Enough is when I'm satisfied. That could be very easy or very hard to achieve depending on what it is I desire. I'm pretty minimal though.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
The lingo of economists is not something I'm fluent in. They can devise metrics for anything, but what those metrics mean can be subtle and un-obvious.
And otherwise the topic is too broad. I'll stick to 'what is enough?' In Photography and camera equipment.
What makes me happy/etc in photography is to see what I have as photographic vision realized into photos that viewers respond to, me included. And to see similar work from other photographers. How much is enough of that? I don't think there's any real point to speculating about a limit. Becoming obsessive-compulsive about it is a negative, and you can't do it without being somehow connected to the world anyway, so for that I'll say " as much as seems comfortable."
With gear, it's a little different. Gear influences how and what we see photographically, as well as how we work and what we can photograph. Its influence is profound. And gear is fascinating in and of itself, technically and with respect to its design, marketing, etc.
But as a photographer, what poses the enough limit is that the gear I'm using allows me to achieve the results I want with getting in the way of or distracting me from the subject I'm working on. Beyond a certain point of complexity, a certain number of cameras and lenses, a certain level of options and configurations, my attention is directed more to the equipment than to the subject, and the intent of my efforts is lost. That's when I become unhappy with the equipment and start to untangle myself fom it, reduce it, to recapture once more what the subject of my endeavors might be.
Equipment often gets in the way of Photography. It is transitory, where Photography endures.
back alley
IMAGES
the sound of the fuji x-pro1 shutter when i press on the release is very satisfying, reassuring even...it pleases me greatly.
denizg7
Well-known
nothing will ever be enough for me i will always want moar.
f16sunshine
Moderator
3 times a day every other day. Twice on the days in between :angel:
I love it too. Perhaps my favorite ever. Electronic, but dampened nicely.
pakeha
Well-known
In the land of plenty?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xcuGBQWswg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xcuGBQWswg
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Yeh . . . but the big problem is . . . we don't know how much time we have !
6 weeks ? . . . 20 years? . . . whatever it is, (getting back to your original theme) we never have enough time.
Dave,
I'm already on borrowed time because I have had a crazy life and should have been dead or killed several times. I see life as having few regrets so even if I get killed tomorrow its okay because I did the most I could. Basically every risky chance I could take I did and I never thought I would become a 54 year old man.
Anyways if you understand self-destructive behavior and artists who live passionately you would know a lot about me.
Also I never knew anyone who had a complicated life who was happy, and know that in my heart I'm a true slacker who has a pure and simple life that's kinda reckless, but exciting.
Cal
dave lackey
Veteran
Yes, I understand, Cal....we are all on borrowed time, so to speak but 54 is not old...still wet behind the ears!
It is great that you have such a supportive partner living you because that monochrom is going to be such fun to use.Ah, passionate living. I love it.:angel:
slava
Established
Enough is about half that you want and about twice as you have.
gb hill
Veteran
Roger nailed it in his first statement. Contentment is the key. Happiness, joy, sadness, etc, are all emotions that come & go as our lives progress. I try to live my life as the Apostle Paul taught us in Phillipians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content.
Joakim Målare
Established
Enough is what you must have, and nothing more, to get from what is to the intended whatever - and during that transformation generating just what is necessary to repeat the cycle.
In photography that would be a camera, a method of reproducing the output and the proper pricing on the reproductions to cover for the material involved.
You also need someone who doesn't live by these rules to pay for those reproductions, or the idea will fail... :bang:
In photography that would be a camera, a method of reproducing the output and the proper pricing on the reproductions to cover for the material involved.
You also need someone who doesn't live by these rules to pay for those reproductions, or the idea will fail... :bang:
gb hill
Veteran
You sir, are a modern day Garry Winogrand
I would love to see some of this splendid work as you progress toward developing this incredible amount of film.Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Yes, I understand, Cal....we are all on borrowed time, so to speak but 54 is not old...still wet behind the ears!
Ah, passionate living. I love it.:angel:
Dave,
I'm sure to get my butt kicked learning digital. I guess analog photography wasn't enough.
I think you said, "It's later than you think." I'm very glad that I have lived my life so fully embracing every risk and opportunity.
I'm reminded of 5 years ago when I got the chance to run the NYC Marathon without qualifying. A friend of mine, an elite younger runner, fell ill and simply offered me his bib one Friday afternoon right before the event. Not only did I not qualify, but also I hadn't trained to run a Marathon, and I was 49 years old.
My girlfriend was worried that I would cross the finish line and die just like in the legend, and she made me promise that I would not race. Anyways I later learned on the ferry ride to Statin Island that if you completed the Marathon under 5 hours that your name would be published in a special section of the New York Times so I was compelled by a goal to break my promise.
They use a RF ID to track all the tens of thousands of runners, and my girlfriend was able to track me, "That F'er is racing," she said to her friend in Williamsburg, about the half-way point. My half marathon time was 2 hours and ten minutes, about the finish time for the most elite runners who only ran twice as fast as me.
Realize that I remain young and youthful; I finished about 25 seconds before 5 hours; it was one of the peak moments in my life when I finished; but the next day I couldn't even walk.
Life is like a Marathon, sometimes you don't get to finish the race, and sometimes you get to experience those peak moments, but also sometimes you just die trying.
Cal
mrb
Established
Like the song says:
No matter what they say I've done
I ain't never had too much fun
No matter what they say I've done
I ain't never had too much fun
FrankS
Registered User
I love the Rolling Stones song: You Can't Always Get What You Want (but if you try sometime, you just might find, you'll get what what you need.)
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
You sir, are a modern day Garry Winogrand
Sorry to be so selfish. I don't even scan, but all that is going to change.
28mm is my favorite FOV like Garry, but one of the salesmen at B&H thinks of me as being like Joel Meyerwitz because of my personality. Like Garry I have lots of negatives that need editing and there's all that unprocessed film in my fridge.
Some people compare me to the urban legend Luis Mendez because I can always be seen with a camera and also because I like big heavy cameras. Luis is an old friend BTW.
My idea is that if you want to become a great photographer, you need to shoot a lot. I could only do this in B&W, and this also demands that I have to process all that film.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I love that song "Heartbreaker" from 1972, especially that twisty lead guitar in the break, but at that time a similar incident involving a case of mistaken identity by the NYC police happen to me where I could of gotten killed. I was only 14 years old in 1972.
Cal
dave lackey
Veteran
The book mentioned above...
"How Much Is Enough" was an interesting read. I will be happy to send it to anyone for free if you pay the shipping through USPS. Let me know if anyone is interested.
"How Much Is Enough" was an interesting read. I will be happy to send it to anyone for free if you pay the shipping through USPS. Let me know if anyone is interested.
paulfish4570
Veteran
amen, frank, to "you can't always get what you want ..."