Gear to make my photography better.

[rbiemer]

Yes, I said it. I am currently saving my $ to buy some gear to make my photography better. I have been thinking about this for a while and realized that my photography and my photographs are not the same thing.

American Heritage Dictionary
n.
1. The art or process of producing images of objects on photosensitive surfaces.
2. The art, practice, or occupation of taking and printing photographs.
3. A body of photographs.

(emphasis mine)

Discounting the third definition for the moment, and looking at the cameras I own and use now compared with what I've owned and used before, there is a case to be made that, for me, my photography is better because of the evolving choices I have made( and am making) about the gear.
In my own case(the only example I can be qualified to judge), as my gear becomes essentially simpler, I am enjoying my photography more.
Are my photographs better? Tough call, but yes I think they are. I am able to think about the tools less and the image more.
I can concentrate on the third definition and start having some serious fun!
Rob

 

[Harry Lime]

I mean this in the nicest way, but how about 1000 rolls of Tri-X?

Many years ago, when I started to get serious about shooting, somone advised me that the only way to get better was to shoot and shoot a lot on a consistent basis.

So, I bought 300 rolls of Tri-X and shot as much as I could for a year and was very hard on myself in the editing process. In addition I raided the library, looked at photography books and asked myself why a particular picture worked. After a while I began to see patterns and went from shooting crap, to being pretty decent. After three years of doing this, people actually started to like what I was doing and I was able to make a good shot on a consistant basis. Not necessarily a masterpiece, but something presentable.

My old life drawing teacher used to say that you have 100,000 bad drawings in you and the first thing you need to do is get those out of your system.

 

[back alley]

i'm not clear on what you're saying rob.

it sounds like you want some new gear to help you make better pics but it needs to be simple gear. is that right?

if so, then i sort of agree.

for me...i need my kit to be simple so i can choose pieces to fit my mood easier. too much choice leads to great indecision on my part. when i had all those canon 35's it was easy because i really like the 2.8 the best. but when i had the various m mountable bodies i had a hard time picking one because i liked them all. having 3 canon p's or 2 zi's makes my choice much more simple.
then what i do becomes more about the pics than the gear.

buying, collecting, playing with the oly gear is the perfect solution for me because it allows me to play, buy, look for, search out, collect whatever...to my hearts content and it's still fun because i know, for me, that the rf is my main and serious tool. the om is for play time.

i'm not recommending this for others just because it works for me. i think i may be a 'special' case. i'm not aware of others having such a hard time picking out a lens/body combo when confronted by too much choice.

joe

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

rbiemer:


I think that your photographs are already pretty good. When one of your photos is added to the gallery or pops up on random photos I always go to look.

Perhaps a personal style is what you're searching for in your 'photography is more than just photographs' thinking.

If you have money for equipment spend it on film instead.

 

[rool]

Buy one camera, one lens and a lot of photo books.

 

[RML]

Rob, how do you think to simplify? Any ideas already for yourself that we can elaborate on?

Harry's suggestions are spot on. Shoot, shoot, shoot. Read, read, read. Edit, edit, edit. And give it a year or more. I know I'm lacking in all of these departments myself. I simply don't have the time to commit myself fully to it. Life interfers too much. Yet, commitment is probably even more important than simplified gear.

 

[ikiru]

Not knowing what you have it is hard to say what you need. My guess is that you may have all you need. I know I have most of what I need, in terms of cameras.

If you really want better photos, and want to spend money ('tis the season to buy)
how about these ideas:

1) Film, maybe even some you haven't tried....
2) Post processing equipment, improve that darkroom
3) A new monitor, scanner, so you can really work with the negs you have and will make.....

 

[rbiemer]

I guess I'm (poorly) making a distinction between the process and the result.
How about this way of expressing what I was thinking with my initial post:
I think I have the skills to start to find out if I have any talent.
Or to use an analogy based on my profession; I have been a cook for quite a while now. I don't know every recipe there is but I do know how to make a good meal in almost any given circumstance. In that field, I have learned the skills and(to be a bit immodest for a moment) do have some talent.
The other point I was getting at is that I enjoy the process as much as the result and so consider the experience of using my cameras/lenses as enjoyable as hanging a good print.
Apparently, my writing skills aren't so good.😀

I mean this in the nicest way, but how about 1000 rolls of Tri-X?

If I were processing my own, absolutely, Harry! I do have one film that I use about 90% of the time and am learning to use it better.

it sounds like you want some new gear to help you make better pics but it needs to be simple gear. is that right?

no, joe. I want the new gear because I think I am learning my tools well enough to make smarter choices.

Jon, Well thanks! "personal style" is what I hope I'm getting skills enough to start to sort out. I have noticed some things about my photographs that are pointing to a couple of themes, now I'm looking to put the gear behind me, as it were, and try to explore/express those themes well enough so that other people can see them as well.

...and a lot of photo books.

Amen to that. I have pored over all the photobooks in my local library and buy my self several nice ones every year.

Rob, how do you think to simplify? Any ideas already for yourself that we can elaborate on?

Two cameras, 5 lenses, one film(and lots of that one!).
Rob

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I I have noticed some things about my photographs that are pointing to a couple of themes, now I'm looking to put the gear behind me, as it were, and try to explore/express those themes well enough so that other people can see them as well.

Rob:


In my post upthread I wrote, and then deleted, that I could see a theme developing in your 'staircase' and 'Bare Room' and some other architecural photos.

Is that a theme you seek to develop?

 

[rbiemer]

Jon,
In fact, yes. Not only those two but most of my BW stuff that I like is( I hope) strong graphically and unpopulated.
Rob

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

So, you have plenty of film, you have the right equipment, you know the locations, you understand exposure for light-colored buildings, you have an eye for the graphic style, and you know what you want to achieve.

What's stopping you?

 

[rbiemer]

Jon,
I'm not stopped, I am shooting(well, not right this minute). And I am moderately happy with my photographs. I also believe I can get better.
To be fair, I see all of my photos and there are only 37 of them here at RFF; I see connections between most of them that I want to make stronger/ more apparent.
I suspect that good photographers are revealing as much about themselves as what they show about their subjects by what they(the photographers) choose to share.
Rob

 

[kully]

How about a photography course? It's great to explore with others. I'm on a course now and I'm loving it (sorry Ronald).

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I set up some albums here, and at my own site, to make my themes clearer for myself and for visitors.

 

[pvdhaar]

Rob,

These guys are no fun! Film? Shoot? Books?

I say Nay!

Buy! Fondle! Impress people!


Serious though; It's entirely possible that you've reached a plateau with the gear you have, or that you've become stuck in a rut. You may find that exploring a new focal length may challenge you to get further. Or a really, really fast lens. Or motordrive mania.. Or just plain having the best there is..

The question is whether you've already -perhaps even unconsciously- spotted something that you long for, or that you've merely got to the point where what you have doesn't provide joy anymore. It's something that I can't answer. Either case, even having money earmarked is already a load of fun, because you can do the 'if I bought that, how would it be?' game.

 

[Pherdinand]

Funny to read that simplifying gear means buying something more😀
Heavy GAS i suppose?
[You're not mentioning selling any equipment, if i'm not mistaken.]
Anyway. Good luck with the new idea🙂

 

[rbiemer]

Hmm,
OK, I admit it; the first post was a bit of a dig at the various "gear head" vs. "artiste" posts/threads. And I was being too obtuse in the way I expressed it. Which led to the discussion getting a little astray from my point. Still fun, though!
Let me be a bit blatant and give a better example of what I'm thinking.
I own a Bolsey B-2 camera. Nice size, pretty well made, decent lens. And it's in very good condition. On the plus side, it is capable of pretty good photographs. On the minus side, I truly do not enjoy using it. Nothing about using it is likely to ever become second nature(for me).
I also own several FSU cameras. And the Zorki 3m is, currently, my main stay. I own 2 of those--one recently CLA'ed by Oleg--and those are a pleasure to use. And I have used them long enough so that I don't have to give too much conscious thought to the camera it-self. So using the Zorki has made my photography better in that it is a better tool and I'm (slowly to be sure) becoming able to use that quality.
And the next camera(s) are a decided step up from there.

You're not mentioning selling any equipment, if i'm not mistaken.

Pherdinand, you're not mistaken, I haven't mentioned selling any gear. Yet. I need to stop on the way to work today and buy a battery for my digicrap and will be posting some classifieds soon. I'm still categorizing my current gear as "keep" and "sell" and "for postage"--this may take a few days.
Rob

 

[Avotius]

here here to shooting more, when I started shooting I read online somewhere that the best way to learn to take better photos is to shoot a roll of film a day for a year, I though oh hell, thats going to be a pain in the arse isnt it. But I did it, the first year I was here in china I shot some 400 rolls of film and its quite easy to say im at the top of my photography class now in understanding and photos. And of course I used a fully manual canon ae1 with the ae stuff all broken. No problem, the camera was always in my way, its a mess for such a simple camera.

 

[kmack]

After reading your comments in this thread and looking at your gallery may I suggest a 4x5 monorail camera with a 90 or 135mm lens?

Nothing is as simple as a monorail and I believe you will like having a single shot to get what you want and composing on ground glass.

 

[BrianShaw]

After reading your comments in this thread and looking at your gallery may I suggest a 4x5 monorail camera with a 90 or 135mm lens?

Nothing is as simple as a monorail and I believe you will like having a single shot to get what you want and composing on ground glass.

Great suggestion!