Photographing From Behind a Wall

[Bill_1856]

It's not clear to me what the problem is. Why not just set it on top of the wall?

[Richard Wasserman]

The wall is about 12 inches thick and over 100 feet in the air with a multitude of pedestrians below. In addition to the camera being stable, i need to be very safe!

It's not clear to me what the problem is. Why not just set it on top of the wall?

[Richard Wasserman]

Perfect! This should make things easy, and it's easy to make. What thickness do you recommend—is 1/4" enough?

I use a 3" (2ft long) aluminum plate with 3/8" holes tapped at both ends and the middle. Similar to what we call an "offset" in the film industry. Attach your head to one end and screw the other end onto your tripod with a bolt. Done. Aluminum is cheap.

[Flauvius]

Kirk:

The "two legged" tripod obviates the problem of photographing in a tight space and having the third leg take up needed, but otherwise wasted, space.

The tripod is kept tank steady through the use of twenty-five pound sand bags of each of the tripod's extended legs. The camera can be used as low as four inches off the ground and it is intended to sit on a wall, or a window sill of as little of 8 + 1/2 inches in depth. The tripod is just a modified old Silk tripod.

The next time we get together, I will show you a bracket I made that allows the use of a street sign post in lieu of a tripod. The holes in the sign's post provide a good measure of height adjustment, and the Gitzo head provides for a lot of spacial adjustment.

Regards,

Flauvius

[Kirk Gittings]

Got it. I'm looking for a removable leg to use as a hiking stick.

[vinny]

Perfect! This should make things easy, and it's easy to make. What thickness do you recommend—is 1/4" enough?

Sorry, I left that part out. No, it should be 3/8" thick. Use a 3/8 eye bolt to fasten the offset to the tripod that way you can tighten it by hand (no tools) and hang a weight from it to keep the whole rig from tipping over.

[Richard Wasserman]

Thanks Vinny, I'll order a piece of aluminum tomorrow morning.

[lenser]

Wow. This is sure being overly complicated.

Assuming that your tripod is tall enough to clear the wall by a few extra inches, simply put two legs against the wall, extend the third leg straight back and extend it as far as you need to stabilize the two legs flush to the wall and then level the head as it is designed to be used. If you need a block of wood to add a bit of height to the third leg, that's a lot easier to tote than a couple of 25 pound sandbags. This is precisely the same principal as using any tripod on a slope except that you have more stability because of the wall.

[lenser]

Wow. This is sure being overly complicated.

Assuming that your tripod is tall enough to clear the wall by a few extra inches, simply put two legs against the wall, extend the third leg straight back and extend it's length as far as you need to stabilize the two legs flush to the wall and then level the head as it is designed to be used. If you need a block of wood to add a bit of height to the third leg, that's a lot easier to tote than a couple of 25 pound sandbags. This is precisely the same principal as using any tripod on a slope except that you have more stability because of the wall.

[Flauvius]

Hello Lenser:

I use my "two leg" tripod to make images from walls in parking lots and other locations where the third leg of a conventional tripod presents a problem.

My sand bags and other heavy junk are in the trunk of my care.

Flauvius