ET-141 February 1939 
 
 United States Department of Agriculture 
 Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine 
 
 A PORTABLE STAND FOR OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 By A. H. Madden, 
 Division of Truck Crop and Garden Insect Investigations 
 
 In making outdoor photographs of experimental plot arrange- 
 ments, and similar subjects, it is often desirable to place the 
 camera at a considerable elevation. A natural elevation may some- 
 times be located at a convenient point from which the desired view 
 may be obtained, but in level country such a vantage point obviously 
 does not exist. This difficulty may be overcome by employing a 
 ■portable stand upon which the camera and tripod may be mounted. 
 Such a stand has been used by the writer for some time and it has 
 proved to be satisfactory for the purpose. 
 
 The stand consists of two parts, a base and a platform 
 (fig. 1, A and B) . The four upright corner members of the base 
 are finished 2 by 4 inch pine, while the braces and cross members 
 are finished pine boards 2-g- inches wide. The platform was built 
 of finished pine boards, which were nailed to three cleats placed 
 across the bottom (fig. 1, C). A strip of wood 1 inch square was 
 nailed around the upper edge of the platform to prevent the tripod 
 legs from slipping and also to reduce the possibility of stepping 
 backward off the platform while operating the camera. 
 
 In practice, the stand is mounted on the body of a "pick-up" 
 auto-truck and transported to the desired location. The cleats on 
 the bottom of the platform are so placed that they fit tightly into 
 the corners of the top of the base (fig. 1, D) , thus preventing the 
 platform from being shaken off while the stand is being carried 
 about on the truck. The advantage in having the base and platform 
 separate is that each part can be handled easily, and the entire 
 unit can be readily set up and taken down by one man. 
 
 With the stand mounted on a truck and the tripod legs fully 
 extended, the camera is approximately 12 feet from the ground (fig. 
 2) . By using the cross brace at the rear of the base as a step, 
 the platform can be reached easily. 
 
 The stand is approximately 5 feet high. This height has 
 been found to be satisfactory and yet it is not too great to prevent 
 passage under overhanging objects, such as the branches of trees, 
 when the stand is being transported. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/portablestandforOOunit 
 
- 3 - 
 
 Figiire 1« — Drawings of the camera stand. A, base; B, platform; 
 C, underside of platform showing cleats; D, detail showing 
 the manner in vvhich the cleats fit into the upper comers of 
 the base so that the platform is held in place i^ile the stand 
 is being transported. 
 
jFlgiire 2. — The camera stand in use. The stand may be set up on 
 the ground when the maximum elevation is not desired. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 
 
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