Losing Steam with Cameras

I hope I get to the stage where I can lose the distraction of collecting and I'm like Bernard Plossu. One camera, one lens for the rest of my life.

The current candidate - Nikon F and a 35mm lens.
 
Assuming that's an open question for anyone to answer. If not, pardon my intrusion.
My favorites right now are my Sony A7ii & iii.
Why?
Because I can put all my old lenses on them via adapters and they are very capable cameras.
I look at the post above citing the Nikon F and can only wonder how some one can be comfortable using that camera with the shutter button located where it is. FYI I have an FE sitting in my cabinet that I bought new.
That and the back coming off like it does to load film (something I didn't realize it did until 10 yrs ago or so) really makes me wonder why some one would put up with that design. Yes, it's been around for years and is a renowned performer but...
I'd much rather use an F2 or FM2 if I'm going to use a film Nikon.
 
Gear can be, for some of us, a HUGE distraction. For me, the anti-GAS is to set the camera(s) aside and spend a lot of time going back through the archive of images, letting them tell me about the themes in my work. Then spend a LOT of time editing/culling with the goal of making a book or two or three. After a couple of months of work, I'm usually in a place where I can send something off to Blurb Books. And seeing the finished product is, for me, cathartic. By the time I get back to the camera, I'm a bit more educated in what kind of photographer I am, and ready to see how my eye has thus changed.
 
Don't get me wrong, I gave my examples of motivation as a way to make excuses for using the different gear I have accumulated. I love the idea of trying out various brands and designs of cameras to see if I can wrangle a decent image out of them.

I'll probably never get over the G.A.S., but I have had to put a brake on it for now, mainly because I'm running out of room to keep it all. Plus, there are so many cameras that I've used once, never to load again, it feels a shame to have them sitting around in the dark.

My current project is to catalog all the gear I have, and sell a bunch of it off to fund some digital models to replace most of the film stuff. Couldn't have come at a worse time though. But I'll figure it out.

PF
 
B-9 said:
I would have opted for a F6, F5, or F100

But that shows my youth.

Man do I love the F5... heavy as hell tho
Click to expand...

I have the F4 and the F6 (as well as others), and the F4 is my favorite.
Exposes C41 film better than the F6 (which is chrome biased), no stoopid menus, dials as the Flying Spaghetti Monster intended, takes regular batteries and has an AF that DOES work well. Maybe not as good as the F6 but for my style of photography I don't notice any difference.

I actually think that the F4 could well be my favorite camera, period. Over all my digicams, Leicas (SLRs and RFs) etc etc. Mine is the version with the small battery pack. I didn't want the larger/heavier one.
 
B-9 said:
...What gear gets you motivated?

Edit: Better maybe to say “What gear gets your excited?”
Click to expand...

Not a lot of gear gets me motivated, but if I’m honest vintage film gear far more than any digital… the classics: Leica, Rollei, Hasselblad, Nikon.

I love the longevity, trail-blazing history and quality of these companies; they’ve stood the test of time - even though some have departed - and it’s gear with which I’ve been familiar and comfortable using on and off over a long period of time.

I love film cameras with a simple, well made directness; gear pared down to the essential and unadorned, and yes, I love using gear that made some of the abiding, unforgettable images of my lifetime.

Notwithstanding, principally for me it’s more about gear not getting in the way and being a tool for a means to a quality end.
 
narsuitus said:
I know for sure that my real world problems have contributed to my loss of interest in photography.

My brother died.
My mother died.
I had to move to Chicago to take care of my aging father.
My father died.
A year later, my wife died.
I had to sell our home in Texas and move to Chicago.
My deteriorating health forced me to retire earlier than I intended.
Money, family, and my job were my greatest incentives for photography. Without them, photography no longer excites me like it once did.
Click to expand...

Wow. My heart goes out to you.
 
Gear and Photographs are different things for me. Neither is wrong or should be looked down on. They are just different. I lost interest in the gear end a long while back and now stories interest and motivate me. I have moved towards cameras that function as multimedia platforms (great stills and video) and sold everything thing else. Every bit and bauble I had besides my Ricoh GR. The craft of storytelling has replaced everything else.

With that said, this isn’t an anti gear position. I still look forward to Manjiro’s instagram posts 😉
 
Brian Atherton said:
Not a lot of gear gets me motivated, but if I’m honest vintage film gear far more than any digital… the classics: Leica, Rollei, Hasselblad, Nikon.

I love the longevity, trail-blazing history and quality of these companies; they’ve stood the test of time - even though some have departed - and it’s gear with which I’ve been familiar and comfortable using on and off over a long period of time.

I love film cameras with a simple, well made directness; gear pared down to the essential and unadorned, and yes, I love using gear that made some of the abiding, unforgettable images of my lifetime.

Notwithstanding, principally for me it’s more about gear not getting in the way and being a tool for a means to a quality end.
Click to expand...

That's just how I feel. I haven't been actively taking pictures for a while and on my return I chose my OM1n kit to reignite the passion. It is straight back to basics with no bells and whistles to distract me. I like cameras that just fit my hand like the proverbial glove and literally become part of me. With a winder 2 permanently attached, it is THE most erganomically designed package. The only other camera that just fits me like that is my Nikon F5. Despite its bulk, it is a perfect fit. I must shoot it more.
 
Well.. I guess I’m taking baby steps to get out of this funk!

