> Glen: Truth be told, I don't really have a clear understanding of all the
> mechanics you explain here (not really knowing anything about telescopes or
> guns), but the details don't matter: what's impressive is your
> inventiveness--good luck with whatever it is you're trying to build, but
> your point about the police seems to be a wise one--don't forget it!!!
Thanks! As they say, necessity is the mother of invention.
To make my description of the support I used for that shot less
confusing, here's the stand I was talking about:
http://www.kempt.net/~glenn/lj/Scope8385.JPG
The little grey bit sticking out of the bottom of the telescope's
mounting bracket is supposed to fit snugly into a hole in the top
of a wooden tripod; instead I've got the narrow bolt of the cymbal
stand sticking up into it, and it doesn't really fix it in position,
but just acts like a fulcrum. With a proper tripod I could point
the telescope out the window, but to shoot the helipad I have to
lean out the window and shoot sideways. (When I use this, I put
two legs right up against the wall under the window and let the
weight of the scope+camera tip the stand forward so the vertical
post rests against the windowsill, so it projects farther out
than it looks like in this picture from where I've got the boom
set to.)
When I try to use the telescope hand-held, I usually grab that
tripod-attachment-point with my left hand, resulting in a
sortakindaalmost-rifle-ish grip (if a rifle had the trigger
on top where the shutter release is, anyhow), so being able
to hold it even more like a rifle seemed like a good idea (and
was something I'd wanted for my 400mm lenses sometimes too).
The "stock" of the rifle (I hope I'm using the term correctly
but I'm not a gun expert either) is the wooden part that all
the parts-that-make-it-a-gun attach to -- so the butt, and the
grip part that goes partway down the barrel underneath; basically
all the parts that a rifle has in common with a crossbow (and
using a dead crossbow instead of a dead rifle would actually
be easier, but crossbows aren't as common these days). Ifwhen
I finally complete that project, I'll post a photo of it.
-- Glenn
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