Before I'd worked out better ways of getting diffused light in my drain photography, I did some experimentation. What I wanted was a smooth, clean light that would be even across each part of the tunnel, but without throwing too far in front or behind.
Perhaps the most dubious of these experiments was this:
* One battery-powered drill
* A one-metre threaded steel rod
* nuts and washers to fit
* An array of nine keyring lights, zip-tied into a loop.
Put them together, and you get this:
It looks ridiculous, but did it work? Not well.
Apart from anything else, it obliterated the shadows and graduations that usually give tunnels their depth. That is a danger with fluoros as well, of course, but this gadget let me achieve the effect with far more effort and inconvenience!
I do actually have an even worse home-made lighting gadget in my history - let's see if I can find a photo...