So many photogs I know buy expensive photo toys and rarely if ever use the gear. They seem so fascinated by the tech/toy thingy they forget what the gear if for, TO MAKE PICTURES!
In the past I have also been guilty of this contagious dazzled by the shiny photo gear bug. Now what I try to do is make an important picture with the new gear, if I do then I feel the price was worth it (regardless of the price). That is the test, gear by itself equals waste, gear after making an important picture, worth it! If I can make an important photograph with a certain camera or lens, if I can make a strong print with an enlarger then nothing else matters, it was a good buy.
I still need to recoup the cost of my very expensive ULF 16x20 Chamonix (May Lee), no pictures made yet, right now a huge waste of money on my part. Soon as I make one negative/wet plate that matters, one picture that is important the camera was worth buying, end of story.
Some gear that fits into the it worth it category.
-Leica M cameras, lens (Klong Toey, Forgotten Laughter and My Fathers Last Days projects)
-Leica R cameras, lens (Klong Toey, Forgotten Laughter and My Fathers Last Days projects)
-Linhof 2000 camera (Klong Toey project)
-Kodak Masterview 8x10 (Sex Worker on white project)
-Nikon 300mm F5.6 lens (Sex Worker on white project)
-Linhof 5x7 (Forgotten Laughter and My Fathers Last Days projects)
-Rolleiflex F ( Forgotten Laughter project)
-Plaubel Makina 67 (Forgotten Laughter project)
-Polaroid Razzle 4x5 camera the Banrama (Ladyboy sex worker in short time room project)
Some gear that fits into the it is NOT worth it category (yet!).
- Graflex Super D camera
- Wisner 8x10 camera
- Deardorf 8x10 camera
- Toyo 4x5 camera
- 2 / Fujiflim 645 cameras
- 16x20 Chamonix camera
- Zone VI cold light enlarger
- Too many more to list!
So I guess the moral is, buy all the gear you want but USE THE STUFF!! Remember the goal is to make pictures, nothing else matters. Camera gear is just that "Gear!!", it is stuff, a thing, who really cares...PICTURES PICTURES AND MORE PICTURES should be the goal. So everyone go out and make photos with your toys!
Note* I hope to take the Deardorf (the camera my father gave me) to Asia next trip and do 8x10 portraiture. Which would move it from the wasted to the thank god I had it category! I have around 400 sheets of 8x10 Tri-x in the freezer I need to use. (think it is 400 sheets, maybe less?).
In the past I have also been guilty of this contagious dazzled by the shiny photo gear bug. Now what I try to do is make an important picture with the new gear, if I do then I feel the price was worth it (regardless of the price). That is the test, gear by itself equals waste, gear after making an important picture, worth it! If I can make an important photograph with a certain camera or lens, if I can make a strong print with an enlarger then nothing else matters, it was a good buy.
I still need to recoup the cost of my very expensive ULF 16x20 Chamonix (May Lee), no pictures made yet, right now a huge waste of money on my part. Soon as I make one negative/wet plate that matters, one picture that is important the camera was worth buying, end of story.
Some gear that fits into the it worth it category.
-Leica M cameras, lens (Klong Toey, Forgotten Laughter and My Fathers Last Days projects)
-Leica R cameras, lens (Klong Toey, Forgotten Laughter and My Fathers Last Days projects)
-Linhof 2000 camera (Klong Toey project)
-Kodak Masterview 8x10 (Sex Worker on white project)
-Nikon 300mm F5.6 lens (Sex Worker on white project)
-Linhof 5x7 (Forgotten Laughter and My Fathers Last Days projects)
-Rolleiflex F ( Forgotten Laughter project)
-Plaubel Makina 67 (Forgotten Laughter project)
-Polaroid Razzle 4x5 camera the Banrama (Ladyboy sex worker in short time room project)
Some gear that fits into the it is NOT worth it category (yet!).
- Graflex Super D camera
- Wisner 8x10 camera
- Deardorf 8x10 camera
- Toyo 4x5 camera
- 2 / Fujiflim 645 cameras
- 16x20 Chamonix camera
- Zone VI cold light enlarger
- Too many more to list!
So I guess the moral is, buy all the gear you want but USE THE STUFF!! Remember the goal is to make pictures, nothing else matters. Camera gear is just that "Gear!!", it is stuff, a thing, who really cares...PICTURES PICTURES AND MORE PICTURES should be the goal. So everyone go out and make photos with your toys!
Note* I hope to take the Deardorf (the camera my father gave me) to Asia next trip and do 8x10 portraiture. Which would move it from the wasted to the thank god I had it category! I have around 400 sheets of 8x10 Tri-x in the freezer I need to use. (think it is 400 sheets, maybe less?).
