The Technopod in Action at Great Western War
I just returned from my first Technopod adventure! The maiden voyage occurred at the Great Western War, an annual SCA event near Bakersfield. The SCA is the Society for Creative Anachronism, an international group of Medieval re-enactors who get together to re-create the middle ages as they should have been! The event is basically a camping event where Medieval buffs get get together to have a good time getting dressed in Medieval garb and camp in an environment that has the feel of a Medieval battle campaign complete with period pavilions and mock battles!
Medieval re-enactors marching into battle
For 4 days and 3 nights I participated in the Great Western War as a test of my trailer’s camping and computer imaging capabilities. I was camping with a small group of SCA-ers known as the household of the Inn of the Crimson Spade. This group of 7 (myself included) “plays” at running an inn in southern Spain in the late 1500’s. In practice, the inn serves up a party atmosphere with a bar, tables and games most evenings at the war. My job at the inn is to provide background music (as an amateur musician I specialize in middle eastern instruments, particularly the oud, bouzouk and frame drum that fit in nicely with the Medieval theme.)
The War provides a wonderfully rich photographic adventure that is both challenging and rewarding! Where else can you get shots of a King and Queen, in full regalia, riding horses out to address knights in armor with multi-colored banners blowing in the wind! Everywhere you look people are dressed like they just walked off the set of an expensive period movie. I’ll have a bit more to say about the photographic aspect of my adventure in subsequent blog posts…
The Technopod kitchen
The Technopod was pressed into service as part of the camp kitchen. I have a small stainless steel sink (seen about just to the left of the dish bussing tray above the cooler) and a double burner propane stove that I place on a flyaway table off the rear of the trailer. There is a 10 gallon water tank,in the bottom of the trailer, that feeds the sink. I’m not quite done customizing the interior of the trailer yet but this proved to be a good test of the cooking facilities.
Here I am sitting on the bed at my computer
I have a full electrical system installed so I can work on the computer, as well as power the sink and interior lighting.
The Technopod is small but comfortable
The bottom of the trailer is covered with a futon mattress that runs the full length – very comfortable! I made the faux stained glass windows by painting with acrylics on the inside – this provides a certain level of privacy while lighting up the interior. Yes, I’m wearing a turban! Stay tuned for more…
The King makes an appearance on horseback
No comments about the turban, but I do worry about the the color perception from the stained glass window and the open air background behind the screen. Perhaps its a night-time imaging station.
Thanks Mark,
Yes, I envision the “Pod” as more of a night time imaging system – during the day I’m out taking pictures. Actually, I’m not done customizing the interior and ultimately I’ll have a larger monitor with a hood. The light from the stained glass is actually not that bad unless it receives direct sunlight which I avoid by having the pop up shade over the trailer. The wall behind me is neutral white at the moment – I might velcro a black cloth back there for critical work and the “hatch would normally be closed while I was working so no light behind the screen – it was only opened for the photo.
Good points though – I did think of all that and I’m still testing different setups to find the right mix of functionality and aesthetics… stay tuned as things develop…
I think this is awesome! I am also in the SCA and looking for some type of camping trailer. This is great would you be willing to share the how to on this? Thanks!!!!
Well… I didn’t build this myself, though I did customize it a bit. There are a few things to consider about this type of trailer with regards to the SCA. First off, trailers are generally required to park in special locations at SCA camping events and are often banned from tent camping areas. I have managed to sneak into the main tent camping areas and disguise the trailer (hide the wheels, etc…) but sometimes the constables are more diligent than others and its a “no go.” This often means you can’t camp with your friends – not the best solution for an SCA period encampment, even though it looks very cool. I am actually interested in selling this trailer to upgrade to a larger camper, so if you are in southern california and you want to take a look at it – contact me for more details.