Photo etiquette

[Bob in Pittsburgh]

Last Saturday I was on a work-related visit to a manufacturing plant. Several of us had cameras with us, but only one of us actually took any pictures. He was using a Canon Eos of some sort with a telephoto lens, and had it mounted to a tripod. He used the tripod for 5 to 10% of his shots but he kept the camera on the tripod the whole time. Tripod legs fully extended, he was swinging that thing around like crazy. I was afraid he was going to put someone's eye out.

My takeaway: he should get a tripod with a quick-release plate and use it. For all I know his tripod may have had a quick-release he wasn't using. I suspect the bigger issue was that he had no easy way to carry the tripod around when he wasn't using it. It just seemed odd to me.

Have you ever seen anyone take pictures this way? Am I being too judgmental?

 

[demiro]

Hard to say if you are being judgmental Bob. I've carried a tripod with camera mounted rifle-style on my shoulder (legs collapsed in but still extended) without feeling like I was endangering anyone, but I don't know what this guy was doing specifically.

I would say that after years of working in and around manufacturing that one of the golden safety rules is to call out unsafe acts when you see them. Don't worry if your're somehow wrong or being overly concerned - say something.

 

[Mike G]

I agree with Bob, he should get a camera with IBIS and lens stabilisation.
And mostly he should have been told he was being a pain in the arse!

 

[PakkyT]

And he should use a monopod if he must have a foot of some sort.

I know on our manufacturing plant visitors are not allowed to be taking any photos anyway, let alone a tripod mounted camera.

 

[agentlossing]

A tripod mounted camera tells me "I am on a professional/paid assignment" and that he has no time for any fiddling around other than getting the shot. As a hobbyist, carrying that thing around that way would be ridiculous and far more effort than necessary. Not to mention rude. You can only act like you own the place if you were actually hired to do what you're doing.

 

[DanS]

Tripod legs fully extended, he was swinging that thing around like crazy. I was afraid he was going to put someone's eye out.

Sounds like a hobbyist buffoon, who hasn't used his gear often enough to have proper spacial and situational awareness. If you carry a camera mounted to an extended tripod often enough, you learn how to wield it in a way that doesn't make others around you wary of getting bludgeoned.

 

[wjiang]

Sure, I've carried it around like that when out in the open landscape just to save time when repositioning. But in those cases there's nothing around me that I could easily hit.

 

[Bob in Pittsburgh]

The good news is, nobody was injured. At one point someone put his hand up as a shield between the tripod and a guy who was standing nearby. That's as close as we got to having any casualties.

 

[Jeffcs]

At worst I’d say you’ve witnessed very poor photography etiquette not to mention a potentially dangerous situation just don’t be THAT guy!

 

[PakkyT]

The good news is, nobody was injured. At one point someone put his hand up as a shield between the tripod and a guy who was standing nearby. That's as close as we got to having any casualties.

I am surprised someone from the plant you were visiting didn't put a stop to that nonsense.

 

[Bytesmiths]

I use and love a Benbo #1, because I can set the legs to a specific position, and lock them there — they don't get all flippy-floppy when you pick the thing up. And I often then pick it up and re-position it, without resetting the legs.

I often shoot this way in nature or macro photography, or in my own studio space. However, I can't see doing that in a crowded industrial setting.

One only need look around at the current crop of world leaders to see that awareness of self and others is not highly regarded these days!