A question asked by my friend – the Rev Chris Wicks
Why a staircase studio?
There are several reasons for that:
- My reason for doing anything is because I can. Personally I don’t like to limit myself, but I have the understanding that I am not able to do everything.
- I chose the stairs because it’s one of the few places in my home that does not get readily affected by the movement of sunlight.
- The next reason for choosing the stairs is because it doesn’t affect the daily footprint of our household.
- I also chose the stairs because the lights you see me using are placed on a lower stair than the base board which helps to give a more evenly and softly illuminated image.
- By using the stairs, it also means that I don’t have to do a lot of bending down to take images; the perspective is also less distorted.
- I have also designed and built my own unique tool for this staircase studio – please see image No1. This is a GCM studio designed still life camera support box, as opposed to using a standard tripod where you would somehow bump into the tripod leg! It works by simply attaching my camera which has an Arca – Swiss quick release plate on to either of the tripod heads fitted to the box.
- If I do need any extra height then I can use my GIOTTOS VGR 9255-5310-630 travel tripod on a lower stair. I have changed the head of this tripod by putting an Arca-Swiss quick release plate on its head.
- The tripod heads on the box are adjustable and are freely able to be moved anywhere along the rail. This is not too dissimilar from a product that video film makers might use but is a whole lot more affordable and absolutely fine for my intended purpose, being a photographer and not a videographer.
- Using my camera with the box means I can use the 2 second delay timer that my camera has, so that I am ensured of a sharp image. I also don’t have to worry about a long exposure as long as the staircase is not in use all the time!
- This product has also inspired a colleague of mine to to design and build another product.
I am really pleased with the ‘product’ – it is portable, quick to use, easy to assemble and de-assemble. The only issue for me is storage space for it.
However, for many people 15″ high x 25″ wide x 5.5″ deep is not a problem.