Grabbed a 65/8.0 Angulon for my Travelwide kit out.

Had purchased some used holders from a Photrio member last week or so.

I guess this SHOULD motivate me to find some 4x5 sheet film - a new cable release - a developing tank - and maybe a wide angle viewfinder.

I think I may list my 5Dc - but then again idk! Maybe I’ll just grab a cheap 35mm camera so I can justify keeping and using my Jobo 4324. Beyond catching up on back rolls.

I’ve got grandpas 50/1.8 Nikkor that needs a body... hmmm!
Anybody got a Nikon to donate 😉
 
narsuitus said:
I know for sure that my real world problems have contributed to my loss of interest in photography.

My brother died.
My mother died.
I had to move to Chicago to take care of my aging father.
My father died.
A year later, my wife died.
I had to sell our home in Texas and move to Chicago.
My deteriorating health forced me to retire earlier than I intended.
Money, family, and my job were my greatest incentives for photography. Without them, photography no longer excites me like it once did.
Click to expand...

You are going through a transition in your life. With so many sad events happening all at once, this period may last a while. When it ends, and it will, you will emerge from it a better person. Not that you aren't a good person now - you will just be a different better person.

Someone I knew, more literate and far more literary than I am, once told me life is basically a series of compromises. One has to accept this and adjust one's thinking and attitudes to the necessity of facing up to the changes, which are constant and unending from start to finish. Nothing stays the same. Living in the present and not hanging on to the past or hoping for the future to improve one's life, is the only sensible way to get through this process.

In my photography, I've had times when I've reached what I thought was rock-bottom, usually due to financial crises I had to sell gear to get through. In those situations I fell back on what has proven to me by most tried-and-true process - one camera (your choice) and one lens.

Try to keep everything as flexible as you can. Take the camera and lens of your choosing, also film and processing. As for subject matter, well - it's entirely up to you. I go out walking and photograph what attracts my attention. Over the years I've found that I work best with either a 50mm f/2 lens or my vintage 35mm f/2 Nikkors on a Nikkormat, or my Contax G1 with either a 45mm or 28mm lens. A Rolleicord Vb would be my MF choice, with a 16 exposure kit. I have several hundred rolls of 120 film nesting in my freezer, also about 150 35mm rolls, so film costs are not a concern for me. Take only one roll with you or at most two rolls. For me, it's best that I take and use only one kit, not two or all three. Less is best.

This minimalist approach offers many advantages, light weight being the best option. All the gear I use goes into a small backpack which I can easily carry even on rough country treks.

You should try to go to new places and explore new things, not concentrate on past images or subjects. The point is to refresh your mind in previously unexplored situations, to break old thinking patterns and let new, more positive thoughts flow through.

With film, I tend to not shoot very much anyway and work on a more slow, contemplative, explore-all-the-angles approach to my image making.

The process of "thinking through my images" focuses my creative mind on the different aspects of what I see, and distracts me from my ritualized problem thinking. I always return from my outings refreshed and feeling like I'm more ready to face the negative challenges in my life.

This hasn't been an easy post to write as much of what I've said is personal and self-directed - I've tried to keep my comments as general as I could. To quote an old phrase, your mileage may vary - we are all different and everyone's does. What interests you may leave me indifferent and vice-versa. Looking for happenstance imagery stimulates me. I try to shut down my constant brain-talk and keep my senses alert to what I see around me, and enjoy my time out and the walk. I live in a country town and rural treks are the best (and easiest) option for me, the fresh air and sunlight are wonderful, also inevitably a stop for coffee and occasionally a cake in one of the many small cafes along the main roads leading into town (sadly closed now due to the national Covid lockdown, about to thankfully end in the next week). Good coffee is a small luxury at the end of one of my long (sometimes 10 kilometers, six miles) walks - a glass of good Aussie red wine would be even better, but at my age and with the prospect of the same distance to be covered on foot during my return walk, a caffeine hit is surely the best option.

I wish you all the best in your recovery process (if I dare to call it that), and I want to leave you with the thought that we all have our ways of coping with down-times in our lives. As well, we have to remember that the bad times will pass, and better times will eventually come.
 
giganova said:
I get inspired by photos that I see in exhibitions, books, magazines ... photos that are completely out of my comfort zone and regular swim lane. My nephew just gave me a Polaroid camera, my wide said I should buy a Large Format film camera, and I start experimenting with these new-to-me tools to get a different take on photography and experiment. Keeps things fresh.
Click to expand...

I'd love to work with Polaroid 8x10 instant film ... But the costs are a bit daunting. Camera, lenses, processing unit, and then the cost of the film itself: it's pretty far out there. But what fun it might be!

Something to dream about while I work with what I have. 😀

G
 
I’m losing steam for shooting..,

Have no Interest in shooting people with Masks
People suffering... I am sure there are lots of people shooting /documenting it

If anything shooting more abstract, some landscape
But not much , oh well
 
helenhill said:
I’m losing steam for shooting..,

Have no Interest in shooting people with Masks
People suffering... I am sure there are lots of people shooting /documenting it

If anything shooting more abstract, some landscape
But not much , oh well
Click to expand...

I'm in a similar boat as I'm bored with people sitting on their own looking out to sea. But I took the Rolleiflex out the other day and just shot some sunny views, like a well-heeled German tourist of yesteryear. It was fun, the sun was sunny and the clouds were fluffy.
 
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