Gear Choice as Entertainment

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Benjamin Marks

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My brother is getting married this spring to a really wonderful woman. I, as the family's photo gear head, have offered to take pictures in an unofficial capacity (there will be an actual wedding photographer in attendance). I am already thinking about a general approach to this:

1) bring all the toys and a cart to carry things around. This would include RF film and digital, SLR, MF TLR and SLR, LF for a panoramic view of things, tripods and so on. Oh, and a hernia truss.

2) RF only -- an all Leica wedding: 15-28-35-50-75/90 either all digital, all film or 50/50.

3) SLR only. 24, 35, 50, 105. BW Film as backup.

4) One camera, one lens -- just choose (probably a 35mm lens).

As y'all can see, I am having fun with the choice. My question is this, for fellow gear heads. Is part of the pleasure you get from this activity the matching of gear to occasion? Admit it, at least a few of you spend more time thinking about what camera and lens to take on a trip than what clothes to pack or what book to read.

So how about it: is the act of choosing agony or entertainment?

Ben Marks

p.s., you know that Speed Graphic is just sitting in the corner, just begging to be taken into the fray one last time . . . where did I put my extra septums for the 4x5 speed loader?
 
I've been waiting for an opportunity like yours to come along myself (but I douubt my brother will ever marry!). I would love to be able to shoot a wedding with only my film Leicas. Whatever you do, you should have fun. Not being the hired photographer and still having permission to photograph (in a documentary style) has got to be the most fun someone can have while shooting a wedding!

edit: Oh what the heck, bring the Speed Graphic along too, and use it for some of the posed formal shots. I'm sure everyone will get a kick out of it!
 
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Bringing too much gear is a pain - you dont want your back hurting at the end, or worrying that someone spills beer in your camera bags. Having done weddings in the past, with Hassys, Mamiya, EOS, etc. I think it would be fun to just bring one RF and one lens. Since I dont know your lens selection or your personal preferences - hard to advice. Me - I'd take Nokton 35/1.2 - awsome lens, good for even dimmest conditions and has great bokeh, can create nice effects. It's bigger tham most 35mm RF lenses, but it's a lot smaller than all the other things you are considering for the job.
Plus having just one lens/camera - you dont have to worry about other equipment being damaged/stolen, etc. And will give you a chance to have a free hand to hold that drink. 😉
 
Figure out what the paid wedding photographer is going to do, and then do something different. Is he going to be working in digital color? Shoot black and white film then. Is he going to be almost exclusively working with a flash? Probably so, so grab some fast film and a fast lens and just work with available light. Will he be doing a lot of posed shots? Yes, so stick to candids. Will he probably keep his portrait lens glued to his Nikon? If so, shoot wide, to give your shots more context. If you and the wedding photographer clue in to the same shot, yield to the guy getting paid. Don't carry around a whole bunch of gear, just pick a camera or two and a lens or two. You won't want to deal with all of it, and it will be distracting. Look for amusing or unusual subjects, like the granny doing the bump-n-grind, or the 18 year old cousin puking in the bushes after too many tequila shots. I think the most important thing is to not try to outdo the wedding photographer, and not to get in his or her way. Remember that you are a guest/wedding party member first, and a photographer second. Also, if the pro photog wants to hold forth about gear and technique and other such things, he or she will probably start the conversation. Otherwise, I would probably stay out of his or her's way.
 
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I would go with one camera one lens (and a flash for good measure). It is your brothers wedding - celebrating comes first and taking pictures is a distant second. You don't want to get so bogged down with gear changes and lens changes that you miss the spirit of the event.
 
The best wedding I went to as an unofficial photographer, for an Indian/Hindu friend, I took just an M2 and a '69-'79 Summicron 50 and fast B+W film. The official wedding photographer with DSLRs, was very deferential towards me because of the Leica. Having done many wedding myself as the photographer, I made sure to stay out of his way. So my advice would be to use one RF and 1 or 2 lenses, and enjoy yourself. Ask yourself what kind of pictures is the wedding photographer not going to get and try for those. There is no need to duplicate what is already being done. This is a very good opportunity for creativity.

Choosing gear for an event like a wedding or a vacation is an enjoyable task.
 
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Speedgraphic for the fun and some gorgeous portraits (I don't have one, never used one but it must be impressive to work with that camera) and one film Leica with a 35mm lens only ... 🙂
 
Benjamin Marks said:
My question is this, for fellow gear heads. Is part of the pleasure you get from this activity the matching of gear to occasion?
Click to expand...

