The most frustrating thing when photographing plants outdoors is subject movement caused by the wind. Not so much an issue when shooting flora and fauna as part of the landscape, but when you get in close the slightest trembling of your subject can ruin a shot. Patience is the key here as eventually the wind will drop long enough to allow the subject to settle, but this is not always practical if the lighting changes when this happens. The photographer needs some assistance and this is where The Plamp comes into play.
A portmanteau of the words Plant and Clamp, it was originally designed and marketed by a well known tripod head manufacturer and features two clamps at either end of a flexible arm. One end is attached to something stable - a post in the ground, or possibly a tripod leg, for example - whilst the other end grips whatever it is that you are photographing. A nifty solution that works quite well in the field, but quite expensive for what it is.
Enter the DIY solution: I made my own, and for approximately a tenth of the cost of the commercially available version. Two plastic spring clamps and some foam-covered garden wire were bought from a local hardware store, and the whole assembley finished-off with some electrical tape that I already had. It may not be as sophisticated as the real thing, but for all intents and purposes it does the same job, as the image of Hawthorn blossom testifies.
300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. Tripod and remote release. ISO 200
© 2015
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