Who rents pickup trucks ?

[Jon Shiu]

I have to agree with those saying that a 3 meters high tripod with a stepladder is a much more convenient solution.

Hi, how do you deal with having access to the front and back of the view camera? Get off and move ladder to front, then back, then front again? Maybe have 2 ladders and assistant?

Jon

[Ken Lee]

I suspect that movie studios and cinematographers have solved all these problems, many decades ago.

[Frank Petronio]

When you are on a step ladder you simple focus from the rear, make note of the "degrees" or make a mark on the rotation axis of your tripod head, then rotate the camera around, make adjustments, rotate back to your mark and do the shot.

Or use a mirror to see the front of the camera.

I used to set on a pick up truck bed, it wasn't unstable, just use common sense.

If I did architecture I'd have step ladder and a super tall tripod though.

My current tripod goes to 82 inches or so, so sometimes I will stand on a milk crate or case or whatever is handy.

[Clement Apffel]

Hi, how do you deal with having access to the front and back of the view camera? Get off and move ladder to front, then back, then front again? Maybe have 2 ladders and assistant?

Jon

hi Jon,

Actually i kinda know my camera all by heart so i don't need to "see" the front in order to tilt, swing, shift, set the aperture and so on...
and for more unexpected adjustments, i indeed use a mirror to see the front of the camera.

this said, this is possible because i'm quite tall and i have very long arms
another fact is that I mainly use 90mm and 150mm lenses, so the front standard isn't miles away.

I used to mark the tripod with rubber band and rotate the camera to access front, but i didn't like that solution, because for some reason, the leveling was affected by the double rotation making me leveling again and again...

regards,

[Jim Ewins]

what kind of a guy leaves the passenger door open on a narrow road?

[Kirk Gittings]

Hi, how do you deal with having access to the front and back of the view camera? Get off and move ladder to front, then back, then front again? Maybe have 2 ladders and assistant?

Jon

from an earlier thread;

Gordon Hutchins solved this problem with an "orchard ladder" with a tripod head mounted on the top. It worked well even for 8x10. Kirk

I thought about that Kirk but it's hard to get to the controls of a 450mm while on the back of the ladder. Vinny

Vinny, I have a somewhat similar tall tripod setup. I have been doing this little trick to solve the problem you mentioned for 30 years. The panorama base of my tripod head has a dial with incremental marks on it and an arrow marker. After I focus and compose, I note the location of the arrow in relation to the dial marks, loosen that panorama lever, spin the camera around facing me, set the shutter speed, aperture, cock the shutter etc., spin the camera back around to the registration point, lock it down, insert the film holder and shoot. Did that make sense? Works like a charm for me. I use it often with architecture. Kirk

[Alex Hawley]

I shoot the 8x10 and 7x17 from the bed of my pickup quite frequently, in one of the windiest regions of the USA. No problems with camera shake or stability, even with slow film and exposures, down to 1/4 second. I'll do one-second exposures on a calm day. Doesn't bother me to do it at all, but I grew up in pickup truck, so its second-nature.

[Carsten Wolff]

what kind of a guy leaves the passenger door open on a narrow road?

But Jim, THE LIGHT WAS CHANGING.....

[Preston]

I have made photos from the bed of my Tacoma 4x4 many times and agree with the observations regarding effect of the wind, lack of room to move around, and stability.

Having an aluminum toolbox is handy: I set my camera pack on it. Another trick I use is stand still for a minute or two to allow any vibrations to damp out before I make the exposure. My truck bed has a liner with good sized corrugations in it. By placing the feet of my tripod in them, the rig has less tendency to slide around.

I hadn't thought of the idea of using the degree scale on my ball head to re-orient the camera--cool.

Jacking the frame would certainly solve the vibration problem, but I would be concerned regarding the safety (or lack of it) during the jacking operation. Please be careful if you do that.

-PB

[EuGene Smith]

Things might have gotten a mite testy for old Ansel had a log truck rounded the curve about the time he was set up as in the photo. Whew!!