Worlds largest monopod?

[Figment]

I'm just surprised he can get the camera down successfully without slamming it into the ground.

Good point. Imagine what would happen if he tripped over something.

Yea, I about damn near wet myself, thinking "Ouch...There goes a perfectly good camera" when I first saw that shot.... I mean Holy Jeebus

 

[JohnHokkanen]

Pole photography is becoming more common, and you can find info by searching for PAP (pole and aerial photography). The really tall masts have to be anchored because the forces on the pole are so great. I am amazed to see this guy walking with what looks to be a pretty tall pole. The really tall fiberglass poles are linesman's poles and there is a pole called a Wonderpole.

However, if you want to get started inexpensively, you can go to about 25 feet with just an off-the-shelf painter's pole. That's what I use. Over the years, I developed an adapter to convert a painter's pole to a giant monopod, and along the way came up with some other devices to make pole photography a bit safer. You can see them on my web site at PolePixie.com Painter Pole Adapter and Camera Accessories. Here's an image of the approach that I use; the photo shows a digital camera up top, but I attach my Canon 5d to it, though I usually try not to max out the height with that camera.

 

[christopher walrath]

Jose Hasselblad. On a stick.

 

[vtf]

Paparazzi usage?

 

[reznap]

A Pentax would survive that fall

 

[fokker]

It's not really a new concept, real estate photographers have been using tricks like this for years. I've even a real estate photogrpahy business with a car-mounted pole.

some people also use remote controlled helicopters for aerial photography. This is something I have started exploring myself, although I really need to get a LOT better at flying the damn things before I'm ready to upgrade to a grunty gas powered one and stick a camera on it