When I'm moving the camera, I can rotate the camera arm to get different orientations. Now, with the wiffle stage I can do this while moving the subject.
Capital outlay was quite small, just $1.49 for the wiffle ball and a few odd pennies for the plastic pipe fittings, bolts, vinyl tape, and ProtoStar flocking.
Construction is straightforward.
- Drill .875 inch hole in top of wiffle ball
Glue .5 inch pvc connector on one end of a short .5 inch pvc pipe
Cut connector off even with the top of the pipe
[optional] Drill and tap hole for .25 inch bolt
Insert pipe assembly into hole in wiffle ball
Secure with tape
Make a ProtoStar flocking platform with light cardboard
Attach to wiffle ball assembly using the built-in ProtoStar adhesive
Fill wiffle ball assembly half full of water
Insert subject
Place wiffle ball assembly on a cylinder
Take photographs
A better choice for holding the plant in place would be a cork with a center hole. A cork with a pin through it would work great for insects.
It would be even better to find a ferrous metal sphere to use so magnets could hold it in place.
Here's the image:
It's a 2X2 pano that would have been larger, but I nudged the stage while repositioning the backdrop