Steadying the ship
The Isle of Jura
I try not to carry too much gear around with me. My trusty wee Fuji X100V sits snuggly in the armrest compartment of my car. My big* camera, a Fuji X-T5, fits well in a sling bag or the one little backpack I have for it, along with another lens ‘n stuff.
The problem is generally the need for a tripod. What a daft thing to be lugging around. Such an arcane contraption. And with all those stops of image stabilisation I’m supposed to have at my disposal…
A challenge with creative photography is that sometimes it needs more stability than my wobbly old carcass can provide; a little focus-stacking here and there, a longer exposure to smooth things out a bit, something to counter the exaggerated movements of a Canon with a long zoom lens while bobbing about on a boat (see accompanying photo of Jura). In this latter case, I had a monopod, which was ok enough for an expensive stick.
So the photography industry markets ever more exotic variations on the same theme; Lightweight composite materials. Origami-like methods of folding. You get the picture. You won’t believe the prices. The engineering trade-offs are surprisingly complex. But geometry and gravity are the same as they were when the pyramids were built, so we’re stuck with carrying three big sticks, joined at one end, up mountains. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to attach my camera to my walking frame.
*It isn’t big, just bigger.
Canon 6D Mark ii, EF 70-200 at 173mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 125
