Faux Tripod

I attended a photography talk at a recent Landscape and Garden event at the World Congress Center.  The talk centered around shooting flowers, landscape shots, etc.  One of the speakers said he never leaves home without his "faux tripod"....in essence a beanbag.  You can actually purchase beanbags with tripod attachments, but you can easily and cheaply just make a beanbag.

The beauty of it is that it conforms to whatever surface you want to rest your camera on...even a jagged piece of rock.  Set your camera on that, and you have a secure surface.