If You Could Start All Over Again.....

[eIII]

...in this wonderful world of photography what would you do different?

this has been a whirlwind week for me. last week, i got my first RF, a hand-me-down voigtlander prominent which i've discussed in ather threads. a little research on the camera and i found you guys and the world of RF photography. i am hooked.

lets say you were in my position, a true rookie. what do you wish you would have done from the start? what choices would you have made that would have saved you TIME and MONEY?

i know there is no 'one way' to learn the art photography, and i will make my own share of mistakes and insights as i learn. and that is exciting. after many hours in this place i know there are many, many years of wisdom and years of experience here that i and others in my position would love to take advantage of!

thanks! bill

 

[Toby]

The best starting point is 1 camera, standard lens (35 or 50) and one type of film (tri x or HP5 or any other 400 b&w). This how I was taught at university and after much trading of camera equipment is how I work most of the time now. For me the most important thing for a rookie is to resist the urge to buy loads of equipment before you have really learnt the craft of photography.

 

[Uncle Bill]

If I had the chance to start over again. I would do it the same way how else would you learn?

Bill

 

[bobofish]

The biggest piece of advice I would give is to not do things like I did.....

Which is to say, I spent a bundle on an excellent flash and telephoto zoom for my Canon, because I thought I needed it at the time.

I did use those things for the things I needed them for, but now they largely sit on the shelf, and have much less resale value....so I'm stuck with them.

I made some other foolish mistakes based on what I thought I might need, and instead of getting a Leica, I bought very expensive other things that now sit largely unused.


It may disappoint you (many people like the best things, it's understandable) but the advice to stick with one camera and one or two lenses is very very good advice.

Buy yourself quite a bit of film, and shoot the hell out of it. Only much later should you buy other things. IF you need to use something that you don't have for a special occasion (like me) then try to borrow or rent it, until you figure out that you really, really need it. Otherwise, you will be like some of us idiots that are either sitting on a mountain of unused gear, or constantly buying and selling.

Cheers

 

[Frank Granovski]

If I could start all over again I'd have one camera, and it would be a rangefinder with a fixed lens or a screw-mount with two. 🙁

 

[Frank Granovski]

Never mind the filters, when you own a bunch of cameras, you always end up with more. :bang:

 

[Robin Harrison]

I regret not using a darkroom more whilst I had access to it. I got into photography during my second year at university. I discovered the college darkroom at the start of the third year, but only used it probably a dozen times max. I find it unlikely I will get the opportunity to use a darkroom for a long time to come, if ever again, and I know I could have learnt a lot more about the production of prints if I'd got my hands wet more often.

I wish I had shot more film (but less cheap colour print film), and discovered Tri-X earlier on.

I lament my weakness for amount of 'gear' rather than gear particulars. Although I have build a toolbox of cameras I am very happy with, most of them have come to me through desires rather than needs. As a result, the toolbox is too full, and many great lenses don't get used as often as they should be. The only camera I have ever bought and disliked is the 300D. Lesson learnt.

I also dream what it would have been like to have been born earlier. To have lived in a time when photography was new, exciting, relevant, rewarding and glamourous must have been something special. But I guess that's not exactly something I could change!

 

[pedro.m.reis]

If i could start all over again i would not buy the DLSR nor the all SLR's i own now.... :bang: :bang: :bang:

 

[Richard Black]

I can't say that I have anything that will improve on the sentiments of those above, but I bet we have all learned from the experience of our journeys. I've owned three different slr and lens mounts, pentax, pentax k, minolta, and just ltm r/fs. Each has taught me more about equipment that not having them. The reason for some of the changes was the equipment was stolen, thus having to replace with something else. My suggestion learn to use what you have and when it won't do what you want, then add the appropriate lens, flash or the latest whizbang.

 

[Kin Lau]

Saving time and money.... don't even _look_ at Ebay for the next year. There's a place for it later, but not now.

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Stick with using one camera and one standard (35/50) and only buy equipment after a full year of using that rig ;-)

 

[Rob]

Things I would have done different starting with rangefinders:
1. Have it properly serviced so you know it will work correctly everytime and make sure the meter works or learn to use a handheld meter. get the correct lens shade and any filters you may need and a cable release.
2. Get a tripod for static shots. Very important for static shots, will help you compose better.
3. Do not use cheap film and processing. When I made the switch from print film to slides it really showed how bad cheap film and lousy processing could be. Never looked back.
4. Join a photography club if you can to learn more.
5. Keep a list of photo ops and update it with ideas frequently.
6. Maybe do more black and white. A small darkroom setup can be had cheap or a film scanner is the alternative way.
7. Most importantly is to learn to think creatively about what your photographing. Try different things. I like to go to places that most folks would not be very photographic and I search high and low and make myself find interesting things to photograph. If you tell yourself that you cant move out of this area for one hour or until you come up with a good shot, chances are you will get a good shot. Once in a while you will get a great shot this way that no one may have ever thought of.
8. B&H photo great place to order film from. Try to standardize on a few brands/types so that you know what the result will be.

