The last couple winters I have been taking photos using what I have taken to calling camera traps. They are also known as trail or game cameras. Basically self contained cameras that run off batteries. They can take photos and videos depending on how you set them up. Each camera has different methods of taking capturing images so I have quite a bit of flexibility. It has been a lot of fun seeing what comes back on the memory cards. Problem is the animals got a little to interested in the cameras.

At first it was pretty harmless. A few deer got rather close and the cattle started rubbing and licking it. All of that just made for amusing captures with no damage to the equipment. Until one night a random bear got involved. Still not sure what happened exactly, but the results were far more damaging.

That is a couple hundred dollar wreck and I was lucky it was fixable. As a side note I have not yet fixed that particular camera. Lazy is as lazy does people. Earlier this summer I started looking for hard point camera rigs. Something I could rotate horizontal and vertical. In addition to being lazy, I am also cheap so buying a rig was not going to happen. So I went into the lab with a cutter and a welder. This was the result.

Looks like a wonky child’s erector set of that there is no doubt. It actually does everything I need and is fairly secure. The greatest part is it took about maybe 45 minutes to build. All materials were scrap I had around the shop from other projects. Seeing the rig in action actually gives it some context, that is the theory anyway. First up without the camera attached.

The rig moves horizontal as well as vertical. Finally you thread the camera in place and its ready to go. May need some more stabilization in a further iteration of the device.

The rig as you can see if out in the wilds for a couple week test. I got a better idea for another one, but every invention has to start somewhere. This winter will we see if Mr. Bear can make my rig into a mess.