Day 133—Nicht so schnell!

My new tripod arrived yesterday, a day earlier than I expected it. It’s a Cullmann Magnesit 525 M, made in Germany! That’s why my blog title today is in German. “Nicht so schnell” means “not so fast” in German, a reference to the very slow shutter speed I used for this photo.

I decided my photo of the day today has to be my new tripod. But I didn’t want just to take a picture of it. Instead, I set the camera onto the tripod and posed it in my bathroom. The only full length mirror in the house is in my bathroom so I had to disguise the bathroom a little. I set the tripod with camera mounted in front of a length of red Ultra Suede (left over from my days as a seamstress) which I stretched between the glass of the shower and the cabinets on a tension rod.

I fiddled with exposure and lighting until the red of the Ultra Suede was the exact color. That required a very slow shutter speed, for which the tripod serves the very purpose. I used the remote to trigger the shutter. I took several photos because I had to keep adjusting the camera position, focal length, and background fabric so no tile, mirror edges or cabinets showed. What I didn’t figure on was the slow shutter speed capturing me as I triggered the remote. I did take a couple without my ghost but I find this a more interesting photo. I also couldn’t seem to coordinate the distance from the mirror and the focal length to get the feet of the tripod in the photo. I’m sure it’s doable but not worth the endless effort I know I would probably spend on it.

So here’s a photo of my new tripod, without its feet showing, and with my Nikon D90 mounted on it and my Crumpler camera strap dangling. I’m the ghost on the right.

Focal Length 80mm
ISO 320
f/16
2 seconds
SOOC