Photos Without a Tripod, No Way! – The title of this post is nothing more than sarcastic photography advice to get your attention. Did it work? Okay, now that I have your attention, lets talk photography for a few minutes. There is a misleading belief floating around the internet that a good, and marketable, photograph can only be created when the photographer uses a tripod. This is one belief that should be taken with a grain of salt.
To obtain the best quality image, I am a strong believer in using a tripod as much as possible, but the reality is there are many situations when I do not use one. If I were to only use my camera when it was mounted to a tripod I would miss out on hundreds of photo opportunities. The included images were all handheld (no tripod).
In 2010, on a blue bird winter day, I was hiking to the summit of Mount Washington. I didn’t want to carry my heavy tripod on this day so I opted to carry a much lighter monopod. A monopod is a single pole that supports the camera (imagine a one legged tripod). Could this image be better if I used a tripod? Maybe, maybe not.
In 2011, days after Tropical Storm Irene, I spent a few days photographing storm damage in the Pemigewasset Wilderness. Tropical Storm Irene caused massive destruction throughout the White Mountains, and the above scene shows how bad some trails were damaged. On the day of this shot, I had decided not to carry a tripod, because we were traveling light and fast. Using a tripod for this scene would have made no difference.
In the above scene, three hikers are traveling north along the Appalachian Trail, near Mount Lafayette, during the winter months in New Hampshire. I did have my tripod with me on this day, but if I had taken the time to set it up I would have missed this shot, because moments after the above shot the hikers disappeared out of view.
On a past winter day, my hiking partner and I were on Bondcliff in the Pemigewasset Wilderness and saw what we believe to be a Brocken Spectre (above) in Hellgate Ravine. I rarely see these in the White Mountains so I wanted to capture the scene as fast as possible, no tripod was used.
I hope you enjoyed this lighthearted blog post, and remember you can create decent and marketable images without a tripod. Try leaving your tripod home on your next photo adventure and force yourself to take handheld shots. All of the above images can be licensed for publications by clicking on the image you are interested in.
Happy image making..
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Owner of ScenicNH Photography LLC
Erin Paul is a professional photographer, writer, and author who specializes in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the New Hampshire White Mountains. His work is published worldwide, and publication credits include: Appalachian Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Backpacker Magazine, and The Wilderness Society.
ScenicNH Photography LLC
Specializing in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the White Mountains region of New Hampshire, Erin Paul’s photography and writing focuses on the history of the White Mountains, and telling the story of abandoned places and forgotten historical sites.