Just to be clear, I do not favour the use of zoom lenses over primes.
Eh, they have their uses. I collect and use primes when the image seems to require it, but I bolt on a zoom and sally forth when I am not sure what I will be facing, I don't want to carry a parcel of lenses, and I am willing to give up a little speed and perhaps some sharpness in exchange for that convenience. My own compromise.
Bill, I was thinking of your quote: If less is more, then nothing is everything. (Which may actually be true in a philosophical sense, but I'm not ready to give up photography and all my worldly possessions quite yet.)
To me, the quote is a reminder of the basic illogic of the concept that less = more. Less = less. While it may be true that some people cannot handle having many choices available to them, in real terms, becoming an ascetic (the extreme end of minimalism) does one no favors, despite what people think of the benefits of such behavior.
Anyone who says they reduce their kit because
'it forces me to become...' or words to that effect are actually saying that they are incapable of doing so without outside mandates. They are saying that they are weak and incapable of taking decisions on their own, or making choices as they see fit, and instead seek situations where their preferred outcome is pressed down upon them.
Yes, having a small income forces one to eat bologna and perhaps to learn to appreciate the many subtle qualities thereof, but one could as easily choose to eat bologna with a larger budget.
'Oh, but then I wouldn't do it,' is a frank admission of complete lack of self-control.
In short, if one chooses to enhance their skills with a 35mm lens over a 50 or a 75, I can understand that well enough. If they choose a 35mm lens over any other for a period of time to engage new ways of thinking about the shots they want to take for creative purposes, I get that, too. When they announce they're selling off their kit because they wish to be forced to use a 35mm lens only, I think they're stark raving mad, or the weakest individuals I can conceive of.
How do they get through the day if they have
both bologna and peanut butter & jelly in their cupboards? They must be absolutely paralyzed with their inability to make a decision on their own.
Less is less. More is more. If one wishes to become more proficient with a particular lens or film or camera body or style of photography by doing it exclusively, then do that. Selling off everything else and wearing the hair shirt of purity is not required, and it makes one look the complete prat.