Appreciation post: the guy who told me my tripod was too light

I was out last Thursday trying to get a clear shot of Jupiter and kept getting this blur... this older guy walked over from two houses down and just said "your tripod's shaking from the breeze, you need something heavier." I honestly thought my $40 one was fine since it had a carry bag and everything. So I swapped to my dad's old heavy aluminum one from the 80s and the difference was night and day... the moons of Jupiter were actually sharp for once. Has anyone else had a random neighbor drop some truth like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

bettywilson21h ago

Oh man, that's a great story! I had a similar thing happen to me years ago with my first real camera. I was so frustrated with blurry night shots and this guy at the park just said "your shutter speed is too slow for handheld." I thought I was being smart by using auto mode. He didn't mean to be a jerk, just saw me struggling. That one tip opened up so much for me. Sometimes the simplest advice from a random stranger is the best, you know? It sticks with you way more than reading a manual.

emerycarr21h ago

Right? And here I am still remembering that random dude's advice but can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. (Brains are weird, man.)