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Saw mention by someone of carrying varnish to make objects stand out/glisten and it got me to thinking what else people use.
For instance I take:
MP3 player which doubles as Picture Bank
Paintbrush to clean objects
So what does everyone else have, even if only occasionally, to help get that picture?
In this months RPS journal there is an article about John Hinde Ltd who produced postcards in the fifties and sixties. One of his photographers, Joan Willis, used to carry a hatchet in the back of her car to remove unsightly bushes or even to chop them from somewhere else to add them to the scene.
I can relate to a bit of scene tidying, what size hatchet did she use, maybe I can get a foling one to fit in my camera bag 
. I usually try to take a good portion of dumb luck with me, but often loose it along with the ability to think caught up in the excitement of just happily taking pictures. I'm trying to stop and think, and when I do it works, when I don't there's photoshop.
Pete.
I have a felling axe in the shed (don't ask!) reckon it would fit the tripod straps on my rucksack??
I travel light with a Panasonic Z10, spare card and couple of filters.
After a recent experience on an old lane over Stradishall Airfield I am thinking of carrying a folding saw to cut down the overgrowing bushes. It would be very useful on the cycle paths around Cambridge. An axe or billhook would be too big and heavy.
I almost always keep a roll of cellotape and a mirror I nicked out of a broken projector. The cellotape is for if I decided it's time to construct the enormozoom (which doesn't happen all that often any more!) and the mirror make a handy reflector when photographing things close up.
If I branch out into other things I use for photos but don't necessarily carry around with me I have three 500watt security floodlamps (one still has the motion sensor on it which means I need to keep movin!) because its the closest thing to studio lighting I can afford! I also have a snoot, barn doors and a brolly-like reflector made out of tin foil. I normally carry a small strip of wood with a groove cut into it for taking 3d photos.
I get the feeling I could go on for ever here, no chainsaw though, I'd have to make my own which would be a little deadly methinks!
No, don't say you don't carry them around. I have this image of you taking a pic in say, a station, and 5 miles of cable trailing behind the 500 watt lights! The chainsaw (electric, of course!) then becomes a minor accessory!
And what's an enormozoom?
The 'Enormozoom is my affectionate name for my comedy macro set up. All is explained more clearly on my website
I think if I carried the lights around with me i'd look like I was wearing the mechatronic suit out of the film, 'inner space'!!!
Never mind re. Enormozoom - found it on your website (nice site too!)
Talking of making things - discussing macro light rings and the possibility of building one using LEDs. Have you made such a thing?
I've not used Leds for that purpose, but I did make an illuminated hat out of 70+ leds. The only problem with leds is that you need alot of them to get enough brightness and even lightspread, which means that if you are going to use batteries to power them, you need loads!
Although that may not be true if your cleverer than myself (not difficult! I was never any good at electronics), Nikon supply a 'MAcro Coollite' for their Coolpix 9xx and 4500 cameras. This works on the same principle as I think you propose, it's just a ring of white leds.
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