Balance Your Light Stand On Tough Terrains
Photographer Reuben Krabbe, whom you may remember from the landscape bicycle portraits hack, had his flash pull an untethered bungee jump during a session in the mountains. So Reuben came up with a great idea to balance a lightstand on uneven terrains. That figures with all those mountain bicycle trips.
Being the nice chap that he is, Reuben put a video together to explain how it works. Video and some thoughts after the jump.
One of the nice things about this is that you don't need to buy a new light stand for this. It is free (take drilling labor aside), and quick.
That said, it does not solve the problem of very strong wind or lighting mods that look like sails. For this, the best alternative, though not very fun to carry around are sands bags.
Got any cool hiking tips? Share with us in the comments.
- See the full story on Reuben's blog
- See a whole range of DIY lightstand solutions here.
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Comments
Ingenious!
This is such a great mod, and I could have definitely used it on my last photoshoot. Thanks for sharing this!
- Willis
thx
nice :) i drill holes :D:D
Great mod
My last outdoor photoshoot was on a hill and I had to find some boards and rocks to level the light stands. I'll definitely be trying this mod.
occam would be proud...
simple yet effective... probably going to see this on the market after the designers get done face-palming themselves for not thinking of this...
Better Than I Thought
I thought the recommendation was going to be drilling holes to tether and stake them the stand into the ground, but I like this approach for when the stand is not on dirt.
Another great tip.
Hiking Tip
You don't need to lug heavy sandbags around; just take empty ones and fill them up on location with extra gear, nearby rocks etc. Empty when finished and pack away again. Easy. :)
tripod as light stand
In a pinch, I'll use my tripod as my light stand. The 1/4 20 bolt from the tripod mount screws directly into either my lumopro cold shoe umbrella swivel adapter, or into the base of my cactus v4 receiver. Since all the legs on the tripod are adjustable (no drilling required) this problem is no problem for me. That does, however, mean I've got to hand-hold my camera.
re: tripod
That is a cool idea. I think that cheapo tripods will work great here as well. The only thing is that tripods take more space than light stands both in the bag and on the ground. but if you are going by car, or have the muscles to carry - this would definitely rock.
great mod... I wouldn't do it
great mod...
I wouldn't do it to an aluminum leg though as adding holes to aluminum poles weakens them, to the point of catastrophic failure.
Also, those locking pins are the devil. stick with cotter pins. ;)
Light Stand Mods
As an Industrial/Construction Photographer often times there is very little available "flat" spots to hang lights and this certainly solves that problem. Kudo's to you sir, it solves a problem that DOES exist in the real world.
Michael L. Boss ASse BSse CQCSM
AJAX Photographers
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