Rig shots on the cheap with a Pro1

[Mick Emmett]

I've been wanting to try my hand at some rig shots for a while but as I'm out of work at the moment I couldn't justify spending money on a 77mm ND filter, then it came to me; I own a Pro1. As we all know the powershot Pro1 has a built-in ND filter (yippee!), I went to my local "ToolStation" and bought a double sucker and a single sucker (I didn't feel too guilty as the pair only came to £6.50). I took the centre rod out of my tripod complete with ball head and attached the Pro1; tie strapped it all to a pole and then tie strapped the pole to the suckers; which I'd previously stuck on the bonnet of my moderately priced family saloon (sorry no flashy sports cars available to me). Unfortunately the pole was a little shorter than I would have liked and the Pro1 wouldn't go any wider, so what you see is what I got. I was on my own so I had to push the car then run round to the front and try to get a couple of shots before it stopped (not easy when the remote batteries are getting low and will only trigger the camera when you're at the right angle and about 6 inches away from it :confused:). It's only a first attempt so may try it again later, I know they both look the same but the second one is slightly more edited.

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[PhotosGuy]

Everything considered, they look pretty good. I love it when you guys use some ingenuity to get a shot instead of throwing money at a problem. ;)

[Semmonka]

Everything considered, they look pretty good. I love it when you guys use some ingenuity to get a shot instead of throwing money at a problem. ;)

I totally agree.

These are good examples that you dont always need the latest gear to take good shots. I like it how you used the gear available and still managed to get nice looking rig shots.

[Mick Emmett]

The pictures are a composite of 4 shots, it was a very sunny day and I couldn't expose all of it correctly in one go ( a graduated filter would have been great). The great thing about the pro 1 is that with it not being an SLR; every adjustment you make to the exposure shows up on the LCD screen; you see exactly what you're going to get, no guesswork; no trial and error. I think the shots would have benefited from a little more speed but as I'm a 50 year old with a tricky back I think my next try will have to involve a second; er! slightly younger person :D