dave lackey
Veteran
Life is odd isn't it? I suppose it is just a perspective one has from whatever point of view one has along the path of Life itself, but it is really interesting.
Photographs are precious. Friends, families, memorable events and such are, to me, far more important than anything else in photos. As a child, we had maybe a single Brownie box camera and it was used infrequently, usually, a roll of film on vacation in Florida or on a fishing trip. Occasionally, the photos indicate long trips (to visit family in North Carolina or other locales in between) usually had a few photos of relatives.
Today, these images all fit in a small box measuring maybe 12" x 18". Not many for decades of living and when my parents passed, my sister wound up with them to share with me and I would not give them away for anything. Prints!!! Not images on a hard drive but the real thing and even some negatives are in that treasure trove and they have survived countless wars, moves and tragedies. These prints have an instant impression on me when I look at them and remember holding the same prints in the 1950s and later years. My connection with the past.
Art? Heavens no....they didn't care about that crap when I was growing up. Freedom of Expression? Makes me laugh...the only expression I remember was the casual improper excalamation when the prints came back and my father had his thumb covering half the lens! Oh, no, these prints were for telling stories. It is as simple as that.
As my life took shape, marriage, children and now grandchildren have all become part of me and my bride. We celebrate 44 years next month on our wedding anniversary. The first camera I ever bought for myself was a Minolta X700 and that didn't happen until I was in graduate school. After that, a Nikon FE. Then, a succession of cameras, all Nikon, until Leica introduced itself in the form of an M3. Up until then, all I ever had was a single camera, even when I was doing magazine articles and centerspreads for car magazines. Since then, I have worked through many cameras and different formats. It was enjoyable...and it still is...
I now ask myself, " How much is enough?"
How many photographs do I need to take outside of documentary work that I do just for myself. I no longer shoot weddings or any events. Occasionally I shoot a couple of frames at the grandkids soccer, football, softball, baseball, and gym events, but not many. How much should I shoot? How much is enough? And, of course, what am I going to do with all the photos?
And then, I asked myself, why do I need more than one camera? Lenses, yes, I can see the need for more than one as they can make a difference but, the camera? It is the interface between myself and the event recorded on whatever format I use. Just a box. Other than having a backup body stored somewhere, why do I need more than a single camera body?
I have only one answer... an answer that made me uncomfortable at first...an answer that stated plainly that I need only ONE camera. Just one!
Sure, I have been enjoying the most wonderful time ever in photography with both digital and film cameras lately. Getting to use those exotic professional cameras from long ago is cheap now and it has been so much fun while being educational.
But now, I have reached a point in my life's journey where the future is really just one camera and a few lenses. Cool! Liberating.... Taking only the time to shoot what and when I want, not because I can but because I want the photographs for my own use to tell a story.
But which camera?
That is the question I am going to be working on for awhile. It is complicated.:angel:
Photographs are precious. Friends, families, memorable events and such are, to me, far more important than anything else in photos. As a child, we had maybe a single Brownie box camera and it was used infrequently, usually, a roll of film on vacation in Florida or on a fishing trip. Occasionally, the photos indicate long trips (to visit family in North Carolina or other locales in between) usually had a few photos of relatives.
Today, these images all fit in a small box measuring maybe 12" x 18". Not many for decades of living and when my parents passed, my sister wound up with them to share with me and I would not give them away for anything. Prints!!! Not images on a hard drive but the real thing and even some negatives are in that treasure trove and they have survived countless wars, moves and tragedies. These prints have an instant impression on me when I look at them and remember holding the same prints in the 1950s and later years. My connection with the past.
Art? Heavens no....they didn't care about that crap when I was growing up. Freedom of Expression? Makes me laugh...the only expression I remember was the casual improper excalamation when the prints came back and my father had his thumb covering half the lens! Oh, no, these prints were for telling stories. It is as simple as that.
As my life took shape, marriage, children and now grandchildren have all become part of me and my bride. We celebrate 44 years next month on our wedding anniversary. The first camera I ever bought for myself was a Minolta X700 and that didn't happen until I was in graduate school. After that, a Nikon FE. Then, a succession of cameras, all Nikon, until Leica introduced itself in the form of an M3. Up until then, all I ever had was a single camera, even when I was doing magazine articles and centerspreads for car magazines. Since then, I have worked through many cameras and different formats. It was enjoyable...and it still is...
I now ask myself, " How much is enough?"
How many photographs do I need to take outside of documentary work that I do just for myself. I no longer shoot weddings or any events. Occasionally I shoot a couple of frames at the grandkids soccer, football, softball, baseball, and gym events, but not many. How much should I shoot? How much is enough? And, of course, what am I going to do with all the photos?
