The finest tips for "Excellent tripod technique"

[Heroique]

2nd reshoot a few days later...

I too have returned to scenes where I can atone for sins of tripod vibration.

BTW, your "Don't share rocks w/ your tripod legs" reminds me of another humus-covered-forest-floor lesson:

Namely, since deep humus is so springy, don't even think of taking a step near your tripod during exposure. Don't even shift your weight, take a breath, or bat an eyelash. Stay still. Stay very, very still. Better, if you're still enough, the breeze won't see you and try to sneeze on your shot.

[ROL]

Often I'll push my spiked Ries down, down, down – as far as I think it'll go – to produce the stability I need; but all too often, my images suggest it was still sinking/settling at shutter click. (Most of the time, just an extra push on each leg and final push on the head would have arrested the tripod; other times, one leg needs to go much deeper than the other two.)

Tip 1(a). Don't use spikes. Why disturb landscapes anymore than necessary? I've never used mine. That way, I'll never be able to nick your pic by using your tripod holes.

Try leaning your camera bag against one leg. That will help a lot. Dampens vibration as well and even better than hanging something from the center column.

…until you brush by the camera bag while tripping the shutter, or so hard that it brings down the whole show. Tip #4(a): I don't do that (anymore).

If you have the tripod erected on rocks in a river, it is best not to stand on the same rocks that the tripod is standing on if you want to avoid shake...


1 standing on same rocks as one leg of the tripod...



2 reshoot a few days later, (turning a nuisance into a chance to choose a better format) this time stood NOT on the same rocks as the tripod...

RR

I'm re-quoting all of RR's post because I want everyone to once again experience the joy of slow computer draws on non optical fiber delivery systems from unnecessarily high resolution postings. Tip #8(a) subsection (b): Please don't post unnecessarily high resolution or sized pix. This is not a gallery. It is not courteous to those of us with normal DSL speed. Please reduce the size of, or link to, your images.



Tip #10: Use all three legs.

[Regular Rod]

I'm re-quoting all of RR's post because I want everyone to once again experience the joy of slow computer draws on non optical fiber delivery systems from unnecessarily high resolution postings. Tip #8(a) subsection (b): Please don't post unnecessarily high resolution or sized pix. This is not a gallery. It is not courteous to those of us with normal DSL speed. Please reduce the size of, or link to, your images.

Hmmm... I've seen it before with other folk's getting "the treatment" on here, but I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've fallen foul of a member of this forum's self-appointed thought police force. It is difficult to believe that you experience slower connections than mine. Here within Derbyshire's Peak District there is no optical fibre or cable connection available. As for whether the resolution is or is not necessary, I'll be the judge of that thank you very much. How else would you be able to see the differences between the two images if they were not big enough to show it. BTW your observation about this place not being a gallery is rather stating the obvious. Last time I looked, a gallery was a place with real walls that folks put actual pictures on... The internet is not like that is it?

How about you start a poll to ascertain how long it takes for those two images to load for the majority of users on here?

RR

[Mark Stahlke]

Make sure the tripod head is locked down before inserting the film holder.

[Heroique]

Make sure the tripod head is locked down before inserting the film holder.

A lot of these tripod tips keep reminding me of related ones.

Mark's tip is another example.

In an image rich place, after one shot is taken, I often carry my tripod+camera+lens ensemble over my shoulder to another nearby spot. But before I pick-up the tripod and move on, I'll check – make that double-check – that the head is still locked down. And still securely screwed to the tripod below and camera above. All this checking is now second nature to me and takes merely 10 seconds. An ounce of prevention, poor Richard says, is worth a pound of cure.