Is Your Photography and Gear Buying Turning Into an Obsession?

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Steve M.

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I have been looking for a good SLR w/ a sharp 50mm lens and started a couple of threads on the search. A few people made the comments that what I was doing was obsessive. To which I reply, guilty as charged! I totally agree.

And so, what's the problem?

Back when I was painting and printing I soon noticed something that was impossible to ignore. The artists that did the best work were usually the ones w/, well, issues. They weren't particularly happy individuals, and certainly weren't analytical about their decisions. In the creative game I think being obsessive, one minded, and unwilling (or uncaring) about how others want things done are positive attributes. Notice I said in the creative game. Unhealthy? Oh well. That isn't the concern. Getting a strong image is the ONLY concern, and it happens how it happens.

I do a heck of a lot of testing lenses/formats/cameras against each other because I want the best image that I can get. It's extremely time consuming, can be expensive, and truly dominates my daily life. Often I'm up late at night fussing over an image or researching a particular bit of gear. When I get up I start right back where I stopped the night before. When I was painting I would go to sleep w/ the paints and canvas right by the bed and go right back to work in the morning as soon as I woke up.

Wouldn't have it any other way. That's what's required from me to get the images that I want. And the target is always shifting, always moving. Maybe sometimes I want the best shot in a 6x6 format, maybe it's 35mm, maybe it's a portrait. To me, a bit of madness is what makes the creative process work. Self destructiveness too (all art is destructive and that's OK). But it has to be tempered w/ discipline or you either die, go totally broke, and or nuts. Discipline/experience comes from doing what you're not supposed to do, and assuming you get through that, you know how far to go next time. So I accept and embrace all this craziness. The calm, well heeled yuppie type w/ the latest and greatest technological do dad that they can afford is the same as the Sunday Painter in my world. Oooh, I can't get away from that type fast enough. They're poison to creativity.

So, is photography an obsession to anyone else? Is it taking over your life to the exclusion of other things? Do you think you should reel it in, or step even further into it?
 
Not really an obsession but more of being a gear whore for me. I've got bits of kit I haven't touched in over a year but something always comes up where I'll use them.

An example would be my 300 2.8L IS, I couldn't tell you the last time I used it but it'll be perfect for something I'm doing in 2½ weeks. Could I use something else, sure, would the results be the same, most likely no. I like having options available so while my stuff may not get used as much as it should it does get used.
 
Because I've photographed almost every day for 50 years of my life, there is no separation between it and my "life." They are the same thing. Is this obsessive? I don't think so. We've got to spend our time doing something. Playing with gear is a hobby.
 
After shooting a D70s for a while, I picked up an F4s last December 24th as part of a bundle and instantly fell in love with film again. Particularly when I realized just how cheap interesting gear is.

Since then, I've tried medium format, rangefinders, TLRs and folders for the first time. I started developing film at home and bulk loading. I understood how useful scale focusing really is. I started toying around with street photography. I shot slides for the first time. I tried my first Leica, a IIIc. I got into camera repair. I have bought a freezer for film.

In total, I've shot 20 different film cameras (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/collections/72157624633077030 - Oly 35RD shots are hanging now) this year for less than the cost of the digital SLR body I otherwise would have picked up. A few I've sold a few and recouped a decent amount of what I've spent in total. Most I still have.

If I'm obsessed, it is only because I'm having a great time.
 
Being obsessed with gear vs. photographic/creative output are two very different things. They can coexist, of course, but one is a poor excuse for the other. Collecting baseballs doesn't mean you're a good baseball player.

Just my 2 cents.
 
I like to think I have finally kicked the GAS habit. I had a lot of fun buying and selling over the past three years. But I am worn out. I've sold and repurchased the same lenses (in at least one case, the exact same lens) too many times.
For me, I find that the more time I devote to actually taking pictures the less I feel compelled to buy and sell gear.
 
I agree with Roland, but also one side can contribute to the other. I do my best to tell myself I'm the one who's taking the picture, though.

But you can safely say I'm obsessed with both. :D It's just that they aren't the same thing.
 
Obsession suggests desires and interests that have grown beyond rational proportion and reasonable expectation. Knowing what you want and how, realistically, to get it, and avoiding alternatives you know will be unsatisfactory, seems quite rational to me.

The realism bit, I think, is important.
 
Do I need to lay back on a couch and tell you about my parents first? I almost never buy new cameras but I do like cool used ones in excellent shape. I do pretty well for awhile resisting buying and then I read some of these threads and get the wants for something cool pretty bad sometimes. Maybe I am hanging around with the wrong crowd. My parents warned me about this. Anyway, I do get pretty impulsive at times and go a bit overboard and buy cameras or lenses that I really don't need. I do use the cameras etc. that I buy but I really do mostly think about my photographs and where I want to shoot tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow I will use my new Nikon S3 and try not to feel guilty about buying it. I really do need to get serious about selling some of my cameras and lenses. Tomorrow perhaps.

To get back to the point here, I think there are moments of obsession but thankfully it not all the time. There are times that I get a bit obsessive about shooting photographs as well so hopefully it's all balanced out. - jim
 
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I do like taking pictures or making images. I enjoy the click of the shutter... and I like it even better when it's a different piece of equipment. Switching from one particular camera to another makes me happy, even if my photography does not really improve.

It's probably an obsession... to record, and preserve some little aspects of my daily life that I know will disappear long after I'm dead. Hence, the images I see in my daily routine will probably help preserve the idea of a walk to work, which may seem fun to those in the future, who may live and work in the same place.

Besides, cameras are such cool toys... ;)
 
Both my former doctor and girlfriend said I was obsessed about buying cameras. I got ride of both of them and then bought a camera that loves me.

Problem solved!
 
Hi fellow RFFers,
My name is Thom and I am addicted to anything photography related :p

My obsession started when i first got into using Holgas, (which i now cant stand to use) and ventured into finding box brownies, which went to old folders, then to the bakelite tlrs then to rangefinders.. the list goes on. I have a whole cabinet full of old cameras that are all still working and in fine condition, i dont get the chance to use them all as much as i would like to.
The upside of this obsession is that before i buy one of the cameras, i will research it completely, which in turn gives me a huge brain when it comes to photography and different gear and generations of it.. major upside :D
 
Shooting and my photographs obsess me a bit, but not my gear... Anyway I care a lot about my gear and have got every camera and lens I've dreamed of... I don't care about brands, but like all photographers, I use the best four or five brands, but without a preference: they're different tools... Wonderful photographs require a lot more than money and knowledge... I'm glad I really like my photographs and my gear.

Cheers,

Juan
 
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