My wife bought me a selfie stick sometimes called Wand of Narcissus, which is ironic since I so rarely actually take selfies. But, once I took a look at its simplicity of design, I couldn't leave well enough alone and decided to create the “Super Selfie-Stick.”

The advantage of a selfie stick is that you can fit yourself and several people in the frame of your selfie since you can hold the camera farther away from you. The advantage of the super selfie stick is that you can also fit yourself and several people in the frame and you can fit more of the background in the frame than you could with a standard selfie stick since the camera is held even further away from you than with a standard selfie stick. Of course, if you're trying to fit more of the background in the frame you'll want something interesting in the background, for example taking a selfie with the Grand Canyon in the background.

There are seven steps in the Instructable. In the first step I show my failed attempt at making the super selfie stick from a golf ball retriever but, no worries, even when you fail you learn something. In the second step I decided to use the telescoping pole from a (reclaimed) retractable trade show banner. Next I removed the camera mount from a small tripod. Then I built a camera mount for the telescoping pole out of Erector set parts. In step 5 I attached the camera mount to the telescoping pole. In Step 6 I added a mobile phone mount to the super selfie stick. Finally, in the concluding step, I provide a video of test footage using my super selfie stick as a "camera jib."

I hope you enjoy this Instructable and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @SteveSchuler20 and right here on Instructables: https://www.instructables.com/member/KRA5H/

Step 1: First Super Selfie Stick Made With a Golf Ball Retriever Failed

At first I tried attaching a camera mount on the end of a golf ball retriever. But with the shorter ball retrievers, it turns out that the flimsy aluminum that they’re made of tends to make them kind of wobbly and could lead to motion blur in the shot. A longer golf ball retriever, however, may provide a little more stability.

Step 2: Telescoping Pole From a Reclaimed Retractable Trade Show Banner

I finally decided to use a telescoping pole from a retractable trade show banner (a broken trade show banner that I reclaimed from a dumpster--nope, not afraid to dumpster dive). The telescoping pole is made of thicker aluminum and sturdier, it has thumb screws so it can be adjusted to any length and tightened, and it has two slots in the top to hang the banner on. Erector set strips fit snugly in these slots.

Step 3: Camera Mount From a Small Tripod

I removed the camera mount from a small tripod (found at a dollar store), that I used to shoot some video footage I shot for this Instructable (video appears in Step 7).

Step 4: Build Camera Mount Attachment With Erector Set Parts

Next I used Erector set parts to attach the camera mount the telescoping pole.

Parts needed:

Camera mount

Erector set parts:

2 Strips, 1 1/2”, 3 hole

2 Right angle brackets

2 Small bolts

2 Nuts

1 Medium bolt

1 Flat Plate 3 hole by 3 hole

1 Spanner

1 Hex wrench

Step 5: Attach the Camera Mount to the Telescoping Pole

Insert the Erector set strips into the slots at the top of the telescoping pole. The erector set strips hold the camera mount to the telescoping pole fairly securely using tension, but duck tape can be used to more securely attach them to the pole.

Step 6: Add Mobile Phone Mount to the Super Selfie Stick

Once the camera mount is securely attached to the telescoping pole, remove the mobile phone mount from the selfie stick and attach it to the camera mount on the telescoping pole.

Step 7: Video Test Footage

To conclude, I demonstrated how I built my super selfie stick. In the first step I showed my failed attempt at making the super selfie stick from a golf ball retriever but, no worries, even when you fail you learn something. In the second step I decided to use the telescoping pole from a (reclaimed) retractable trade show banner. Next I removed the camera mount from a small tripod. Then I built a camera mount for the telescoping pole out of Erector set parts. In step 5 I attached the camera mount to the telescoping pole. In Step 6 I added a mobile phone mount to the super selfie stick.

The advantage of the super selfie stick is that not only can you fit yourself and several people in the frame you can also fit more of the background in the frame than you could with a standard selfie stick since the camera is held even further away from you than with a standard selfie stick. Of course, if you're trying to fit more of the background in the frame you'll want something interesting in the background, for example, I chose a building constructed in the style of a Spanish castle.

You can build your own super selfie stick from stuff you have around the house, thus you don't have to spend any money buying additional parts to make your super selfie stick. Also if you have a small living space the super selfie stick can be stored in a corner and/or in a closet out of the the way.

The scientific applications for the super selfie stick include checking bird nests to confirm breeding activity, it can be inserted into the hollows of trees to survey the small mammals living there, and so on.

In a zombie apocalypse the super selfie stick can be used like a periscope to take a peek around the corners of buildings, over the tops of walls, around the side or over the top of rubble, and so on to avoid any zombies that may be hiding behind those obstacles.

The super selfie stick can also be used as a poor man’s camera jib. In the video, "Flying Camera" I used the super selfie stick. Keep in mind that I provided the video as demo footage only. It was very dangerous to shoot.