Sometimes, you want to take a photo of something, but the lighting is poor and you’re without a good tripod. Say, for example, your tripod is in the car, and you would miss an opportunity if you left to grab it. If your camera is small enough, you can prop it on almost anything and set a timer and you’re set. A tripod would be ideal, of course, but there’s no reason to miss a shot because you don’t have your tripod with you. Use whatever is available. I’ve used plates, books, shot glasses, my camera bag, and the list goes on. If you have a heavy lens on the front of your camera, you will need a spacer of some sort. Use your lens cap or a filter case as a spacer.

Again, the idea is not to replace the tripod. But in a pinch, there’s always something you can use.

This is my oldest nephew trying his best against a couple of cans hanging from trees in the distance, armed only with his trusty Red Rider pump action BB Air Rifle.  A great memory from the Memorial Day Weekend spent in the Poconos.

This is a Hibiscus flower that I shot at Longwood Gardens during the Winter Wonderland exhibit. The plants in the background, the ice if you will, is a plant known as a Dusty Miller. It is naturally this color. I wasn’t permitted to carry around a tripod, so I shot this with a high ISO (ISO 800) to avoid blowing out the highlights. The high ISO is what caused the grain. For the record, I like a grain under the right circumstances.

A classically styled luminaire at the main entrance of Vasey Hall on the Villanova University Campus.

The Conservatory at Longwood Gardens (Chadd’s Ford, PA, USA).  Every year, the arboretum holds special hours for the Winter Wonderland display.  Lights on every tree, special exhibits.  Perfect occasion to try my hand at High-ISO photography.