One camera, one lens, one year

[mfogiel]

I would even say, that a year with a WLF medium format camera could be far more instructive. That's how I got started many years ago, because I did not have any other cameras, and that Rolleiflex T was actually on a loan... Think Vivian Mayer, David Bailey, Richard Avedon or Irving Penn. You can do anything with a MF camera between street photography, portraiture, architecture or still life. It REALLY slows you down, and the WLF view will sharpen your composition skills much faster. A RF would only be better if you want to limit yourself to fast action street photography. You can get a Yashika Mat for little more than a brick of film.
P.S. Do not forget to print a photo every now and then.

Rolleiflex 2.8F

20080811 by marek fogiel, on Flickr

Rolleiflex 3.5 F

MF20091417 by marek fogiel, on Flickr

Rolleiflex 2.8 F

MF20091405 by marek fogiel, on Flickr

 

[Rob-F]

I just got back from a short trip during which I used one (film) camera, one lens, six days. Of course, I took along a couple of P&S digitals. It went OK, but I wouldn't want to have to do it for more than a week. So many cameras and lenses, so little time.

 

[ampguy]

So, new year is here. Help me decide: EPL-1 with 40mm/1.8, Fujifilm XE-1 with some lens, or Sigma Merrill DP2 with fixed lens?

 

[Vics]

I think the Contax IIa is a great choice, especially with a Sonnar 1.5/50 if you have it. I did it in 2003-2004 that way and it was great!

 

[ampguy]

Thanks Helen

Thanks Helen

Are you still shooting b/w exclusively? What do you use when you want to shoot foliage? I've seen some hacks on other forums with raw converters, but nothing nearly as good as the DP2 or even other digitals from the X-Trans with foliage.

XE1 with the 35 f2 I just did to shoot Interiors of my Decorative Wall Finishes & Works on Canvas... Love it... XE1 is easy to use , big, bright VF, Moderate Compact Size and the new f2 is So Faaast, Quiet, Beautifully Sharp with lovely Falloff

The Sigma DP2 is stunning resolution with that Foveon sensor BUT not for low light or Quick Stealth Photograpny

No Idea about the EPL1 but that 40/ 1.8 is supposed to be Great

 

[danielsterno]

my very same approach was initially a x100 with its fixed 35mm (23 x 1.5) for a year + and still is my only digital, then added a M6 with 35 Summicron for year +, adding an M5 and only change is that I added a 50mm option for film and a tele to my x100 35 that makes it a 50mm. I can truly live with this line of sight and kit for ever…….. OR if i find the x-proII convincing. Enjoy the journey, after a while of shooting with only a 35 or 50 your eye frames it before you shoot it, in my case anyway & a cool approach to 2016.

 

[cz23]

Stephen, I'm a firm believer in following one's creative hunches, so I'd say if you're inclined to do it, then do it. And I don't think camera or lens matters much, as long as you enjoy them. Whatever you choose, there will be limitations, but the point of the exercise is to make the limitations work for you. Good luck in your adventure.

John

 

[Steveh]

I toy with this idea every year and have never quite got to doing it but I'm really tempted to give it a go this year with the Ricoh GR, which - fortunately - was the camera I was shooting with today. Hard to leave all those other toys sitting in the drawer all year though...

 

[Spanik]

If it is just for the excercise of "me to I use only a single camera and lens" then it isn't anal, it is completely utterly pointless. Certainly if you think that it can only be done with a certain camera because someone else told you that.

I did it for years (at least 10) because I didn't have anythng else. And it didn't make me a better photographer. The thing that did make me a better photographer was a book about light measurement, getting a lightmeter, a medium format camera and a shift lens.

And I'm still a lousy photographer, but less lousy. I now know that I'm lousy. But at least the exposure is correct.

 

[Tompas]

I have lenses from 15mm to 600mm focal length (for different camera systems). I would not want to restrict myself for even one month to only one of these lenses.

 

[Leica All Day]

I don't think I have the discipline now to just use one lens for a straight year (the camera wouldn't be a problem because it would be a Leica m6ttl), but when I first but my Leica all I had was a 50mm Summilux for the first couple of years and to be honest, using that lens for a couple of years taught me a lot.

Cheers, michael

 

[Trius]

I could use multiple cameras with only one lens attached for a year ...

 

[Tom A]

I have attempted this multiple times - usually on Jan 1. By the 3rd of January I am "falling off the wagon". Occasionally I do 1 type of film for several months - but inevitable with differt cameras.
However, as a mental exercise I would probably use a Leica M2 and the Nokton 40 mm f1,4. Great lens for indecisive shooters. Works as a 35 or a 50 with just a step back or forward. Fast enough for most situations, definitely sharp enough for anything you want to catch. I would load up a couple of 100 IXMOO cassettes with Kodak XX and go forth. Too bad I don't have the fortitude to stick to the plan!
If you do it - good luck and let us see what comes out as the year goes on.

