Additional uses for photo equipment and lights

I live in a 116 year old house, so calling a plumber or electrician every time something goes wrong is not possible. In this case, a hot water pipe broke inside the floor. Fortunately I heard the water pouring from the ceiling below and had the water turned off in less than a minute. Not wanting to tear out the entire floor to find out where the break was, I grabbed a photo light and a point and shoot. Now I know where to start.
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Had the exact same thing happen a few years ago in a brand new home, only the water nearly flooded the Brazilian cherry floors. Good thing I knew where the shutoff was. I like the old homes, new ones have no character. Plus, this one makes a great movie set!
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I heard the water pouring from the ceiling
Just in case you don't know, if you have plaster ceilings they take months to dry out. Even if you only have to repaint because of water stains, you'd be better off waiting a while or you'll just have to do it again. If you have to replaster you should wait about 6 months or you will definitely have to do it all again. At least, that's what I tell my wife.
 
Just in case you don't know, if you have plaster ceilings they take months to dry out. Even if you only have to repaint because of water stains, you'd be better off waiting a while or you'll just have to do it again. If you have to replaster you should wait about 6 months or you will definitely have to do it all again. At least, that's what I tell my wife.

It's truly amazing how little damage was done to the plaster ceiling of the bathroom below. No paint damage, no plaster damage. The water simply went to the edges of the plaster and poured out of the crown molding! It went underneath the wallpaper, but I was there quickly squeegeing it out. Only damage was a previous patch in the ceiling which loosened and fell, revealing a hole and giving an additional place for the water to drain.
 
It's truly amazing how little damage was done to the plaster ceiling of the bathroom below. No paint damage, no plaster damage. The water simply went to the edges of the plaster and poured out of the crown molding! It went underneath the wallpaper, but I was there quickly squeegeing it out. Only damage was a previous patch in the ceiling which loosened and fell, revealing a hole and giving an additional place for the water to drain.

So when will it be ready for me to shoot my next short film there? :-)
 
Had the exact same thing happen a few years ago in a brand new home, only the water nearly flooded the Brazilian cherry floors. Good thing I knew where the shutoff was. I like the old homes, new ones have no character. Plus, this one makes a great movie set!

I went on a tour of historic Nashville homes about 15 years ago.... every single one was a potential movie set.
Great GREAT architecture.
 
I use my movie gear for all kinds of other stuff....like lighting underneath my car and motorcycle when I'm working on them, and even using a camera with an external monitor to see hard to reach areas I need to deal with.

Light stands and grip stuff is like 'adult tinker toys'. There's a million-and-one other uses for it!
Grip heads are an amazing around-the-house tool.
 
I redesigned the launchers for our model rocket club a couple of years ago, using PVC pipe and a grip head as the pan/tilt/rod clamp device:

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After a long miserable bug infested hot outdoor wedding we used an LED camera light to help change the flat tire on a van late at night out in the country. The sony battery lasted through the reception plus having to deal with 2 lousy jacks that barely got the job done. I was impressed. Then used it to see while we unloaded once we got back in town.
 
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