The New Cruelty

Obviously, I don't consider this a philosophy. Just an exercise. Doing it primarily because I think it'll be fun. And if I learn a thing or two, even better...
 
John Lawrence said:
I did the 'one lens, one camera' thing years ago when that was all I could afford.

John
Click to expand...

Dear John,

Me too. That's why I WON'T do it now.

Sod 'less is more'. When it comes to choosing the right camera/lens for a particular application, more is more,

Until you can't work out what to use, that is. But if you can't choose the right gear for the job, the problem lies with you, not with the gear.

Cheers,

R.
 
John Lawrence said:
I did the 'one lens, one camera' thing years ago when that was all I could afford.

John
Click to expand...

Roger Hicks said:
Dear John,

Me too. That's why I WON'T do it now.

Sod 'less is more'. When it comes to choosing the right camera/lens for a particular application, more is more,

Until you can't work out what to use, that is. But if you can't choose the right gear for the job, the problem lies with you, not with the gear.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

I don't think any of us expect a "pro" that makes their living at photography to do this. That just makes no sense, for the reasons you stated.

This is best done by the hobbyist, who can do it w/o any financial loss to themselves or family.

Your post is well advised for the "pro".
 
Helen

Helen

How about both lenses wide open only :D

helenhill said:
How but ONE Gal...lets make it a Bit FUN...:p !!!!
who will
shoot only 50mm ... ( Nokton 1.1. 50 cron. 50 lux)
only 400 Film ... (TriX,Tmax,Neopan)

Starting Today...7 August 2010
Anyone Else in the SPIRIT >?
Click to expand...
 
Roger Hicks said:
Dear John,

Me too. That's why I WON'T do it now.

Sod 'less is more'. When it comes to choosing the right camera/lens for a particular application, more is more,

Until you can't work out what to use, that is. But if you can't choose the right gear for the job, the problem lies with you, not with the gear.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

jeez man, i really don't get the effort folks put into 'sharing' their opinion on something they apparently have no interest in, or in most cases disagree with?

it's an exercise Roger, not a tenet. it has nothing to do with not being able to choose the 'right' gear or any of my (many) problems. it's about trying something i have never done before. a new experience and when it comes to experiences my motto is more is more!
 
Independently, I'm trying the same - with some slight tweaks.

M9
28mm (but I'm upgrading - so Elmarit now, hopefully Summicron shorty)
Colour

Peter Turnley laid down a similar challenge for us. He described having a single focal length, as developing your signature.

And I have to say that there are real advantages to really learning a focal length.

Cheers
Gareth
 
mfogiel said:
As I said to Kolame, there is a guy, who only started photography 3 years ago, but evidently, on some good advice, he bought an M7 and just one lens - 35/2 Summicron ASPH. I believe, he only shoots Tri- X, and from the grain I see on photos I bought from him, it might be he develops everything in Rodinal.

Just look at what he did in 3 years:

http://www.smague.fr/

It does not look to me like he feels limited by one lens. On the contrary, he has mastered the composition and he learned how to approach his subjects in order to get the best out of his tool. I am convinced, that if he had 20 or so M lenses, like I do, he would probably be still undecided about what and how to photograph.
Click to expand...

Phenomenal stuff. Thanks for the link.

Cheers
Gareth
 
mfogiel said:
As I said to Kolame, there is a guy, who only started photography 3 years ago, but evidently, on some good advice, he bought an M7 and just one lens - 35/2 Summicron ASPH. I believe, he only shoots Tri- X, and from the grain I see on photos I bought from him, it might be he develops everything in Rodinal.

Just look at what he did in 3 years:

http://www.smague.fr/

It does not look to me like he feels limited by one lens. On the contrary, he has mastered the composition and he learned how to approach his subjects in order to get the best out of his tool. I am convinced, that if he had 20 or so M lenses, like I do, he would probably be still undecided about what and how to photograph.
Click to expand...

Incredible work! Thanks for the link.
 
Thanks

Thanks

It is interesting to see his project, but I don't see much difference from his Jan/Feb shots to the end of the project.

Am I missing something?

Kolame said:
There is one German I’m following for the whole year now, he started it out with a MP and a 50mm (forgot, which one), his website is: http://www.skt1.de/
It’s in German. But you can see the results sorted by month on the left side. Now you may compare the January-results, to the ones following.
Click to expand...
 
