c.1950 Nash Ambassador. Old U.S. Highway 27, Chattooga
County, GA. Jpeg from Fuji X-Pro1, 27mm f2.8 lens. I like the
way the X-Pro1 handles this very contrasty scene.
(This is an update of a post I wrote three years ago, on October 16, 2020.)
Some photographers might consider me underequipped. That's because my approach to photography is not equipment-centric.
Owning and using fine, precision equipment can be very pleasurable in itself, and of course there are certain kinds of photography, such as action and sports that are difficult to do well without specialized equipment.But in truth, most of us could get by with very little equipment. In the 1930s through the '60s, photographers such as Fritz Henle traveled the world with nothing but a twin-lens reflex. Their pictures can certainly hold their own in comparison to the work being done today. Edward Weston did most of his work with an 8x10 view camera and one lens, although he also used a 4x5 Graphlex single-lens reflex (we would consider it almost unusably primitive) for portraits. Henri Cartier-Bresson and Elliott Erwitt were Leica photographers who mostly used 50mm lenses, and travel photographer Gerald Brimacombe did great work with a pair of early digital cameras with built-in zoom lenses. The last time we corresponded he told me that he now carries one Nikon D610 and a 24-120mm zoom lens when he travels. Nothing else. Like those named above, he has adapted his vision to fit the equipment he uses.
I will confess that for most of my career I had Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS). However, being frugal (okay a cheapskate), I mostly indulged my addiction by buying, using, and selling second-hand equipment. It was fun, and didn't break the bank. Also, I learned a lot about how to buy good used equipment. In fact, everything I now own was acquired second-hand and serves me well.
All the photographs in my series of posts about our RV tour of the west in 2018 were made with just three cameras and three lenses -- the Fujifilm X-Pro1, X-T1, and X-T20 bodies and the 27mm f2.8, 16-50 f3.5-5.6, and 50-230 f4.8-6.3 Fujicron lenses. All were bought used through on-line fora. The workhorse was the X-T20.
However, I did run into one problem, because each camera has slightly different menus. I wrote about that here. In a sideways move, I bought a Fuji X-H1. Again, used, through an online forum. The X-H1 is a little larger and heaver, so it balances well with an on-camera flash and my recently acquired 55-200mm zoom. I'll hang on to the X-T20 as my everyday carry because it's small and light, and the X-Pro1 because the menu is relatively simple and the files have a special character that I love. I still have a too-many-menus problem, but it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem any more. Maybe I'm just getting better.
The X-T1, a lovely camera, is the odd man out, so it's now for sale.
I've also recently acquired a Fujicron 60mm f2.4 macro lens. It's a good focal length for portraits, and I can also use it to copy and digitize my best photos from 35 years of shooting slides without having to go through the slow process of scanning. With these three bodies and four lenses I have what I need. I don't need anything else.
So am I underequipped? I don't think so. I love cameras, but when I have the equipment I need to do the work I want to do, I'm more interested in what I can do with it than in the equipment itself. And I no longer have GAS.
Of course, there are a few things it would be nice to have. . .like maybe the 56mm f1.2 or the 90mm f2. . .?
Signed copies of the new second edition of Backroads and Byways of Georgia
are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal
address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to me at 8943
Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how
you would like your book inscribed.
Check out the pictures at my online gallery: https://davejenkins.pixels.com/ Looking is free, and you might find something you like.
Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment