Wallace and the Gromit

I know, Ive resorted to my favourite local monument again to Blip, but you see I'm rather chuffed with myself.

I took the plunge after such shots as Precariously Purple, were really the result of a blurred low light shot due to lack of a decent tripod.

So I now have a little Velban tripod, not a huge fancy one, but big enough for my little Canon, and small enough I can sling it in a bag and take it everywhere.

I did have a Gorillapod, but in trying to take a nice moon shot last night, I managed to break the ball and socket joint that the mount is on, and no amount of superglue seems to have stabilised it.

So like an excited teenager, I marched into crept into a well known camera shop in Stirling and demanded asked very sheepishly if they had a nice small and light reasonably cheap tripod.

As the shop was at the time full of well dressed gentlemen, considering spending several hundred pounds on a top of the range all-singing and all-dancing semi-pro DSLR, I was hoping he wasn't going to ask me what weight my DSLR was and whether I wanted the ultra-light carbon fibre/kevlar/integral spirit level/macro holder/makes the tea for you model.

As it was he was very helpful, and patiently waited without rolling his eyes as I fiddled and ummed and awed about whether I really needed something that is smaller, (and possibly more expensive), than my four year old child, who lets face it, would probably try and use it as a swing launching platform for aerial displays, and break it.

I convinced myself that at the moment, I do not need a diamond-crusted, gold-plated, light as a feather and costing an arm and a leg tripod, as I can't yet afford the fancy DSLR to go onto it!

But I am rather chuffed with my little three legged friend, so on the way home to my long suffering husband, who's parting shot was "and how late shall I expect you this evening?" (when I last saw him at 3pm), I had to detour via the castle esplanade to try it out on a bit of a long range dusk shot.

So sorry peeps, but it's Wallace again, and the Gromit is the nickname I have chosen for my new three legged pal.

I'll get better, and hopefully it will support a reasonable DSLR for a period when I get round to saving up for it win the lottery.