|
|
 |
Sand Sledging
The objective of the mission was to obtain close up low level shots of seals basking on wet sandbanks. A stealthy, low approach was essential to avoid spooking the animals using a simple easy to manipulate support device. Tripods and bean bags whilst providing a firm base has on previous visits proved difficult to manoeuvre. Tripods, preset for low level work were cumbersome and tended to bed into the sand. Bean bags collected wet sand and a source of grit in the equipment. The answer was rather simple – make a sand sledge which should be • Lightweight yet stable• easy to adjust the viewpoint • easy to construct • lightweight for carrying and • cheap to make The design needed to ensure that the camera was held at a comfortable eye level. Runners to allow the whole kit to slide on wet or dry sand with equal ease.
Materials
Tools
Figure 2 shows the exploded construction • Sufficiently long ¼” BSW bolt (standard tripod fixing for all cameras) are practically unobtainable. 6mm threaded bar is readily available. The two different threads can be spliced together as follows.• Remove the head and superglue this halfway into the bolt. • Apply superglue on the end of the 6mm bar and turn into the reverse end of the nut. Wrong thread, but the adhesive will secure it NB This stage would be easier if you can obtain a ¼” BSW bolt 4 1/2”
Evaluation Trial tests were carried out at Donna Nook Nature Reserve during the 2002 breeding season of the North Atlantic Grey seals.
If you prefer, remove the tripod head drape a bean bag across the top of the sledge gripping to the camera mount. There is no reason why the sledge would not work just as effectively across grass or other surfaces for flowers, fungi, or damp mud when photographing shorebirds. The possibilities are only just being explored. Whatever the time of year – enjoy your sledging!!!
|
