Camera manufacturers have developed products that provide an amazing array of features and benefits that we could not have hoped for when Canon’s AE-1 was launched as a high-tech innovation decades ago. Today, with competition in this industry being as intense as it is, there has been a race to provide the best stabilization tools as a means to (almost) guarantee sharp images in most situations without the use of any supporting tools.
Stabilization is indeed a great feature. Combining lens and body stabilization together, along with much better resolution at higher ISO’s, makes it possible to capture hand-held images as shutter speeds drift lower and lower. Placing a camera with stabilization features on a tripod has usually required that the AF on the lens be turned off. But now, manufacturers are providing improved designs that allow the camera to sense a tripod and turn the AF off on its own. Where will it end?!
One might think that the trusted tripod is going to be used less and less as photographers start to achieve sharp results without them. And even though there are excellent, lightweight carbon fiber options on the market, people simply don’t want to carry them around. This, however, isn’t reason enough to leave this important tool in the closet. It is much more than a stabilization device – it is a discipline tool.
In a world where so many people simply ‘snap and run’, expecting instant gratification regardless of the results, it is often difficult to get them to slow down, stop and truly absorb the environment around their potential images. Landscape photographers (many of which are still carrying relatively heavy DSLR’s) purposely live with their tripods because they know that visualizing the scenery requires time for analyzing, selecting, strategizing, composing and making the exposure. That whole sequence also helps to calm the photographer so that he or she is able to be at one with the subject. Getting the camera off your neck, even if it is a lighter weight mirrorless unit, is part of the relaxation process as well. Seasoned pros will tell you that ‘you need to feel the image’ and that relaxing in front of it is an enabler.
With the camera attached to the tripod head, the photographer is free to walk around the subject area and spend some time: considering what should and shouldn’t be included, if there is an alternative camera position to consider, if there’s a foreground object or objects that would add some depth or drama, and if there is yet another great image to capture after this one. Is there a picture within the picture? Is there a vertical composition within the horizontal (The best time to make a vertical shot is right after the horizontal – if only for a test.) If the final exposure requires a lengthy shutter time (ie: ½ sec +), there is no doubt the tripod will prove its value – as long as the camera is properly focused. (If your camera has focus peaking, that would be a valuable feature to assist you while you master manual focusing.)
Hurry Up & Wait
You can demonstrate to yourself your level of commitment and devotion to your hobby by how patiently you are prepared to wait for changes in your targeted scenes. Experienced landscape photographers will wait hours for the incoming clouds to get into position, for the rays of the sun to break through on a cloudy day, or for the wind to subside so that the foreground grasses remain still. It is amazing how some pros will return to the same spot a number of times and plant their tripods as they await the lighting they think is on its way. You can understand why registering locations with a camera’s GPS can be so valuable!
Photography to the amateur is recreation, to the professional it is work, and hard work, too, no matter how pleasurable it may be. E. Weston
Mandatory Applications
The tripod proves its worth when you require multiple exposures that will be manipulated back at the computer – in-camera HDR, for example, panoramas and bracketing. Having the camera locked in position serves to provide both the sharpness and the accuracy that make for a successful final image. By leveling the tripod, you are better able to rotate the head to acquire the series of images that are essential for a panorama.
Timed exposures of water, of course, require longer shutter settings to achieve that silky look we have seen in countless photos. Given our location on the west coast, we have limitless opportunities to capture magnificent and powerful wave formations (especially on the Oregon coast, and winter in Tofino!) – one more rewarding outcome of having the patience to wait for Cartier-Bresson’s ‘decisive moments.’ Think: tripod + remote release.
The tripod, and its little brother the monopod, will always have a place in the novice photographer’s tool kit. Anyone who asks me ‘what should I buy next’ will always get the recommendation to look for a durable tripod, something even more important than a second lens. It’s a valuable tool with a high return on investment since it will service any camera you may acquire in the future (even your smartphone) and with proper maintenance (i.e. cleaning) last many, many years. It’s always wise to keep the wrenches that came with the tripod nearby…and to check the tightness of all joints and head components. With thousands of dollars resting on that tripod head, you don’t want the surprise of metal, plastic and glass mating with concrete. Always check those tripod legs and ensure they are tight! It’s just good accident insurance.
The tripod will provide you with many lessons…if you let it. Be sure to give it a try. It can’t work miracles, but it just might help you to reduce the number of images you erase when it comes time to download your treasures from the memory card. And it will reward your patience.
There are many web sites to use as a start for your research on tripods. Here is one example:
How to Choose and Buy a Tripod
Are you a novice VCC member? Is there something that your would like covered in one of Alan’s articles? Is there something you nee additional education for? If so, please forward your ideas to .