Photographer or Camera Collector

[Ole Tjugen]

Considering the depressing number of pictures I've shot this year, I must be a collector.

I hope that I'll shoot a lot more next year - now that I also have one more year in my relatively new job I should be able to find both the time and the inspiration.

[EuGene Smith]

I have always considered myself a user rather than a photographer because the latter title tends to suggest that I know what I am doing . . . and that's highly doubtful.

I have carefully bought only cameras that use modern, available film, so that all of my cameras can be users rather than shelf-queens. But, I'm afraid that's a cop out, as I can't reasonably explain why I need about 20 Minolta SRTs, a truck load of LF cameras, and a gob of MF cameras in order to take a few pictures now and then.

So, I guess I am a collector by default, a user secondarily, and a long shot as a photographer wannabe!

Smiff