There was once a man named Larry who was going off to photograph and hike through Bryce Canyon. He took his tripod to get steady shots but came home and as he said, "I felt like I needed a chiropractor and a cardiologist!" Hence, after several jury-rigging attempts, he began to manufacture a simple, sturdy and flat plate that could support photo equipment. Thus, at 4mm thick, the world's most compact mini tripod was born! The design was inspired by the duck-billed platypus. https://www.platypod.com/collections/tripods-1.
I was well aware that for my trip through Poland, Prague and Budapest, tripods were basically forbidden indoors. Often, we learned that they can't even be in a camera bag and must be left outdoors. The platypod saved the day! The cathedrals and synagogues, the museums etc. have such stunning architecture but often times have extremely low light as well. A totally steady shot with a shutter release was the only way to capture these awe inspiring details. Placing my camera on this device, allowed me to work with a very low ISO of 50-100 to have very little noise and with the sweet spot on the Sony of 5.6, I was able to get tack sharp photographs time and time again.
Inside of the Spanish Synagogue, I was given special permission to photograph and bring in our equipment, but under NO circumstances were tripods allowed. I simply placed the platypod/camera on the top of a pew. Capturing this incredible beauty would never have been possible without this device.
It also allows for totally different perspectives with a more artful view and I think has more movement in a sense.
Here I could avoid all the tourists by just raising my camera up!
At the National Museum of Budapest, they were setting up for an event and had red ropes blocking anyone from entering but there was no problem when I took out the platypod with my camera and set it on the floor under the ropes - no one said a word to me as I slid it in!
At the Matthias Church in Budapest, there were hundreds of tourists milling all around but because this church too had red ropes blocking off the altar, all I had to do was again, put everything on the floor under the rope on an altar step and let the shutter do its job!
Lastly, this staircase was in a tiny back room in Prague. It had caution tape all around it blocking a great view to get the "lightbulb" like effect. Luckily, there was an old box under it so I just placed the platypod with the camera on it and aimed it straight up to get the almost perfect perspective.
These photographs would NEVER have been possible without this small but critical platypod. It is lightweight, takes up very little space but is truly a game changer for me with a backpack that already weighs 30 pounds! Thank you so much Larry for taking a problem and turning it into a wonderful invention to help so many!
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