And then, I asked myself, why do I need more than one camera? Lenses, yes, I can see the need for more than one as they can make a difference but, the camera? It is the interface between myself and the event recorded on whatever format I use. Just a box. Other than having a backup body stored somewhere, why do I need more than a single camera body?
I have only one answer... an answer that made me uncomfortable at first...an answer that stated plainly that I need only ONE camera. Just one!
Sure, I have been enjoying the most wonderful time ever in photography with both digital and film cameras lately. Getting to use those exotic professional cameras from long ago is cheap now and it has been so much fun while being educational.
But now, I have reached a point in my life's journey where the future is really just one camera and a few lenses. Cool!
Liberating.... Taking only the time to shoot what and when I want, not because I can but because I want the photographs for my own use to tell a story.But which camera?
That is the question I am going to be working on for awhile. It is complicated.:angel:
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Keep the F6.
G
G
GaryLH
Veteran
If it was me..I would keep two cameras from the same mount family, so one could be a backup for the other, such as Nikon F3 and FM2 or Fuji XP1 and XT1..
I would figure out which were my top 3-5 cameras.. Pretend u already sold off everything else. Start w/ one camera and shoot w/ it for 3-6 months and rotate thru all the rest.. Most likely by the end, u will know which camera or decide is really not for u.
Good luck
Gary
I would figure out which were my top 3-5 cameras.. Pretend u already sold off everything else. Start w/ one camera and shoot w/ it for 3-6 months and rotate thru all the rest.. Most likely by the end, u will know which camera or decide is really not for u.
Good luck
Gary
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Dave,
An interesting thought.
If I only had one camera long term durability would have to be a priority. Not sure a Leica RF'er would be as trouble free as my F3P over the long-long term. I'm kinda with Godfrey on promoting a SLR.
If I has to minimize my selection of glass I would go 28 and 50 by choice.
Basically could do a lot of photography with just one body and two lenses, but a SLR is not compact like a Leica M-body.
Cal
An interesting thought.
If I only had one camera long term durability would have to be a priority. Not sure a Leica RF'er would be as trouble free as my F3P over the long-long term. I'm kinda with Godfrey on promoting a SLR.
If I has to minimize my selection of glass I would go 28 and 50 by choice.
Basically could do a lot of photography with just one body and two lenses, but a SLR is not compact like a Leica M-body.
Cal
bobkonos
Well-known
Hi Dave! Hope all is well. Ok, I see your thinking but I do not, in my experience, see a correlation betwen "being free to shoot what I want when I want" and the number of cameras/lenses/systems one owns. If it becomes a fiscal or psychic clutter matter, sure, reduce the number of cameras. But for me, I thoroughly enjoy putting together a camea bag for shooting based on which equipment I feel like using that day. Some days are LTM days, other days are Nikon-only or 21mm-only days. Sure, I intend to sell it all off one day, for better or for worse, but for now I love having the option of picking film, bodies, lenses, and-yes-bag for each instance I shoot.
back alley
IMAGES
i don't want less gear...i just want to take fewer lousy pics!
seakayaker1
Well-known
..... I will always plan on having at least two, would never want to be without one being available. As someone mentioned above, two with the same mount. If I could get real disciplined then maybe two camera bodies with only two (or 3 or 4) lenses.
With the aging process I would imagine some day having two autofocus cameras with attached lenses. Hopefully full frame and lightweight .......
With the aging process I would imagine some day having two autofocus cameras with attached lenses. Hopefully full frame and lightweight .......
back alley
IMAGES
i use 2 fuji xe1 bodies with a 23 on one and a 56 on the other...works pretty well for me.
for an even smaller kit i have the eos m body and 3 small lenses...it all fits into a faux domke 5xb bag...along with extra cards, batteries and a tiny flash.
for an even smaller kit i have the eos m body and 3 small lenses...it all fits into a faux domke 5xb bag...along with extra cards, batteries and a tiny flash.
mfogiel
Veteran
One camera one lens one life one Rolleiflex.
GaryLH
Veteran
I forgot to mention.. I thought about this myself n the past, but......never gonna happen
For me it would be two camera systems
- sigma foveon dp family for b&w, still life and landscape
- Fuji x cameras for everything else
However as a gear head, I doubt I would ever get down to two camera systems.
Gary
For me it would be two camera systems
- sigma foveon dp family for b&w, still life and landscape
- Fuji x cameras for everything else
However as a gear head, I doubt I would ever get down to two camera systems.
Gary
dave lackey
Veteran
Wow, just mowed the lawn and walked in to see a lot of great advice already!!
So, while mindlessly walking behind said mower, I was thinking ahead and I foresee for the first 5 years, one bag with a main camera (and a backup body) plus a number of lenses.
The M3/M6 is the first consideration and is already set to go.
The second kit, the F6 + (?), is yet to be determined.
There is a third option: A digital + film body of the same form and function.