 

[xenohip]

Sometimes the creative process can beneficially, or naturally, follow a kind of genetic algorithm: start with a wide range of possibilities and variations, then go through some sort of winnowing process according to your personal sense of aesthetics, and according to your personal creative goals and ambitions, then engage in more variations, perhaps even a seemingly entirely different "outpost" somewhere in the creative landscape, back to the selection process, and so on.

It seems the one camera/one lens etc pursuit could be very useful if it comes at the appropriate moment in the creative flow-- you have a hunch that you could be satisfied with (just) 75mm equivalent field of view, or whatever.

If it comes at a time when your natural rhythm is to be exploring options and variations, then it seems it would not be a good way to engage your creative spirit.

Different aspects of your work can be tracking through this process in parallel, but on different time scales, confounding the situation somewhat.

 

[Ronald M]

Waltz Envoy from 1958 to 1966 with fixed 50 2.0 Nikon lens.

Drove me batty after a while.

Now have digital Leicas and pro nikons, In between were tlr Mamiya, RB67. Zone VI 4x5 and Pentax Spotmatic. Numerous lenses for every one.

Any 50 mm is my go to lens today although I have very full systems..

 

[Santtu Määttänen]

I admire people who do this, since I'm certain it will benefit ones vision. For me this would seem impossible, even for personal work only. This year I'll be working on a project with large format camera, an other with panoramic and then I'll be shooting other things too.. Not to mention digital which I pretty much have to shoot 🙂

Maybe one day a week with one camera and lens? 😛

 

[Steveh]

Xenohip that's beautifully put and exactly how I see it - and working out where you are in the process is one of the hardest bits, particularly for those of us who have too little free time and too many cameras, which does tend to encourage the kind of unfocused dilettante approach I'm far too guilty of.

The appeal of it for me at least is to introduce some rigid external constraints that put a tighter frame around what I do and force me to think creatively within that frame.

The GR makes sense to me because I can take it to and from work every day and shoot in the gaps in my day, plus working with nothing but 28mm is a challenge in itself, but another part of me is thinking it would be cool to use nothing but the M6 and a 35mm. Is two cameras one year a thing?? :bang:

Sometimes the creative process can beneficially, or naturally, follow a kind of genetic algorithm: start with a wide range of possibilities and variations, then go through some sort of winnowing process according to your personal sense of aesthetics, and according to your personal creative goals and ambitions, then engage in more variations, perhaps even a seemingly entirely different "outpost" somewhere in the creative landscape, back to the selection process, and so on.

It seems the one camera/one lens etc pursuit could be very useful if it comes at the appropriate moment in the creative flow-- you have a hunch that you could be satisfied with (just) 75mm equivalent field of view, or whatever.

If it comes at a time when your natural rhythm is to be exploring options and variations, then it seems it would not be a good way to engage your creative spirit.

Different aspects of your work can be tracking through this process in parallel, but on different time scales, confounding the situation somewhat.

 

[RichardPhoto]

I think the concept of only using one lens/camera for a year is a bit of a false dichotomy born from the common mistake of searching for a solution for a tool rather than a tool for a solution.

I would echo Doug above and suggest some time spent contemplating what your goals are - what is it you hope to achieve at the end of this exercise? Where to you want to be on 1st January 2017? Once you know, I often find the 'path' just blossoms out of logical/academic steps. (Done the opposite way round I find it just results in stepping-stones to nowhere).

 

[Steveh]

Interesting point Richard - and of course the Michael Johnson article that kicked the whole idea off specifically recommends this approach as a learning exercise for young/beginning photographers, so those of us who are neither are already in a slightly different place.

Speaking personally my 2016 goals would be (i) to do more photography - I'm just coming out of one of my long hiatuses when I did nothing for months; (ii) integrate photography into my daily life and do more of the street/urban landscape work that is my passion but hard to do where I actually live, and (iii) end the year with a visually and artistically coherent body or bodies of work rather than a mismash of one off shots made with multiple different formats, media and cameras.

So even taking your approach I seem to be talking myself into a year with the GR.

Anybody else seriously up for this? Perhaps we should start a support thread to keep ourselves honest and share results throughout the year.

 

[:: Mark]

I have committed to more photography with a GR. To that end I will post a digest to the blog each week with the five best pictures, with the aim of extending some of the street photography that I have done over the last couple of years. Having a commitment to produce a fixed number of images in a set time helps fight the other things in life that can otherwise disrupt regular focussed photography.

I do not believe in the one-camera one-lens philosophy. If you have an idea for a sequence of photographs, you ideally should use the most appropriate medium and equipment for what you want to achieve. Even consistency may or may not be a part of that.