"Stable Genius?" (July 2022) - a photo on Flickriver

"Stable Genius?" (July 2022)

            Confession: I made this photograph without a tripod.  

As a landscape photographer, I know that's a cardinal sin.  I am expected to trumpet the importance of always using a tripod to take the tack-sharpest photos possible.   I am supposed to wax poetic about the meditative nature of unfolding my tripod and how doing so permits me the time to slow down and ply my craft and truly discover the beauty before me.  I am supposed to achieve inner peace through tripod construction.

But truth be told, I avoid using a it when I don't need one.  I like my tripod, but it's just a tool to take stable photograph. In fact, many of the photos I share here are shot hand-held.  

I made this photograph here, of the Ammonoosuc Ravine waterfall, last July while I was out hiking a few peaks, including Mount Washington.  This waterfall is about halfway up the trail, and I didn't want to bring the tripod along for just this photo.  

With waterfall images like this one, it can be difficult-to-nearly-impossible to go hand-held, since you need to slow down the shutter speed to get that silky water feel and you typically want to use a polarizing lens, which reduces the amount of light coming in, to eliminate glare on the water.  So when I got to the falls, I made a composition that allowed me to tuck the camera and lens up against a tree trunk and brace it with my hand on the other side.  In some instances, I have even been able to make a cradle with the camera strap by looping it around the trunk and dropping the lens into the basket of the loop.  I guess you could call it a "tree-pod". 

I am sure there are some of you that have tried some variatioon of this also, so as you know, the tree-pod is by no means a perfect solution.  It drastically cuts down the freedom of perspective you can achieve, since you need the camera near a tree.  You can also only pull this of with not-so-long exposure shutter speeds.  This one here was at 1/13.  And it was especially challenging , since the tree I initially wanted to use as a tree-pod was holding the branch and leaves dropping in from the top of the frame, which were critical to balancing out the composition.  I couldn't use that tree to stabilize the camera, because the pressure would move the trunk and the leaves would sway and blur in the shot.  

At the end of the day, even if it is a landscpae photography sin, I consider it a win, since it saved me from lugging a tripod up three mountains.

Taken in: United States / New Hampshire / Marshfield Station (show map)

Taken on: July 15, 2022

Tags:

Mount

Washington

Ravine

Waterfall

White

Mountains

Hiking

Nature

Landscape « less

Sets appears in: • 2023

Groups appears in: • Hiking • New Hampshire more » • New Hampshire Hiking • Nature Heals the Soul • White Mountains • New England Photo • New Hampshire State Parks • Backpack New England • Nature...Anything Goes • hiking climbing backpacking • White Mountains of New Hampshire • Waterfalls Long Exposure • Natural Landscape & Wildlife Photos • Landscape Beauty ! • landscape around the world • Hiking, Backpacking and Exploring • Breathtaking Landscapes B&W and Color • Waterfalls of New Hampshire • Canon 6D User Group • The Intimate Landscape • NEW ENGLAND LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY • Landscapes Only • in explore • Nature and Animals (Wild Only) • Landscapes or Cities ? • WONDERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN GENERAL.MARAVILLAS DE LA FOTOGRAFIA EN « less

Camera: Canon EOS 6D, f/16.0, 1/13 sec, 17mm, ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 6D
Lens:	EF17-40mm f/4L USM
Aperture:	f/16.0
Exposure Time:	0.077 sec (1/13)
Focal Length:	17mm
ISO:	1600
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 11.5 (Windows)
Show full info

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