June 15, 2007, A supporting role, By Robert de Gast

Today tripods don’t loom large in most people’s photographic lives. But for more than half a century after the invention of photography, tripods were absolutely essential. Film sensitivity was so low that slow shutter speeds were mandatory, and since few people can hold a camera steady at less than, say, 1/60 of a second, some support system was necessary until the beginning of the 20th century when vast improvements in film and optics made hand-held photographs possible.

(Still, the picture that came to be known as “The Photograph of the Century,” the iconic depiction of the first powered flight of the Wright Brothers’ airplane, on December 17, 1903, was made using a tripod.)

It’s fair to say that today the most common technical problem with photographs is the blurry, unsharp image that is often produced under low light conditions. It’s called “camera shake” and caused by slow shutter speeds. As long as blood is coursing through your veins you’ll communicate the violence of its sluicing to your camera when you press the shutter. And the problem gets worse when you’re using telephoto lenses. You’re magnifying the image and thus incrementally increasing any movement of the camera.

What to do? Let me count the ways. You can try holding your breath and squeezing the trigger (as they told you in the army when you were learning to shoot). This will help steady the camera. You can tuck your elbows into your chest and hold the camera pressed hard against your face. This will also help also. You can lean against a wall or balance the camera on the back of a chair. You could buy a more sensitive film or crank up the ISO sensitivity if using a digital camera. You could use flash if the subject is within the flash-range of your camera. But sooner or later you’ll probably need a tripod.

Most people have a love/hate relationship with tripods. I remember some decades ago, at National Geographic, a fellow photographer insisting that if a picture was worth taking, one should use a tripod. That didn’t feel right. More recently, in San Miguel, another photographer said, “Don’t use a tripod if you can help it. Having to carry one is a pain and thus cripples creativity.” That didn’t feel right, either.

You get the idea: I don’t think it’s a good thing to buy into either notion. A tripod is just a tool: sometimes you need it and sometimes you don’t. Simple. I own two tripods: one quite heavy, which I keep in the car or the studio, and one very light which I always carry in my fanny pack.

If you Google “tripods” on the Internet you get 2,380.000 hits. The B&H photography catalog needs a hundred pages for its offerings, an astonishing variety of hundreds of monopods and tripods, made of wood, or metal, or carbon fiber, in prices ranging from ten bucks to almost a thousand.

Now I know you are more likely to carry a tripod if it is light and small. (Besides, the airlines now will count your big tripod as carry-on luggage!) Most small tripods are cheap and flimsy but I recently found several tiny tripods that its manufacturer claims to be “the world’s most versatile camera support.” Which I think it is. Called the Ultrapod, it’s really a tabletop tripod, but its versatility comes from the clever design, which allows it also to be attached to objects up to 3 ½ inches in diameter using an attached Velcro strap. The smaller of the two, designed for point-and-shoot cameras is only four inches long and weighs two ounces. The larger version, made for single-lens reflex cameras is seven inches long and weighs a mere four ounces. The person who invented it should get the Nobel Prize. Or perhaps just a Pulitzer. I think a tripod should be in every photographer’s bag, just in case.

So your photographs are going to be sharper, but there is another benefit to having a tripod. Have you ever noticed that pictures where the photographer is included almost always show the smiling group either eating or drinking? And wondered why? It’s because the waiter was available to do the deed! So now you won’t have to ask anybody to take that picture of you and your sweetheart enjoying your margaritas! You are the art director! And your camera’s self-timer will get a well-deserved workout!

P.S. I don’t want to turn my column into a catalog but I’ll be happy to supply information about the Ultrapods and where to buy them. Call or e-mail me.

Robert de Gast is the author of nine books, including, most recently, Behind the Doors of San Miguel. He leads photographic safaris and offers short tutorials. He can be reached at 152-7396 or via email at robertdegast@hotmail.com.