A simple ground pod DIY photo project

Hey there. I decided to make today my first 2 item day! Yep, breaking out of my shell.

I have been trying to take pictures of birds - mainly because they are interesting and come in a variety of colors, sizes and shapes. And they are almost everywhere! You don't have to ask permission and when they are tired of you, they just fly away with no hard feelings!

I have tried walking up to then with a 200mm lens but as soon as you get within 20 or 30 feet, away they go. What this means is that you have to do major cropping of your image to get that final picture that you want. It is usually pixelated and not good looking at all.

I have tried crawling and can get within 10-15 feet before they decide to leave. But again, with a 200mm lens, while they are bigger on the sensor, it is difficult to hold that camera and lens stable while you are on your belly in the sand!

The first thing I tried was going to a 400mm lens. This made the bird twice as large on the sensor and reduced the amount I had crop but I felt I could do better. I added the crawling and while I got great images, my shakiness and even more problems with holding a larger lens became very apparent. Off to the WWW to see what other have done.

I discovered something called a ground pod, a simple flat piece of something that you bolted your tripod head to. It sat on the ground, was very stable and carried all of the camera and lens weight! A bit more searching and I found one made of plastic (won't rust in Cayman), circular in shape and curved at the ends so that it slides in any direction. Great! Let me buy one. US$99.95 for that simple thing? You've got to be kidding!

Time to search DIY. I found one made from a aluminum frying pan and a bolt. Sounds easy enough! Off to ask the wife if I could borrow her frying pan and got a very sound NO! after I explained that I was going to drill a hole in the bottom! Back to the internet! :-(

More searching and I found another made from a plastic type wood and some made from plywood. Hmmmm, got lots of 1' square bits of plywood in the garage so off I went. A suitable piece was found and cut into shape. Three bits of 1" dowel to make the legs and some chair leg caps for gripping. A hole to mount the tripod head and one bolt to hold the head to the plywood. Some glue, couple screws and it was finished. Cost outlay - about CI$4 - US$5. I could live with that! Add a couple coats of Thompson Water Shield to reduce the effects of moisture and ready for field testing.

Completed ground pod

Looking ahead... it can also look down to the front of the pod.

The results I believe speak for themselves.

Getting away from it all

One of the difficulties of small island living is the desire every now and then to get away to somewhere else. You want a change in pace - see a different city, some hill, a river, different beaches, try a different restaurant, etc. Depending on how involved one is with other things like family, friends or projects, the desire can come within 3 months or a long as a year. I managed to get away for a week in January to Washington DC, spent Easter in Honduras and just came back from a one week visit to Grenada. A change is as good as a rest.

Grenada was very nice and I took my wife there. For all the yars we had been married, she had never been to my place of birth. Well, she has now and loves it. Her main comment was "all that green" and " look at that hill"! Of course, the bountiful fruits, beaches, rivers and friendly people also helped. She is already asking if we can go next year! Hmmm.....

The end of summer rains have come and gone and thankfully there were no hurricanes this year that affected us. Temps are a lot cooler and the humidity has taken a big drop. Time for sleeping with open windows and enjoying the fresh air.


Chickens are still there and producing eggs. Time to plan out winter garden - probably carrots, lettuce and beans this year.


Christmas is almost upon us and the advertisements have started. I don't know if age has anything to do with it but it seems that Christmas starts earlier every year. By the time it reaches here and you've had the big dinner and gifts, you are so thankful that it is over! Perhaps I should change my name to Scrooge! :-(

I close for now with a couple images from Grenada. More to come!


The first shows some of the small, colourful homes that people build. The second is of Grand Anse beach.