Tips for photography from the ground

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I rest the lens on a short folding camp chair, which also serves as a chair when not shooting. Comes in 9" tall and 13" tall. Not sure why BCG displays the links as "Robot or Human" but they are links to Walmart product pages...

NDERF KingCamp Lightweight Portable Compact Small Camping Folding Stool

HEQUSIGNS 2PCS Folding Camping Stool, Portable Outdoor Camping Chair
 
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When I’m out walking I only carry the camera on a belt loop for a nightstick ( got this idea from a post in this forum a while back) so I can easily do a “quick draw” to shoot. Works great. I set my z8 to 10 sec sleep so I know I have to push a button to wake it up each time I shoot. I would lengthen this time amount if I were sitting on a subject but this saves the battery a lot and works better for me than a longer time frame where I would often raise the camera to a dead screen and lose the shot. It’s not perfect but until the z8 gets a better battery is the best solution for me. I also carry a good pair of binocs and a fanny pack for a dry bag,snacks and water along with spare batteries and card. I can go for miles this way. I like the idea of an inflatable pillow as I could carry this in my fanny pack. It’s a large one.
 
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Matt N said:
I'm curious to know what most people do to aide in shooting from the ground. For example, I find that when I'm laying on my stomach, I really struggle to hold the 800pf up for any length of time. I purchased a ground pod, but find that I rarely want to carry that around with me. Other thoughts I had was carrying around a bean bag, or maybe getting a tabletop sized tripod. Alternatively, I could sit and try to prop up the lens on my toe.

I'm planning a short trip next week where I hope to see rabbits and I want to get really low and wait. I may have to hike 1/2 mile, so I'm trying to figure out the best approach without carrying too much gear.

So what do you do and what accessories have you tried?
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I often rest a long lens on my bag - also the rear screen tilt is nice when its wet or muddy ... 🦘
 
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Good idea if your bag is big enough. I’m old and getting up and down is not always so easy even though I’m fit and have decent legs. I will most often get down on one knee unless the bird is going to hang around awhile.
 
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For really wet and muddy surfaces use a sleeping mat. However, usually I do not like to carry them when I have to be mobile. They work awesome if you plan to stay longer i.e. under a camouflage net. A good set of cothes is better in that case 20/20k membrane usually keeps me dry on a beach or wet sand. Or moderately wet :) Those membrane clothes get washed easily and ... it is good to treat them as working clothes, so you do not mind the dirt ;) Camo pattern hides dirt soil stains well :).
 
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My congratulations to those who can photograph from ground level! At 85, getting down doesn't present much of a problem, but...rising again...:unsure: I have a Garden Kneeler/seat, which gets me lower than usual, and I can get up again wihout a lot of drama, and I am considering something like the all-terrain walker/seats I see advertised. Not really low, but it will carry gear, and provide comfortable seating when I don't need to walk. Not perfect solutions for sure, but better than the alternatives, I think.:cool:
 
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I use the below rolling skater dolly and attach my Gimbal on top of it....easier to crawl and move the gear simultaneously...I only carry it with me if I go to locations where I know I'll get ground level shots

The only thing i wish this had was rubber tyres like on those RC toys
 

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I use one of those duck hunting bean bags, the kind you use as a seat in the duck blind. It is thick enough to lift your gear well off the ground and light enough that you don’t notice it carrying it around. I think (?) it was $20 from Amazon.
 
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I recently added "guide" rain pants to the mix and I will go out with a construction style rain jacket as well. I am working on getting used to laying on the ground in wet conditions.

I have one of those Ifootage monopods with feet. it is modular and when broken down it becomes a pretty robust mini tripod. I am going to give that a serious try when I go out later this week to the Skagit Valley in Washington.
 
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The days of me laying down for camera work are long gone.

An alternative I've used is mounting the camera upside down on the bottom of a center-column tripod. Shorten the tripod's legs and/or spread them out and you can get camera down close to the ground. Probably not useful for faster action/wildlife but works for more static applications.

For composition use camera's smartphone app live view if using the camera LCD screen difficult, focus with AF or manual focus with the app.
 
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I think, indendent from the subject you try to shoot, the requirement of holding the camera safe and still, being it rabbit action or close-to-ground macro with long exposure times.

My solution for both scenarios is a tripod called "Power Dwarf" here. It's a Sirui AM-223 that have combined with the Leofoto QS-60 quick link system that is also installed on my travel tripod to allow me to flexibly swap center column on the travel tripod as well as the heads between these two tripods. I have got a ball head and a Flexshooter Mini, so if I refer to your requirement, I bring the "Power Dwarf" in the lowest position (i.e. flat legs) and put the Flexshooter Mini on, which gives me de facto a Gimbal type of setup virutally on the ground. The Arca clamp of the Flexshooter is about the heigth of big smartphone standing upright off the ground (sorry, but I am travelling at the moment and don't have a ruler handy) and it can safely handle something like a Z8 with a 500mm f4 on it.

In case you have uneven ground you have still the posiibility to find a proper position by adjusting the legs, but as you can see, even with the legs in shortest position it provides proper support even for a pretty bulky setup.

I wouldn't buy it for the reabbits only, but if you shoot action on ground level more often, it could be a solution.

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Please forgive the quality but it was just a quick and dirty shot with my iPhone in the accomodation room.

It's pretty similar to the concept of @cmc4214 , just with a different tripod and the added feature of having quick release for tripod heads. For clos-up and macro I still prefer a conventional ball head instead of the Flexshooter and both live happily on either tripod / center column.
 
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Woodpecker said:
I think, indendent from the subject you try to shoot, the requirement of holding the camera safe and still, being it rabbit action or close-to-ground macro with long exposure times.

My solution for both scenarios is a tripod called "Power Dwarf" here. It's a Sirui AM-223 that have combined with the Leofoto QS-60 quick link system that is also installed on my travel tripod to allow me to flexibly swap center column on the travel tripod as well as the heads between these two tripods. I have got a ball head and a Flexshooter Mini, so if I refer to your requirement, I bring the "Power Dwarf" in the lowest position (i.e. flat legs) and put the Flexshooter Mini on, which gives me de facto a Gimbal type of setup virutally on the ground. The Arca clamp of the Flexshooter is about the heigth of big smartphone standing upright off the ground (sorry, but I am travelling at the moment and don't have a ruler handy) and it can safely handle something like a Z8 with a 500mm f4 on it.

In case you have uneven ground you have still the posiibility to find a proper position by adjusting the legs, but as you can see, even with the legs in shortest position it provides proper support even for a pretty bulky setup.

I wouldn't buy it for the reabbits only, but if you shoot action on ground level more often, it could be a solution.

View attachment 100730


Please forgive the quality but it was just a quick and dirty shot with my iPhone in the accomodation room.

It's pretty similar to the concept of @cmc4214 , just with a different tripod and the added feature of having quick release for tripod heads. For clos-up and macro I still prefer a conventional ball head instead of the Flexshooter and both live happily on either tripod / center column.
Click to expand...
That looks great! Thanks for the showing the setup.
 
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