Elevated architectural photographs. Example shots of property in the Cornwall & Devon area.
Last July I wrote an article on this site raving about my (then newly aquired) elevated mast photography setup. I was enthused by the thought of travelling around Cornwall & Devon taking photographs of some of the regions finest coastal properties. The mast system did indeed prove to be a valuable tool in getting an elevated viewpoint from which to take my photographs; but with a rather massive drawback – it’s was not mobile enough. The problem was that the quadpod could not be moved once in position – not good when you’re trying to decide on the best angle from which to shoot a property and you are on a short timeframe. Also the kit needed to be tethered to my laptop which sat on the floor at the foot of the mast so that I could view the scene; all a bit clumsy really, with two 50 ft cables flapping around making a poor connection with my camera atop the mast – and I haven’t even mentioned the sandbags and guy ropes yet! So it had to go…
Out with the old in with the new
For 2012 I have replaced the old elevated mast system with a new more mobile version. It’s not perfect but it’s an improvement. The new gear includes a monopod, a transmitter which fits onto the hotshoe and a receiver/screen; no more sandbags to weigh down the legs of the oversized quadpod as before, and no more laptop sitting in the mud in the home owner’s backgarden!
As I said – it’s by no means perfect, however. The monopod is obviously not self-supporting, so I have to steady it with one hand whilst firing the camera shutter with the other (it could be only a matter of time before it slips out of my hand). Also a few goes at extending and reclining the monopod will leave one needing a bit of a rest (or maybe that’s just me…).
So far so good
I have been using my new elevated photography equipment in the Cornwall and Devon area for the last couple of weeks and so far (touch wood) I haven’t let the monopod slip out of my hand whilst taking a picture (that would be very bad), I have, however got some fabulous shots of property that would not have been possible to achieve without this type of gear. A great example would be an image I took of a property virtually backing on to a beach (somewhere in Cornwall or Southwest). The proximity to the beach would be totally lost in a photograph taken at ground level. So there you have it; elevated photography in Cornwall & Devon.
Please click on the thumbnails below for more examples (note that only the first 2 images are elevated views – the others are recent standard shots).
