Has anybody ever tried tripods with nylon twine + tent stakes to hold them steady?

[amolitor]

With guy wires you could just use a monopod!

 

[Gavjenks]

With guy wires you could just use a monopod!

True. And that would get around the tripod weight limits mentioned in the earlier post. You'd probably want to modify the mionopod to have a spike on the bottom though instead of a rubberized foot or whatever.
I'm totally going to try this one in particular soon.

My point is that that if its windy enough to need to stake down your tripod, the moment you open the reflector the reflector is gone.

Ah. What I meant was more like just extending the range of windiness you could work in, all other variables equal.

So if you want to use a lighting stand AT ALL, then in some cases wind might be extreme enough that you need guy wires or sandbags to keep it down even with just a bare light on top.
If you're using a moderate sized thing like a softbox, then winds have to be lower than with a bare light, but the guywires and sandbags will still help you go higher than otherwise with a softbox.
And if using a reflector, normally you would need NO wind, but with better stabilization, you can upgrade to using it in LIGHT winds.

Is that clearer? Also, the way I was thinking of doing it was attaching the wires directly to the reflector. Like: connect reflector to tripod at one rim, then have two wires at other points on the rim to the ground, creating whatever desired angle. Then one more wire from the tripod going backward. So the tension goes through the reflector (requires a reasonably tough reflector, but not ultra tough), Keeping it not only on the ground but open and at the angle you want.

You could also use a dedicated reflector for windy conditions with 1" or so holes cut in the middle of it. to let air through, like on banners for public street lamps.

 

[o hey tyler]

I use the force.

 

[table1349]

Guy wires do not provide the kind of stability you are seeking. Guy wires keep the tower from falling over. It is not uncomon to have the structure move a large amount as in a foot or two in a good wind. (That is a ride that makes any rolller coster seem tame) Movement of this sort is not conducive to good photography in most cases.

 

[tirediron]

With guy wires you could just use a monopod!

Let's try and be politically correct Andrew? What about Gal wires?

 

[Gavjenks]

Guy wires do not provide the kind of stability you are seeking. Guy wires keep the tower from falling over. It is not uncomon to have the structure move a large amount as in a foot or two in a good wind. (That is a ride that makes any rolller coster seem tame) Movement of this sort is not conducive to good photography in most cases.

1) A foot of travel in a 200 foot tall radio tower does not translate to a foot of travel in a 6 foot tall monopod. It might be more like an inch.
2) An inch of wobble wouldn't matter for a light or a reflector. It's probably not secure enough for your camera body, no, but for peripherals, who cares?

 

[amolitor]

If you use low stretch line you should be able to get pretty good stability.

 

[EDL]

Here's how I mount mine on a really windy day:

 

[table1349]

Guy wires do not provide the kind of stability you are seeking. Guy wires keep the tower from falling over. It is not uncomon to have the structure move a large amount as in a foot or two in a good wind. (That is a ride that makes any rolller coster seem tame) Movement of this sort is not conducive to good photography in most cases.

1) A foot of travel in a 200 foot tall radio tower does not translate to a foot of travel in a 6 foot tall monopod. It might be more like an inch.
2) An inch of wobble wouldn't matter for a light or a reflector. It's probably not secure enough for your camera body, no, but for peripherals, who cares?

Let's examine your theory for a moment. A tower, be it radio, television or microwave type are first anchored to the earth via deep piers poured into the ground and bolted to those piers with high tensile strength bolts. Secondly they are designed to reduce aerodynamic drag from wind currents. They are held erect and stabilized via the guy wires. This stabilization still allows for play in the entire rig.

Now lets look at the monopod with a reflector. The monopod would be aerodynamically suited to the task. Add the reflector and you have now turned it into a mast with a big ole sail. That wind that moves the 200 foot tower 1 foot at the top and only moves the 6 foot monopod one inch at the top is going to play havoc with that 6 foot monopod with a sail attached to it.

Now lets use that same setup only exchange the reflector (sail) for a light source of some kind, be it an off camera strobe or a small monolight head. You have now placed a heavy object at the top of the 6 foot monopod that has no real anchor to the earth and want a few nylon ropes and tent stakes to hold it firmly in place. You have place your weight at the top of the mast and that weight, while not as bad as a reflector, still lacks the aerodynamic features to assist in stability. Add to that some sort of light modifier such as an umbrella or softbox and you have the photo equivalent of Mary Poppins and her umbrella on a windy day. Weight at the top of the mast is not a good idea. That is why all successful NFL running backs have a low center of gravity not a high center of gravity.

That is why the weight under the tripod works, it lowers the center of gravity thus providing more stability. This is basic physics 101.

I would suggest that you give your theory a try and see how it works for you. Just don't use equipment you can't afford to loose in your tests. I will even provide you a link that will assist you in getting the proper guy wire setup. Guy Wire Length Calculator

 

[480sparky]

Let's examine your theory for a moment. A tower, be it radio, television or microwave type are first anchored to the earth via deep piers poured into the ground and bolted to those piers with high tensile strength bolts. Secondly they are designed to reduce aerodynamic drag from wind currents. They are held erect and stabilized via the guy wires. This stabilization still allows for play in the entire rig.
..........

And move they will!

I have had the distinct pleasure of working 1200' up on one of those puppies. A red blinkie light got hit by lightning and I got the nod to go up and fix it. Fortunately, I didn't have to climb... there was an 'elevator' built into the tower. The light was about 30' above where a set of guy wires hooked on.

After I got done fixing the light, I spent about 30 minutes enjoying the scenery (hey, it ain't every day one gets to take a 1200-ft trip straight up in a metal basket operated by a 5hp motor!). I noticed the swaying of the guy wires..... they would slack loose, then tighten up, the slack again. I asked the guy who took me up (the basket was smaller than a phone booth, good thing we both bathed recently!) how far we were moving laterally. He said probably 12-15 feet. It was so slow, however, I couldn't feel the movement. He also said it sometimes takes a couple days for the movement to cease once the wind dies down.

 

[Derrel]

Has anybody ever tried tripods with nylon twine + tent stakes to hold them steady?

Ummm, no, but good,strong baler twine and tent stakes works great on those door-to-door peddlers...it keeps 'em immobilized just great! Add a wadded up hanky, and a couple of wraps of duct tape, and you're golden.

 

[EDL]

On really tall structures like that, you have flex in the tower itself, but more importantly the guy wires do have stretch in them, plus if you get down to where they attach at the ground and look up along the wire you will see they sag a little due to their weight. That sag equals movement when the load increase due to wind.

 

[Gavjenks]

Yeah all good points. Might not work at all.

I do intend to try it soonish. Maybe this weekend. I have a monopod I never use and a bunch of heavy gauge electric wire that shouldn't stretch much at all and a cheap reflector.

It's been storming a lot here this year, so hopefully I can get some nice wind to test.

 

[Light Guru]

On really tall structures like that, you have flex in the tower itself, but more importantly the guy wires do have stretch in them, plus if you get down to where they attach at the ground and look up along the wire you will see they sag a little due to their weight. That sag equals movement when the load increase due to wind.

Yup. A mono pod won't be nearly tall enough to flex so ether the tip of the monopod is going to slide or your tent pegs are going to pull out of the ground.

 

[Josh66]

Why would you be out shooting in winds extreme enough that you have to tether your tripod down anyway. Let alone wanting to use a reflector at the same time.

Storm chaser portraits, duh.

: lol: