Using a Tripod for Flower Macros

charley5 wrote:

Okay, so I went out with a tripod for the first time. I ended up spending all my time on my knees, fumbling around trying to adjust the tripod legs on uneven terrain, and taking about 15-20 minutes to accurately compose each image. I thought to myself, I can't keep doing this. It completely takes the fun out of the experience. My knees were really sore afterwards.

Ouch!

However, your experience "fumbling around" suggests that you did not practice enough before you went out the first time.

Tripod, flash, extension tubes -- all are tools that need practice to make perfect.

When I got the tripod I currently use, I spent several days in my garden learning a routine to quickly adjust the leg's height, spread, etc, on different types of terrain, with flowers at chest, waist, ground level. Now, setting up is quick and easy.

So I decided to run an experiment. I focused the image using a tripod and focus magnifier aid, I then focused the image using the focus magnifier and no tripod, and finally I focused using my eyeballs with no focus aid and no tripod. I ran a series of about 20 images of different flowers each, using these three methods.

What I found was interesting. The accuracy of the focusing using the magnifier aid with or without a tripod was almost identical.

A good experiment. And why not those results? If the circumstances are that you can hand hold the camera steady, why use the tripod!

I do the same, as I indicated in my previous post. From earlier today, handheld:

However, on this occasion, the tripod is spread out a few inches above the ground so I could get precise focus on the pollen grains much easier than hand holding.

(By the way, I carry a small towel in my bag to fold as a knee pad.)

Here is my result, no tripod but using a focus magnifier, and using a projection lens (which generally yields soft and dreamy results).

This is beautiful. No need for a tripod in this case!

- Richard