DIY Photography Hacks: stay dry with a hands-free umbrella holder for your tripod

jmeyer | Landscape | Photography Tips | 20/09/2012 02:00am

2 Comments

Shooting landscapes is rewarding at any time of the year and it’s no secret that the best images are often shot in adverse weather conditions. They help to add drama to a scene as the clouds, light and powerful skies work together to create maximum impact. However, getting yourself and your gear wet during a freak downpour isn’t so appealing. Holding an umbrella is a pain and a waterproof camera cover isn’t going to stop your lens getting wet. The solution? A hands-free brolly holder. In our latest DIY Photography Hacks post we show you how to stay dry in the rain with a simple umbrella holder to mount on your tripod. Here’s how to do it…

01 Making a bracket
Buy two steel 90°-angle brackets and a straight section with pre-drilled holes from a hardware store. Lay them out in a ‘T’ shape and use two screws to bolt them together.

02 Brolly good show
Most tripod heads can be separated, so unscrew yours and place the brolly bracket over the tripod head screw. Then secure the tripod head back on top.

03 Create the brolly holder
Cut a small section of steel or copper pipe, spray it matte black along with all the other parts and attach two ‘P’ clamps (used to clamp radiator pipes) with two small bolts.

04 Bolt it on
Using two nuts or washers to bulk out the space between the ‘P’ clamps and the edge of the round pipe, bolt the holder onto the bracket attached to the tripod.

05 Get some protection
Buy a golf-style brolly, preferably with a foam handle that is easy to remove with a craft knife. Make sure it fits snugly into your steel pipe after the handle is removed.

06 Try it out…
In bad weather, the brolly holder will keep your camera, lens and tripod dry while you concentrate on taking amazing shots of the unfurling landscape in front of you.

Posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2012 at 2:00 am under Landscape, Photography Tips.