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gho

gho

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The recent discussion here made me curious. What is greater for you, here at RFF? Your urge of getting new gear or your urge of making pictures?

Personally I have the feeling that gear lust is only partially connected to photography. In fact it may be even blocking the creativity, but this is of course just my personal opinion.

Another thought: in my opinion, being a good photographer is not a matter of being rich. So to say, only the fact, that you are using a Leica won't make you a good photographer. We all have seen brilliant work with photographic equipment, that some of you may just regard as pieces of junk. On the other hand, owning a Leica probably won't be a hindrance for becoming a good photographer.

There are some sidepaths that come to my mind, such as Wicklund's and Gollwitzer's theory of symbolic self completion, but I won't elaborate on that and leave it to your personal research and opinion, if you are interested. And please keep in mind, it is just a theory.

In the end arguing about all that does not really matter. "Do your own thing, I'll do mine."
 
I selected gear, based on my readings from aforementioned article. I have a long way to go before I can claim that I am a good photographer. Though I in general do not have a lot of gear, the gear I buy relates to that lack of confidence I have in my own work. In shooting MF, and with a nice system as the M7ii, I can occasionally take really good photos that shout out: "Look at this beautiful photo!! It is MF, shot manually and using film, requiring a good knowledge of photographic techniques!! The photog who took this photo thus is a good photog." This clearly is not the case. Now, I do realize my deficiencies and thus am not gear focused and GAS only overtakes me occasionally. I try hard to find my errors and when looking at my work, I am always contemplating how to improve. Now, does the self affirming gear improve my work? I think so. It gives a sense of confidence, as well as a sense of obligation. When someone says, "Hey, is that a Leica you are using (Or BIG Leica in regards to M7ii)?" I want to try that much harder to stand up to the high expectations set upon such users. Such I believe anyways.

EDIT: This is also reflected by the images we post here. In posting images, I try my best to pick ones that are in my opinion the best. By only posting the best images, one may presume that said individual always takes such good pictures. Again, this is not necessarily true. Well, enough. Do at least glimpse over the article as it is an interesting concept.
 
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As an amateur I like cameras because thay allow me to take pictures. Any kind of camera Olga, Bessa or Leica. Which camera to use depends on what I plan to shoot and why.
robert
 
Don Parsons said:
Me too. I try and take a least one picture every day. My little Canon digicam goes everywhere with me but I usually have along my MX or FE too.
Click to expand...

Cool, that little digital can probably fit in your pocket. I don't have a digital point n shoot, so i carry a small 35mm camera in a Domke 803 satchel and it goes EVERYWHERE with me. I used to carry an olympus OM-4T with 50, 35, and 85mm lenses but since I got my Leica I've been carrying it instead unless I knew I'd want the SLR for its lenses (I have a lot of lenses for the OM) or close focus ability.
 
Expensive gear "may be even blocking the creativity, but this is of course just my personal opinion."

I would agree to an extent. I long for the day I could only afford one Leica and one lens and my attention was more focused on picture taking than owning gear.
 
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Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Cool, that little digital can probably fit in your pocket. I don't have a digital point n shoot, so i carry a small 35mm camera in a Domke 803 satchel and it goes EVERYWHERE with me. I used to carry an olympus OM-4T with 50, 35, and 85mm lenses but since I got my Leica I've been carrying it instead unless I knew I'd want the SLR for its lenses (I have a lot of lenses for the OM) or close focus ability.
Click to expand...
Wow...I may in fact have a doppelganger here!

For about the the first three years of putting together my Hex RF setup, I did exactly this. It's slackened off a bit since then, but there's still a camera with me most every day (much of the time, it's a Contax Tvs). Better to have it and not take a shot...


- Barrett
 
amateriat said:
Wow...I may in fact have a doppelganger here!

For about the the first three years of putting together my Hex RF setup, I did exactly this. It's slackened off a bit since then, but there's still a camera with me most every day (much of the time, it's a Contax Tvs). Better to have it and not take a shot...


- Barrett
Click to expand...

LOL

I have done a lot of cool photos that were possible cause i had a camera with me like that. The bag is a little bigger than I'd like, but I haven't gotten around to getting a smaller one yet.
 
I used to buy and try a lot of M Leicas and lenses in the beginning but it changed more and more to getting used to what I have and trying to get the best out of it... So recently, I only feel the urge to buy film, more film, lots more of film and shoot every day. 🙂
 
35mmdelux said:
Expensive gear "may be even

"We all have seen brilliant work with photographic equipment, that some of you may just regard as pieces of junk."

Response: Please provide example.
Click to expand...

Someone who comes to my mind instantly is Miroslav Tichy. He is surely on the 'obsessed with taking pictures' end of the spectrum. His cameras consisted literally out of junk, like toilet rolls, etc.

Generally, pinhole photography provides examples of excellent photographic work and the cameras may just consist of a beer can or cookie can or a matchbox.
 
I like using old mechanical cameras so I have a few. As Petronius said, it's great fun to use different cameras but at the same time I understand that the photos I get are not better or worse because of the camera I happen to use.
 
I heard the ultimate strange gear story the other week.

A sculptor at an exhibition I was at in a park was tellng me she has a friend who is into pinhole photography ... but with a twist. She's done pinhole shots using her mouth and more recently her vagina ... I kid you not! 😛
 
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