As I seem to have instigated this "navel watching" or whatnot, I feel that I should clarify what I was originally saying.
First, there seems to be a stigma against collecting for the sake of collecting. COLLECTING IS NOT A BAD THING. It is ok to admit that you collect cameras because it is an interesting hobby. Which it is. The craftmanship of classic mechanical gear is superb. As I said initially, one does not need to justify a large mechanical watch collection by checking the time constantly.
Of course, like any fine watch that needs to be wound to stay in good shape, cameras benefit from frequent exercise. Therefore, I believe that there is a subset of the RFF population which collects cameras and uses them in order to gain the full experience of collecting. Furthermore, collecting classic cameras would not be as enriching if one did not know how to use these cameras. This entails knowing enough photographic principles to competently operate a classic camera. This can, of course, be construed as photography, but it is often not what most people have in mind when discussing the subject.
What I do not understand is people who feel the need to justify this hobby of collection by claiming that they are interested in photography and the gear is secondary. This is not true. Why people are attempting to justify their interests is a source of confusion for me.
Second, photography and collecting are not mutually exclusive. There are plenty of photgraphers--professional or otherwise--who have two sets of gear: the equipment they use for photography, and the equipment they collect. This can be for purposes of nostalgia, appreciation of gear, academic enrichment, etcetera. There is however--as most would admit--a clear distinction between the equipment that an individual uses on a daily basis, the equipment used for serious photography, and the equipment that is simply for the purposes of collecting.
Third, within the category of photgraphers, there are two main subgroups: those that attempt to streamline their workflow with their ideal camera, and those that attempt to gain as much knowledge and equipment as possible. As I said earlier, Henri Cartier-Bresson belonged to the former group, while Ansel Adams belonged to the latter.
Mr. Cartier-Bresson had his one Leica M3 and Elmarit lens. He hired a printer to produce photographs from his negatives. This was enough, and suited him well. Conversely, Mr. Adams had a vast assortment of gear and knowledge about gear. Although he favored view cameras, it is clear from his written work that he was quite competent in almost every aspect of photography. This worked well for both of these stalwarts of photography.
I am an eighteen year old college student. I am interested in simplicity. I do copious amounts of research before making any purchases, as I wish to have one iteration of the best possible demonstration of a piece of equipment. I started in photography using old APS point-and-shoots when I was much younger. Recently, for serious photography, I cut my teeth on my parent's dSLR. I then decided that digital photography was not only boring, but prevented me from learning the basics. I was taking pretentious, pretty pictures on automatic of things that had no significance or meaning. I then discovered Mr. Cartier-Bresson's work, and fell in love with humanist photography. I then decided that I would delve into this craft.
I did research, and sites such as this helped me learn a tremendous amount. In fact, as I am entirely self-taught, all I know comes from these types of sites, photoblogs such as
http://www.chromogenic.net and
http://dgoutnik.net/ , as well as various library books on photography. I taught myself how to develop my own pictures through various web-tutorials. Thus, I am not criticizing these sites, as I fully appreciate their value.
With this information, I decided to ask my parents for a Leica M7 and 50mm Summicron. As my eighteenth birthday fell on the same day as my high school graduation, my parents and grandparents decided that as a combined present for both of these occasions, and from all of them, they would buy me these two items. I spent much of the summer with them, and with the money I saved from various academic competitions and working full-time as a counselor at a summer camp, I bought a 35mm Summicron.
This is the extent of my equipment. It will not grow. I still read photo websites in order to teach myself more about the craft. The reason for my initial post, was that it seemed that people have began to focus fairly intensely upon equipment over craft. Which is fine. I am just trying to gauge people's opinions to the change that I perceive.
Thank you for your time,
Harrison
