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:
