The
tripods always have a special treatment by many authorities monitoring the
photography in public places… especially where photography is restricted. Many
times they allow top end DSLR cameras and fast lenses but not the ‘tripods’.
This may be because that they think tripods are generally used by professional
photographers. (Yes, it is true that you feel the pride and status of a
professional, when your camera is on a good tripod)
Some
of them even mistake it for deadly weapons like machine guns. Recently when I
tried to take a professional heavy duty tripod in to a five star hotel for
shooting a high end wedding, I had a tough time in convincing the security
personnel that it is a ‘camera stand’ and not a gun. They said that they had
not seen any wedding photographer using such accessory in the job. At the end,
they were not convinced and I had to leave the tripod in my car.
On
the other hand tripods can be a hassle to carry around with you but they help
you take great shots in many ways. There are few accessories I consider that
you cannot be without it for making great pictures. The tripod stands first in
the list.
Most
of the budding photographers talk more about mega pixels of cameras and 12X
zoom lenses than about tripods, tripod heads and quick releases. I would
always suggest my students to think of buying a solid tripod before they think
of buying an expensive long focus telephoto or zoom lenses. An expensive L
series (they call it luxury lens) Canon 100 – 400mm, long zoom lens becomes
useless for many photography situations if you do not have a proper camera
supporting system - “a sturdy Tripod”.
Tripods
for a good photographer are similar to helmets for a safe two wheeler rider.
Tripods add life to your pictures as helmets save the life. Both of them are
difficult to carry, handle and store. Yet, the importance of them will be known
only when you forget to use them.
Tripods
are generally known to avoid camera shake in the pictures. But for a serious
photographer it does a lot more....
Next time, whenever you are shooting something important; do not
forget to use a tripod wherever it is possible.
Image
info:
The image above was shot using a Canon 100-400mm L lens with a Canon 2X Tele
converter at 400mm (effectively 800mm) and Canon EOS 5D on a sturdy tripod.
F/11, 1/90 seconds, ISO-400, evaluative metering, AV exposure mode, exposure compensated shooting distance 20 meters approx.
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