Pixiq

No matter how much you end up forking out for your cameras and lenses, often it is a small accessory which can save the day. My list of never-to-be-left-behind accessories has evolved over the years. Top place goes to a piece of string for tying back woody branches which are blocking the field of view. This is a much more eco-friendly way of opening up a shot than using a pair of secateurs, and it is lightweight and costs virtually nothing.

Close behind is an umbrella hat I bought in China for a couple of bucks. This frees up both hands whilst keeping both you and a camera (with a short lens) dry. They are available to buy online (US | UK).

On every trip I take a field notebook, which is my bible. Looking at a shelf as I write, there are more than 200, piled high with the country and year written on the spine for speedy retrieval. Years ago in a Chinese medicinal plant garden, I asked my guide to find a botanist. She returned with a lovely man in his 70s who spoke no English, and I cannot speak more than a few words of Mandarin. Yet we were able to converse all day using Latin plant names; after I wrote the first name in my notebook he would nod and then write the second, specific name, for me.

• String for tying back woody branches
• Umbrella hat for working on the hoof in the rain
• Field notebook for jotting down names of locations, rivers, plants and animals, as well as sounds and smells which cannot be captured in a photo, yet help to evoke the mood of a place when I write about it at a later date.
• Kneeling pads to cushion hard ground are available from gardening outlets
• Bin liner for protecting photopack from wet and muddy ground
• Waterproof all-in-one cover for camera and lens. Example at Wildlife Watching Supplies
• The Plamp™ for steadying plant movement on windy days or for holding a reflector, diffuser or even an extra shield to prevent flare on the lens
• Reflector – if you don't have the genuine article, use aluminum cooking foil wrapped around a piece of card as an effective makeshift one
• Diffuser for softening harsh light
• Gaffer tape for patching up fractured camera or flash units