(Not) Tripping Over Your Tripods (Patreon)

Do you sometimes set up more than one tripod when you are out shooting astro-landscapes? (That's me setting up three of a total of five tripods at sunset, for a photo shoot that would last until 4:00 the next morning, in the West Desert of Utah.)

A Lesson Learned: Many years ago, while conducting a workshop in Monument Valley, I noticed one of our participants setting up several tripods. He had one camera that he moved from place to place, and two other cameras set up for doing timelapse and star trail astro photography — each on a separate tripod; and under each tripod he placed a very dim battery operated LED tea light "candle."

I asked him what was the purpose of the LED "candle" light and he replied, "So I can find each tripod and camera later tonight, and so others don't accidentally find them, and trip over them." The flickering candle light also gave notice to other photographers of the location of his cameras so that they should politely dim their headlamps (or turn aside) as they approached his tripods. It was a good lesson that I've never forgotten, even for when I'm out doing my own personal photography — where there's no one else to bump into my tripod legs, but me!

There are two types of LED battery operated tea light "candles": one that looks like the short wax candles and one that mimics the taller, melting candles. Most have an off/on switch under the base, and have a replaceable CR 2032 "coin" battery — however, the "candles" are so cheap ($1 to $2 each when you buy a dozen via Amazon or Walmart) that I rarely replace the batteries (which can cost more than the candles), and I just throw them away and use a new candle. Besides, if you buy the candles with the off/on switch (rather than the ones that only have the pullout plastic tab that initiates battery contact), you can often use them for several nights before the batteries wear out.

Glow Sticks: One of my Patreons, Linda Krugman, likes to use glow bracelets on her tripod legs — the kind made from glow sticks. I tried it, and liked it! These are the kind of glow sticks that people use at parties. You bend the sticks to release the chemicals that cause the glowing reaction, then join the ends together with one of the connector sleeves that are provided to make a bracelet. Instead of putting the bracelet around your wrist, you put it around the leg of you tripod. You can do that at the base, where the legs meet the ground (to avoid a tripping hazard) or higher up, so they are more visible from a distance. You can use just one bracelet at the top of of your tripod, or around all three legs. Unlike the tea light candles, the glow sticks cannot be reused, but they do glow all night, and they are very inexpensive. I use the Joyin glow stick brand on Amazon, which cost about $10 for 100 sticks. Linda often buys her glow sticks at "dollar" stores.

Whether I've used the tea light candles or the glow stick bracelets, I've never had any light spill onto the foreground of my nightscapes.