rains."
I often travel long distances to shoot, and in the past I have experienced several times that "days that were supposed to rain ended up sunny."
So, in 2025, I decided to fully implement Windy, which
Windy is a tool that lets you visually compare weather models from around the world, and I use the paid version (annual subscription). The
first thing that surprised me when I started using it the accuracy of the timing and area of rain . It
was more accurate than I expected, and there were many times when, by the time I arrived at the shooting location, the clouds had flowed in and the rain was falling just as predicted.
One day that left a particularly strong impression on me the day we shot footage of snow at Mount Koya .
When we set out, the weather was clear and the sun was dazzling.
Normally, we would conclude that it wouldn't snow today.
However, when we looked at Windy, the temperature dropped sharply after noon, and the forecast predicted snow clouds near the summit.
As I continued taking photos, half-believing it, the wind direction changed and the air suddenly became cold - and
just as predicted, heavy snow began to fall.
As soon as it started to fall, the world was instantly painted white, and the silence was so great that it seemed as if the falling snow was absorbing all sound. I
was able to capture this moment of change without a doubt thanks to Windy.
Now, Windy has become an indispensable companion when I'm "targeting photographs of natural phenomena" such as rain, fog, and snow.
It tracks weather models several days in advance and can read trends even if there are fluctuations, so the accuracy of my photography has improved dramatically.
Shooting in nature is interesting precisely because you can't have complete control.
However, the quality of the footage you capture will change dramatically depending on whether or not you have the tools to read the "signs of nature" in advance.
That's exactly why I can't let go of Windy Pro.
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