Vent: My tripod slipped on a rocky beach and ruined my 30-minute Milky Way shot

I was down at Cannon Beach in Oregon last weekend, trying to get a clean shot of the Milky Way over Haystack Rock. It was about 2 AM, super dark, and I had my camera set up on the wet sand near some rocks. On the last frame of my 30-shot sequence, a wave came up higher than I expected and knocked one of my tripod legs loose. The whole camera tilted and smeared the last 3 frames, so I had to toss the whole composite. Has anyone else lost a stack to a rogue wave or gust of wind? How do you anchor your tripod on uneven ground without carrying a ton of extra weight?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_carter5125d ago

That exact spot at Cannon Beach ate my tripod last summer too. I used to think a heavy ball head was enough to keep everything stable, but after that night I bought a set of those aluminum spike feet that screw onto the legs. They dig into sand and gravel way better than the rubber pads. I also started hanging my backpack from the center column hook with a carabiner, which adds weight without needing to carry extra gear. The key is to put the backpack low and let it swing if a wave hits, it actually absorbs some of the force instead of tipping the whole rig. Haven't lost a stack since I started doing that, even on rocky coasts. Hope that helps you keep the next Milky Way sequence safe.

park.tara25d ago

Smashed my phone screen once trying to grab my tripod while a wave was already knocking it over. Now I just accept that the Pacific Ocean is gonna do what it wants and I'm just there to be its clumsy photographer friend lol.