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Hack 6 Attach Your Camera to Bicycle Handlebars

Put your pictures in motion by attaching your
digicam to the handlebars of your bike.

Some people might wonder why the heck anyone would
want
to attach their digital camera to the handlebars of their bike. Well,
in the old days of traditional photography, this
didn't make much sense. You
couldn't see through the viewfinder while pedaling,
so composition was little more than a wild guess.

But many of today's digicams have variable-angle LCD
monitors. This means that you can pull the monitor out from the back
of the camera and adjust it to your viewing angle. This is a perfect
example of how one technology (digital still photography), can be
borrowed from another (digital video). Digital video camcorders have
used swiveling LCDs from the get-go.

For cycling fans, this means that you can mount your camera on the
handlebars, swing the screen upward, and monitor your composition in
real time while you're peddling; just
don't forget to watch the road, please! This is a
great opportunity for you to share your adventures with those who
don't ride with you.

If your camera has one of these nifty swiveling monitors, then
chances are good that it also has a remote release that you can hold
in one hand while riding. Most of these releases not only enable you
to trip the shutter, but they also have buttons to let you zoom the
lens to different focal lengths. You can literally compose and shoot
while on the ride.

If you really want to get creative, enable the Movie mode on your
camera and take short video clips of your travels. Try to find a
smooth surface while recording video so that the movie
isn't too choppy.

A clever way to make all this happen is to get an
UltraClamp
(US$29.95) and
UltraMount
(US$10.95) by Pedco, and secure the entire rig to your bicycle.
Pedco's products,
including the fantastic UltraPod, are distributed by
BKAphoto.com
(http://www.bkaphoto.com). The
store finder on their site can help you find the closest retail
outlet.

Once your digicam is mounted, choose still pictures or movies and
fire that shutter. You will get images unlike any others that you
normally shoot. Just remember to be safe while
you're doing so.