I enjoy this guy's photographs

I enjoy this guy's photographs

but I don't think his great talent has anything to do with being limited to a single lens, but, maybe is limited to a street/near subject style with his single 35 fl lens.

He has a great street style of almost always having 2 common components:

1. something interesting and frame filling in the foreground, usually a face or body, and ...

2. An interesting backdrop or background.

All but 1 image seem straight on, 1 with the train is angled.

So like others, I'd have to seriously wonder, can this guy also generate kick-*ss photos with wider, or longer focal lengths???


mfogiel said:
As I said to Kolame, there is a guy, who only started photography 3 years ago, but evidently, on some good advice, he bought an M7 and just one lens - 35/2 Summicron ASPH. I believe, he only shoots Tri- X, and from the grain I see on photos I bought from him, it might be he develops everything in Rodinal.

Just look at what he did in 3 years:

http://www.smague.fr/

It does not look to me like he feels limited by one lens. On the contrary, he has mastered the composition and he learned how to approach his subjects in order to get the best out of his tool. I am convinced, that if he had 20 or so M lenses, like I do, he would probably be still undecided about what and how to photograph.
Click to expand...
 
..So like others, I'd have to seriously wonder, can this guy also generate kick-*ss photos with wider, or longer focal lengths???...

i'm not sure that that matters...does it?
 
I used a Bessa R and a cv 35mm f2.5 for a year and LOVED it.

When I got back into photography, mainly all I had besides my Bessa was my Minolta X700 and a digital p&s .7MP that I threw out. I still love the photos I took that year. I fell in love with rangefinders then.
 
I just can't understand why BB King would limit himself almost exclusively to 6-string electric guitars of the Gibson ES-355 lineage (and all named Lucille). Similarly, I am perplexed that Glen Gould recorded almost exclusively on a single, temperamental Steinway piano, even when he was playing music written for the harpsichord. Sviatoslav Richter did that, too -- played harpsichord music on a piano, when I'm sure that someone would gladly have let him use their harpsichord, or a Hammond B3, or a Theremin.

Can anyone explain these things to me? Why are these people so stubborn? They make me nervous.
 
Last edited:
semilog said:
I just can't understand why BB King would limit himself almost exclusively to 6-tring electric guitars of the Gibson ES-355 lineage (and all named Lucille). Similarly, I am perplexed that Glen Gould recorded almost exclusively on a single, temperamental Steinway piano, even when he was playing music written for the harpsichord. Sviatoslav Richter did that, too -- played harpsichord music on a piano, when I sure that someone would gladly have let him use their harpsichord or a Hammond B3.

Can anyone explain these things to me? Why are these people so stubborn? They make me nervous.
Click to expand...

i don't believe these are fair or accurate comparisons.

we work in a visual medium
lenses offer different angles of view
if i want to only ever see a 50mm fov then one 50mm lens might be just fine
but if i ALSO want to see something wider, say a 21mm fov, then a 50 is not going to do it for me.

if i limit my lens selection then i limit my physical vision

of course, in many cases here, we actually do that...after years of trial and error we come to our own conclusions of what works for us.

for me, i PREFER my way of doing it, many lenses over time and then decide.

your way, ONE lens over limited time, does not compute for my way of thinking.

that's it...no great judgements about your character or life long acievements...just my way and your way...we each choose...

go in peace!
 
Answers

Answers

BB King has an endorsement deal with Gibson.

Harpsichords, properly made to the specs of the ones that the music was written for and originally played on, currently can take decades to build, and are only affordable by the wealthiest folks or organizations.

Perhaps Glen Gould liked the temperamental piano he chose. Nothing wrong with that.

156086261_bCExU-L.jpg


semilog said:
I just can't understand why BB King would limit himself almost exclusively to 6-string electric guitars of the Gibson ES-355 lineage (and all named Lucille). Similarly, I am perplexed that Glen Gould recorded almost exclusively on a single, temperamental Steinway piano, even when he was playing music written for the harpsichord. Sviatoslav Richter did that, too -- played harpsichord music on a piano, when I sure that someone would gladly have let him use their harpsichord, or a Hammond B3, or a Theremin.

Can anyone explain these things to me? Why are these people so stubborn? They make me nervous.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom