Gear vs Happiness

[GoneSavage]

Not sure if this is the case with other readers, but I find that my interest in acquiring new photo equipment seems to fluctuate inversely with my general contentedness at a given time.

Unhappy = need new gear
Happy = content with current setup

Anyone else find that they experience anything similar?

 

[Keith]

So true.

Being in the middle of a very dry spell at the moment, which is being caused by issues outside of photography, I find myself gazing longingly at cameras like that delightfully brassed black paint MP currently in the classifieds. The fact that I'm so far from being able to buy anything like that financially makes me even more depressed!

Then ... I suddenly feel like selling the whole lot and finding an entirely different interest.

I think I need some Crown Graphic 4x5 therapy! 😛

 

[btgc]

Decades ago eggheads have proven buying addiction is attribute of depressed and unhappy person. I'm not exception, for sure 😀

Recently I've started reading "On being a photographer" by D. Hurn. Not that it's something revolutionary new, but his views let me find brave to admit I'm camera junkie not photographer. What a shame. I've spent years with gear. First I felt this when Petronius committed his "year w Rollei35" project. But let's face it - very few are photographers in real sense of this word.

So here's a fact I like gear, maybe little less from now, but fact stays. I'd take better pictures if not switching between different cameras.

EDIT: I can not deny I've learned my habits and now I can tell if I like camera or not, and why. I could sell great bunch of gear I've accumulated. Two local ads already posted.

 

[Spyro]

Unhappy = need new gear
Happy = content with current setup

Anyone else find that they experience anything similar?

not really but I've heard some females say they get it with chocolate:

Unhappy = need more chocolate
Happy = content with current levels of chocolate

Hey, at least gear doesnt make our bum grow!

 

[Mablo]

Hi, my name is Mablo and I am a camera addict.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

It's just so much easier buying gear than taking photos. None of that annoying sun or snow to deal with. 🙂

 

[Keith]

I just ate a fair amount of chocolate and it didn't make me feel any better at all ... in fact I feel a little queasy.

Then I went and fondled my OM collection instead ... it helped a little. 😀

 

[lxmike]

I can relate to what your saying its the same for me, unhappy I go camera hunting to cheer me up

 

[paulfish4570]

this is so true, but i am fighting it.
i am slowly slimming down my mob of low-brow stuff. by spring i hope to be down to 3-4 35mm bodies, a lens or two each, a plastic box camera and a TLR.
no more experimenting with picture-taking gear. acquisitions will be of printing kit, chemicals, paper, instead ...

 

[jsrockit]

For me it's the opposite. When I'm not happy...I could care less about gear. When I'm happy... I'm ready to buy!

 

[Roger Hicks]

One of the very few advantages of increasing age is that I have a clearer view what I want vs. what I need and what I have.

There are 'junk cameras' just as there is 'junk food', and likewise there are 'gourmet' cameras. Because I no longer buy 'junk cameras' just for novelty's sake, I find it easier to afford the gourmet stuff.

Cheers,

R.

 

[GSNfan]

In my case its when i feel bored and dissatisfied with my pictures that i begin to wonder if a new camera would liven up the things. But I have learned my lesson so I buy a cheap fixed lens camera that is still a good performer and could be sold easily later. I use that camera for a few days or a week until I return back to my main workhorses.

When I'm unhappy, I just want to go out and take photos. Its the best way to clear my head.

 

[Aperatures]

The more time I spend online, the more I begin to want more gear.

I agree, the more time I spend shooting, the happier I am with my setup and equipment.

 

[robklurfield]

happy when my gear works. unhappy when it doesn't.

 

[wlewisiii]

Isn't too much of that relationship for me. For several years I thrashed around buying and selling and trying just about everything. I've settled down now with a small selection of good quality gear that I simply need to learn to use better. It's not the absolute best, but it is the best I can hope to afford anytime soon so it's up to me now. The Nikon F2 is my newest to me having arrived just today but it's the first camera I've bought into since the IIIf about a year and a half ago. I consider this progress 😉

William

 

[kxl]

Volo ergo sum: I want, therefore I am.

Once I get my desired trifecta of Zeiss ZF.2 lenses (21/2.8, 35/1.4 and 85/1.4), then I will be happy.... until I see something else I want.

 

[FrankS]

39 days gear purchase free. 🙂

 

[tbarker13]

I definitely find that the more photos I'm shooting, the less time I spend fussing over the mythical "perfect kit."

 

[back alley]

I definitely find that the more photos I'm shooting, the less time I spend fussing over the mythical "perfect kit."

oh so true...too bad we get 9 months of winter and 3 months of bad skiing here...😉

 

[LKeithR]

Hate to admit it but I'm probably one of "those guys". I wouldn't call it an obsession but I do find that when I'm a bit "down" I do get a lift from buying gear. Haven't bought anything expensive for quite a while but it's fun to cruise Craigslist and any second hand stores I see looking for bargains. My latest acquisitions (two separate transactions) netted me a Minolta 7s, Yashica MG-1, Pentax ME with an M 50/1.7 and an Olympus OM-1 with a 50/1.8 for which I paid a total of $65 CDN...