And a fourth is a small digital kit like Joe mentioned.
All valid and desirable options! As I said, this will be complicated. But in order to make it as orderly a process as possible, I will put the gear I have left in a vault/safe for safekeeping for the grandkids and certainly out of my hands in order to concentrate on the kits for a period of six months. Then I will get down to just the one camera kit that seems to work the best for everyday, every occasion storytelling.
Some things that will be considered, in no particular order:
1. Time
2. Family and Friends
3. Type of photos that may be most likely over say, the next 5 years.
4. Which camera kit that I absolutely love the most.
Oh, yeah, prints. My better half really misses those prints we got from the lab everytime we picked up the developed negatives. I must get back to printing.
It is so complicated trying to live a simple life!!
So, while mindlessly walking behind said mower, I was thinking ahead and I foresee for the first 5 years, one bag with a main camera (and a backup body) plus a number of lenses.
The M3/M6 is the first consideration and is already set to go.
The second kit, the F6 + (?), is yet to be determined.
There is a third option: A digital + film body of the same form and function.
And a fourth is a small digital kit like Joe mentioned.
All valid and desirable options! As I said, this will be complicated. But in order to make it as orderly a process as possible, I will put the gear I have left in a vault/safe for safekeeping for the grandkids and certainly out of my hands in order to concentrate on the kits for a period of six months. Then I will get down to just the one camera kit that seems to work the best for everyday, every occasion storytelling.
Some things that will be considered, in no particular order:
1. Time
2. Family and Friends
3. Type of photos that may be most likely over say, the next 5 years.
4. Which camera kit that I absolutely love the most.
Oh, yeah, prints. My better half really misses those prints we got from the lab everytime we picked up the developed negatives. I must get back to printing.
It is so complicated trying to live a simple life!!
dave lackey
Veteran
Oh, one other thought...
A Rolleiflex... That would certainly be interesting!
A Rolleiflex... That would certainly be interesting!
madNbad
Well-known
Before deciding on anything, pick one camera and lens combination. Use only that combination for a couple of months. If you find yourself needing more, the equipment is still available. If you are happy with the results, then devise a plan of what to keep and what to sell.
dave lackey
Veteran
I like that idea!
With Fall coming up, and the holidays later, it might be an excellent time for the F6 kit... hmmm. Tele for sports. Wide for holidays.
John E Earley
Tuol Sleng S21-0174
This sounds like a good plan.
besk
Well-known
35mm is maybe the perfect format and has been my most used format with Leicas or NIkon SLRs. But as I have gotten older I am photographing less.
If I am going to photograph something it may as well be in medium format or larger.
My 2 1/4 X 3 1/4 Crown Graphic is a great compromise with the option of rangefinder focusing.
I have adapted a Horseman 6X9 back to mine plus use a 6X6 back for snapshots. And with both normal and a wide angle lenses I am set.
If I am going to photograph something it may as well be in medium format or larger.
My 2 1/4 X 3 1/4 Crown Graphic is a great compromise with the option of rangefinder focusing.
I have adapted a Horseman 6X9 back to mine plus use a 6X6 back for snapshots. And with both normal and a wide angle lenses I am set.
dave lackey
Veteran
One wonders how aging affects our photography. I can see a time when AF will be rather necessary. I can also see a time when the number of frames shot will be a fraction of the norm for various reasons.
Sounds like you have made some good decisions of your own!
kxl
Social Documentary
Hi Dave - I think that a one-camera solution for me would work and would actually be a relatively simple decision -- I'd pick my d800e (actually have 2 of them) since I use that 90% of the time anyway and I have a lot of F mount lenses.
I say 'relatively' because the other 10% of the time I get this nasty voice in my head that tells me that I absolutely must shoot an RF body and/or film. It's really that last 10% that's keeping me from sticking with just the D800e.
I say 'relatively' because the other 10% of the time I get this nasty voice in my head that tells me that I absolutely must shoot an RF body and/or film. It's really that last 10% that's keeping me from sticking with just the D800e.
dave lackey
Veteran
bence8810
Well-known
I think people have so much gear because they just love having it. The excitement to wait for the package at your doorstep / trying a new lens / fiddling with a new camera.
I myself don't care for this and therefore only have one camera and lens I use. I do have a few other cameras but they just sit in a dry-box. I'll eventually give them away.
I am not without a fault though, I buy film and paper like there is no tomorrow. I am at the stage where my wife will not allow more into the freezer and am getting my own fridge for the darkroom.
Ben
I myself don't care for this and therefore only have one camera and lens I use. I do have a few other cameras but they just sit in a dry-box. I'll eventually give them away.
I am not without a fault though, I buy film and paper like there is no tomorrow. I am at the stage where my wife will not allow more into the freezer and am getting my own fridge for the darkroom.
Ben