Why a bamboo light stand? Well if you are a reader of Strobist then you know that lightstands are very handy — if not read here first. Of course a factory built one is simple and probably the best option, but it isn’t exactly cheap. Particularly if you want more than one — and you will, you’ll want several. There’s your main light, then fill, then hair and rim lights, and what about some reflectors and… you get the picture. Just try not to over-do the whole speedlight thing, heh?
Now one good solution to keep Strobist from hurting your wallet is the Stick in a Can, click that link and watch the video if that name doesn’t mean anything to you, but good/cheap and DIY as that is it isn’t great for portability. I mean how many cans full of concrete can you carry about - even in the back of your car?
So here is my solution to the problem — which makes sense for me because were I live bamboo is cheap cheap cheap. This light stand uses three 6 foot pieces of bambo, some brass bolts and a piece of string. The bolts and string cost me more than the bamboo.
If you live somewhere where bamboo is an exotic import and costs a fortune, well then this post is of only academic interest. Though flip through the pictures and maybe consider doing the same out of PVC tubing? I understand that’s pretty cheap — using PVC tubing for photo stands is not new of course. But that’s another topic.
As we are visual types I’ll start with a slide show that shows what the stand looks like and how it’s used. And I’ll follow up with some more details in another post.
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
2 responses so far ↓
1 gary bartholomew // Sep 18, 2008 at 2:47 am
Bambo is cool, I wish it would grow in my area.
gb
2 raymond // Sep 18, 2008 at 3:53 am
It grows right outside my house — but actually the poles I use I get from the shop as they are already dried and trimmed. If you cut it from a growing plant it takes a long time to dry and it’s hard to avoid it cracking.
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