Blame the Tripod

Bit of a mad day. We were back working at The Rest and be Thankful. The effort was all in getting there, getting the kit set up, getting the kit packed away again and driving home. In between all that we took a disproportionately small but no less critical set of measurements. I would compare it with being tasked with climbing to the top of Ben Nevis to take half a dozen photos.
I was back at the desk early but got sidetracked with emails and calls and other little five minute jobs that run to a couple of hours. Come early evening I still felt the need of fresh air; and a blip opportunity.

Embarrassment prevented me mentioning it on any of the holiday blips but I shall relate now:

Upon return to the car from the light house visit last week we had both dogs on leads. We put them back in the car then heaped them with praise and attention for being such good boys. I had walked with my wee tripod under my arm for all of the walk but laid it on the grass bank while attending to the dogs at this point. The boot was shut and we drove off. Later in the evening I intended to go for a wee walk along the road from the digs with the camera and tripod and realised only then that I had left it behind. A return trip proved fruitless and I even asked at the local police station. In truth it was at the end of its useful life and was a bit shoogly unless set up with great care but I got it in a gift from my brother in about 1986 and I was desperately disappointed to carelessly lose it after all this time.

I recently acquired a device to make the camera sit reliably on a theodolite tripod and this is what I took up to Upper Inverroy with me tonight. The whole set up is incredibly heavy. The camera goes on to a tribrach, a weighty well engineered device with levelling foot screws normally intended to accommodate a theodolite. This then screws on to the top of the tripod with a 5/8 inch whitworth retaining bolt. Opening the legs up and mounting everything takes at least two minutes. Its not spontaneous but the camera is held very solid indeed and I would swear you can see the benefit with pixel peeping on screen.

Anyway I clearly lost track of time with all this and I felt a bit sheepish when the phone went and M was wondering if I was coming home for dinner. Can I blame the tripod?