Pick of the week.... Gaffer's tape

Yep... a lowly roll of tape.

 

It's uses are countless.  It sticks like Duct Tape, but peels off like a Post-It note paper, without leaving any sticky residue.  It isn't cheap as far as tape goes, but there are no substitutes.

I keep a small roll (black of course) hanging on the outside of my Think Tank Airport Security roller bag (I get my tape and Think Tank bags here...) , and you'll find short strips stuck in and on all of my bags and on both my tripod and monopod.  Look inside my shooting vest.. you'll find two long strips stuck in there...  Just a few uses I have for it...

• Tape down the pop-up flash on my D300 so I don't accidentally release it and fumble like a boob trying to figure out why my shutter speed won't go above 1/250 th;
• Cover the Nikon logo on camera bodies when I go walk-about.  Has to have saved the D3 from getting stolen at least a few times;
• I place a small square on my speedlights before applying velcro for gobo's, just so I can reposition the velcro later if needed
• Blocked off half a shoot-through umbrella once to flag a strobe from spilling where I didn't want light to spill.  That was a lot of tape!
• Holds gels on speedlights;
• Jury rigged a remote cable release that got stepped on accidentally (I think it was an accident..I'll never really know);
• Taped the legs of a light stand to the floor so it wouldn't get blown over every time someone opened the door;
• Put it over my ears one time...  Freezing cold shoot on the beach in dead of winter and wind was giving me an ear-ache..  Don't laugh.. it saved the day;
• It's wrapped around the outside of my DIY snoots, flags and grids so they don't look so cheesy (they still look cheesy, but they work and cost less than the broken cable release when I have to replace them);
• Taped wires to the floor so no-one tripped over them;
• Held a broken lens hood in place;
• Secured a loose USB cable to the camera body during a workshop that had me shooting tethered to a projector;

The list goes on and on...  Cheap insurance.  As far as importance, I hold it right up there with extra batteries, knee pads, zip ties and a Leatherman Multi-Tool.