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No one has ever seen a fuzzy Ansel Adams print.
That's because the late Mr. Adams always used a tripod, lugging
giant wooden three-leggers to the highest ridges of the Sierra
Nevada.
Hoping to emulate Adams' print quality, I began
using a tripod 40 years ago. I still have a decent collection of
these big beasts and still use the lightest of them almost
constantly.
My first was a Linhof Schiansky, a formed
aluminum product with channel legs that was considered
lightweight for the late 1950's. It served well for several
years, although it wasn't really tall enough when fully
extended.
In the early Sixties, I picked up a Tiltall
tubular tripod sold by Davis & Sanford. This was a mainstay for
nearly 20 years, although it was difficult to extend due to the
screw-down leg locks which tended to freeze in cold weather. You
can still buy this venerable device, plus a host of upgraded D&S
tripods at B&H Photo (http://www.bhphotovideo.com).
As my photography challenges grew in the 70's, I
answered them with a Bogen 3020 equipped with a Bogen 3-D head.
Fully extended, this seven pounder reaches a height of 72
inches. The center post can be reversed for shooting subjects
close to the ground and the legs can be extended outward for
setting up on uneven terrain.
Compacted, the big Bogen is about 25 inches
long. Before my rheumatoid arthritis, I carried this rascal
everywhere. It would support anything from long telephoto lenses
to Hasselblads.
Bogen manufactures a wide line of tripods,
studio stands. My model 3020 costs about $160. B&H Photo is just
one of the dealers carrying the Bogen line.
By the mid-eighties, I was an established
freelance travel writer with severe arthritis and I found the
Bogen too cumbersome to travel. Lightweight travel tripods
suffered from instability. The kind with the tiny tubular legs
are as whippy as an expensive fly rod. |