 

[kmack]

Nut'in, no regrets. I am one who can only learn by making mistakes. What I am and the kind of photography I do is the sum total of all of my F***ups.

 

[Pherdinand]

What I would have done differently?Would have gone digital! 😀 just kidding.

Gear-wise: I could write a long list what i wouyld NOT have bought, but hey, makes no sense since i needed all the gear to realize what I like most to use (although still ain't sure of it). And it's not the same what you like. I have to point out however, that I should have built a BW darkroom (or at least a BW film dev kit) and a good film scanner -this would have saved me alot of $. AND i would not have left part of my best gear out in the livingroom while on holiday, to get it stolen by those freaks.

Film-wise: For colour, slides combined with viewer and the film scanner would have been a cheaper and more instructive option than shooting lotsa negatives and making proof prints of the whole roll, every time. For BW: home development, absolutely the best solution.

The most important, image-wise:More $ and time for travel and shooting. (By less time and $ for gear.) More people-photography in all the nice places i've been. And shoot always what I think might be interesting, without hesitation; to quote Francisco, member of this forum (i think he used it as his motto): When in doubt, shoot.

 

[GeneW]

If I had the chance to start over again. I would do it the same way how else would you learn?

Gotta agree with that one, Bill. In some ways this may not even be about photography but about ourselves and who we become. Of course a few nice images along the way help justify the gear 🙂

Gene

 

[FrankS]

The only thing I wish I had done that I didn't, was to take pictures of my all my girlfriends over the years, so that later when I am old, I could remember them better. 🙂

 

[Pherdinand]

Frank - LOL, i think i agree with that, although i ain't that old yet! Good thing to remember anyway, for the future😉

 

[Paulbe]

I think the advice of one camera/lens is well taken. I remember reading one photog's story of how his dad gave him a Pentax K1000, a 50mm lens and lots of Tri-X. He took the camera's battery out-- then told his son that when he could take good pix with the rig---he'd give him the battery back! Don't know if this is true or not but it's a great way to start out..

Paul

 

[djon]

Apprentice oneself to a professional: my advice.

I did get advice from professionals early on, and I was mentored for years by a student of Minor White, but I never did apprentice myself. It was easy to get paying work when I decided to do it, but that was primarily due to experience in graphic design and my salesmanship. I learned more professionally about photography than I did as an artistic amateur. Because I had no apprenticeship I was not as skilled as I would have liked when I started getting high paying jobs. I was good at graphic photography but unsophisticated about people photography.

Amateur learning is far slower and far less deep than apprenticeship. A crucial standard is set much lower by amateurs: preoccupied with effects and gear, they rarely see their images from an impartial viewer's perspective. The impartial viewer's perspective is the professional perspective. For impartial perspectives there is potential in salons and print exchanges.

If I could have made one big change in my photo experience, I might have started getting serious earlier than 28 or so, and persisted when I started getting serious $$ work in phase two, early-mid thirties, rather than quitting because I disliked key clients and had become dependent upon them.

 

[oftheherd]

Nut'in, no regrets. I am one who can only learn by making mistakes. What I am and the kind of photography I do is the sum total of all of my F***ups.

Me to, and I have learned a lot! 😀

Well, at least by getting out and trying things. Some were mistakes and some not.

The first "serious" camera I bought was an SLR, which I didn't use much for two or three years. When I really got serious about photography I lusted for all those long telephoto lenses I saw in the magazines. Wow, the shots I knew I could get if only I had some of those. Saw a kit in the PX one day that had a 28mm and a 135mm lens sold together. I bought it.

Turned out to be a good purchase even thought the lenses weren't that good. At least I learned what moderate wide angle and telephoto would do for me. It also helped teach me that I like wide angle a little more that telephoto. I still think those are the first two extra lenses anyone should start out with. At least they sure worked for me. Later I purchased much better replacements for those two focal lengths. I still think more people use wider than longer more often.

So, my advice, along with the really good advice already posted here. One camera, three lenses; 28mm, 50mm, 135mm. Later, if you find you like longer or wider, you can acquire those. If you want more/different camera bodies, again, you have a starting point with lots of experience. You might even decide to branch out into SLR or digitals (quickly ducks behind steel barrier).

Other than that, just take lots of photos and try to learn from each. Don't be afraid to experiment, and try to find what type of photos and style you like best. Above all, enjoy!