The purchase seemed like a good idea at the time but after using it once or twice to try it out I couldn’t find any need for it as my tripod or monopod delivered all the support I needed.
Then, recently, I took a short trip to London and I had a specific photo in mind that needed camera support as the exposure time was going to be a couple of seconds or more. Bringing a tripod was not an option as, apart from the inconvenience of lugging it around the city, I was travelling light with no checked-in luggage and the tripod would definitely not fit in my carry-on bag. Finally, a practical use for the bean-bag.
The photo I had in mind was of the British Museum Great Court with people moving about rendered as blurs. I went down there in the morning and found my vantage point: an open window on the first floor looking down on the Great Court. There wasn’t a window ledge, just a narrow railing, and I was worried in case it was too narrow to support the bean-bag plus camera. In fact, the bean-bag worked a treat and it gave ample support. I composed the shot, took a meter reading, fitted the B+W 10 Stop ND filter, adjusted the exposure for the latter and took a series of shots using a cable release. This 2 second exposure gave me the result I wanted:
I used it further on the same trip for some night shots of London such as this one of Tower Bridge:
The bean-bag itself is lightweight and it contains not beans but tiny polystyrene balls. It will easily fit into any rucksack or camera bag. The standard size one which I have costs only £11.75 plus postage and is ideal for those situations where support is needed but a tripod is not to hand.
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