We all know the cold, grey, winter months can make you never want to leave the couch and put a big damper on your creative motivation. In order to avoid a heavy case of cabin fever I like to keep myself busy with business and shop projects. One of my latest DIY projects was a steel camera stand with casters. Camera stands are very useful and allow you to shoot perspectives that you couldn't get with a typical tripod. I always found myself needing one, but never invested because they start around $1000 for a basic model. I wanted to design something that would be very sturdy and be capable of supporting a load of 30lbs while the boom was fully extended. Here comes the fun part! A cup of coffee and a trip to Home Depot to pick up supplies. The weight in the stand is an important factor in trying to reduce any vibration or shake while taking photos. To get this I used 2" black steel pipe for the base. They will custom cut and thread it for you for a $1 a piece. I then filled the base with self leveling portland cement to make a very stable and roughly 60lb base. I used a  piece of 1.5" pipe for the main support and used the pipes themselves to torque the structure as tight as humanly possible. I added caps, casters, and that's pretty much did it for the camera stand! Home Depot supplies ran about $250. The boom was created by bolting a Manfrotto 131D extender arm with a Manfrotto Super Clamp which can be attached on the main support at any height. The Super Clamp is built like a rock and can support 33lbs. Overall the stand came out great, and is very easy to use. I had the chance to do a few shoots with it and it really makes finding new perspectives fun again. 

Hope all is good, Tim + Mercedes