“Do I have to?” Chapter One; Tripods.

You’ll get no argument from me; a tripod sometimes feels like one more thing to haul in an already heavy photo kit.  I do carry it for landscape work though, and there are some compelling reasons for that.

 

Water takes on a fabulously dreamy look with long exposures.  Grand Canyon.

Night and twilight photography, for example, absolutely requires solid stabilization.  Even if you know you’ll be shooting in daylight, though, there are others.  Images of moving water, for example, take on an entirely different character when a long exposure is used; likewise for clouds and other moving subjects.  If you’re planning on combining images, for example for High Dynamic Range or exposure blending, you’ll generally get much better results if your camera is tripod-stabilized.  Panoramas constructed from several images will also be much easier to create with a tripod. If you don’t have a good tripod, you’ll be giving up the opportunities to use these techniques.

 

After several hours standing in the river, my arms would have given out using a heavy lens without a tripod.  Katmai NP Alaska

We’ve been talking about landscapes, but all but the physically strongest among us will do better if our long wildlife or sports lens is supported on a tripod.  There are specialized heads for that.

 

Detail shots require minute adjustments and meticulous composition.  Redwoods National Park CA

Beyond the technical, though, there are other reasons to use your camera on a stable platform.  We have a tendency, especially in the early part of our photographic career, to take lots of pictures quickly.  Some people call this the “spray and pray” method.  In most cases in landscape photography, we can take time to set up and to think.  We can (and should, if we’re honest with ourselves) slow down and really work on the best images, one at a time.  We’ll improve composition this way, including leveling the horizon, carefully policing the corners and edges to use them to best advantage, and thinking about shapes, balance, color, and the best background configuration to name a few.  It’s just a higher-quality experience to shoot with a tripod; more meditative and intentional.

There are many options and is a wide price range for tripods and heads.  Generally the best legs and heads are sold separately.  Really Right Stuff, Gitzo, Manfrotto, and Induro make sturdy, high-quality legs.  A set without a center column will work best for images shot close to the ground.  As for ballheads, the best ones, though expensive, come from Really RightStuff.  I use both the 40mm and 55mm RRS heads in conjunction with their L-bracket.  The L-bracket attaches to the camera and allows it to clamp to the ballhead in either the horizontal or vertical orientation.  The L-bracket allows us to avoid hanging the camera along the side of the tripod for all vertical shots.  Most people who have tried this configuration have had a bad enough experience to swear off it.  Make sure you carry all the allen wrenches that your rig requires as well.  RRS also sells a compact all-in-one tool which is worth carrying in case something shakes loose in the airplane or safari vehicle.

Are you convinced?  No, you don’t have to but you should.

Happy shooting and thanks for the read.