A structure which holds a camera firmly in position for photographing and which itself is fastened to the permanent pier, base, or vehicle. Also termed a camera mount. Mountings for fastening cameras to aircraft are commercially available for most aerial cameras. Such a mounting may be designed to hold the camera in a desired, fixed position in the aircraft or it may be designed to keep the camera's optical axis vertical. (This second type is also called a gyro-stabilized camera mounting or inertial camera platform. Mountings for terrestrial cameras are usually designed to affix the camera to a tripod and to allow pointing the camera in any desired direction.