We are photographers. Not martians (well not at all). But the analogy I’m weakly trying to build here is why are we obsessed with composing from our tripods?
Like some HG Wellsian creatures I see photographers manourve themselves around the landscape with camera super-glued to thier ballhead. Placing it down. Looking through the viewfinder from this high perch. Composing. Shooting. Picking their tripod up. Moving on. Stop. And repeat.
Martian tripod | War of the Worlds
Our eyes are trained to rapidly process images. To survive our the millennia our eyes have had to access, process and respond quickly. Food. Good. Eat. Lion. Bad. Run.
All of this detail we need to digest is lost in a sea of light colour and detail that surrounds us. Consequently our eyes easily process what they know, but gravitate to what we find visually unique or different. Our minds need time to catalogue it. Make sense of that which stands out side our normal frame of reference.
So viewers respond well to shots that are outside their normal perspective (i.e that world view we see via our eyes standing up), consequently those landscapes shot down low, close up, or actually on the ground work really well.
I find constantly having your camera on your tripod limits composition. You default to shots from standing eye level, and miss out on more intimate details in the landscape or more visually arresting angles.
Personally, I like to move around a location with my camera in hand first. Find a composition I like, then bring over my tripod and set it up to fit the angle / height of where I found that sweet spot.
The tripod should be for stabilising your camera, not a compositional aid. Keeping it bolted on there is just plain lazy.
Liberate your lens!
f29
Ditto! I didn’t realise how many people do this until I went on holiday to Northumberland. People really need to get a decent L plate and quick release… (or, even better, just slow down a little)