Very much so. Pleasure in finding a perfect match, almost obsessively.

Funny thing is, once shooting, the selection process is completely forgotten. You deal with what you brought ....

In any case, if I were you, I would try to be as different as possible from the wedding photographer. Film choice, lens character, and of course, try to use the insider angle, since it's your family ...

Have fun. Cheers,

Roland.
 
Interesting ideas all. My own impulse is to bring more rather than less gear, just because this is play-time. I wouldn't dream of getting in the pro's way -- no call to mess up a photographer's paying gig. At my own wedding, we had a professional photographer who ignored his strict instructions to shoot in a documentary style, a friend who is a very gifted candid photographer and a cousin of my mother-in-law with a Leica M4 and a 35 Summicron. The pro's snaps were a waste of film, my friend's snapshots were priceless, and the best wedding gift we got was the single roll of film taken by the M-I-L's cousin, who enlarged the resulting contact sheet on an 8x10 enlarger to an 11x14 print in which every frame tells part of the story, there are no wasted images and which hangs in our home.

Agree that celebrating comes first, but for me photography is part of the celebration, and my family is pretty indulgent in their understanding of this. There is always the chance that one will spend too much time recording life to participate, but hopefully that won't be the case.

And Krosya, you can bet that the 35/1.2 will be in the bag! Perfect lens for this sort of occasion.

Ben Marks
 
Benjamin Marks said:
My brother is getting married this spring to a really wonderful woman.
Click to expand...

Having experienced this three times (same brother 😱) I wholeheartedly agree with post #6 and post # (6*2). You can always take pictures but you might not have the opportunity to go to your brother's wedding again.
 
I've shot a wedding for my schoolmate last fall. Less is more.

If you want to take it seriously: 2 bodies + 2 lenses (35 + 50/75/85).

If you want to have fun: 1 body + 35/40/50


If you're a gearhead, bring everything in a huge bag, and during the wedding waste time choosing what to use.
 
"Is part of the pleasure you get from this activity the matching of gear to occasion? Admit it, at least a few of you spend more time thinking about what camera and lens to take on a trip than what clothes to pack or what book to read.

So how about it: is the act of choosing agony or entertainment?"


The act of matching gear to occasion, thinking about choosing, is pure entertainment for me. As it happens, I'm in a similar situation to you: a cousin of mine is getting married in October and asked me to take pictures at her wedding. This was a golden invitation to think about how I would shoot it and w/ what, which in turn led to thinking about what lenses I have that would work for the occasion, which in turn led to thinking about which camera bodies and, wouldn't you know, I discovered that an rf w/ AE that would fit w/ my Rokkor 40 would be just the thing for candids at the reception. Within two weeks of this reverie, I had a "new" (to me) R3A in my hands, and an excuse to use it (got to practice before the event, right?). 🙄🙂

So, it will be M2 + Ultron 35 or Canon 50/1.5 for shots of the ceremony, and R3A + 40 Rokkor for candids of guests, family; Minolta slr + flash + 28/35/or 50 for more formal portraits.

Of course, I will keep thinking about this, and will probably change my mind a dozen times between now and the event! That's just part of the entertainment! 🙂
 
The last couple of weddings I did as the photographer, I used a Hexar RF with CV40 for colour neg film (M2 as back-up), and a couple of Fuji GS670s for B+W film. (also a Fujica GS645W) This worked very well for me.
 
Yes I do find choosing the gear part of the entertainment for my shooting.
And sometimes choosing the gear for other people is fun too!😀
That said, I will speak in favor of two cameras and one lens each:
RF and 35mm as one choice. And the second would be the Speedgraphic, one lens and flash--especially if you have flashbulbs!😎Or flash powder.
My thinking is, since they do have a pro, you almost certainly will not duplicate what they are doing. You could, for example, use the Graphic for some BW shots before the ceremony and for some "Weege" stuff at the reception just for fun. And the RF and 35mm for easier shooting after you're done dealing with the 4x5.
Rob
 
three bodies

six lenses

three camera bags


don't forget to elbow in on the pro as they set up the formals

OR

make sure you're standing in the frame someplace
 
I don't find this the least bit entertaining and my choice is always the same for this situation.
2 Leica M6 bodies, one with a 50, one with a 35.
HP5+ or TMZ depending on light levels, same film in both cameras.
No flash.
 
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