Poll: Gear vs. Good photos

[Mike Tobias]

So I made a new years resolution this year, that for every piece of gear I buy, I have to get rid of two. It's been slightly painful, although I know in the end I'll never miss any of the things I'm giving up, and it also is forcing me to be much more conscious of the new gear I pick up. In years past, when I didn't have as much gear I spent more time making greater numbers and better photos, and I'm trying to get back to that simplicity. I'm just introducing this poll because I'm curious what others experience of gear vs. photos has been. I should clarify that what I mean by "getting more gear" in this case means collecting gear that you don't "need" but "want", or gear that's redundant to what you already have (without getting rid of your existing gear). Has more gear changed the way you do photography, or has it remained the same?

Mike

[rdenney]

1. My photos have never gotten worse as a result of new acquisitions. They have not necessarily gotten better, and on some occasions they became more scarce. Often, they have gotten better, or at least more interesting to me.

2. I enjoy collecting camera equipment (and other interesting machinery) for its own sake.

3. I'm glad I do not have to justify owning anything that I own, as long as I fulfill my general responsibilities in this world.

Rick "who didn't move back into large-format photography to make greater numbers of photos" Denney

[csant]

The poll options are correct, but the poll question is flawed. I voted the 1st option since that is what has happened - but I am very sure that the photographs did not get better because I got new gear. The two parts of the statement are unrelated.

"Got more gear last year, I grew older, my photos got better" :)

[Curt]

I have come to terms with the equipment to quality connection. Ask the question how much equipment just sits unused. It is easy to evolve into a collector.

[rphenning]

got rid of gear last year. Sold a HEAP of digital junk and switched back to film.

[Dave Jeffery]

"It's been slightly painful, although I know in the end I'll never miss any of the things I'm giving up"

Yes you are so right! I got rid or my wife's gear, and my wife, and my photography has improved by a magnitude.

[jb7]

between this topic and the cliche thread, I'm beginning to wonder if forums are the problem...

[jnantz]

gear is just a distraction

[BradS]

sold some gear. bought some gear. gained ten pounds. changed films. started doing 8x10.
quality of photos unchanged.
quantity of photos definitely decreased.

[gevalia]

The poll options are correct, but the poll question is flawed. I voted the 1st option since that is what has happened - but I am very sure that the photographs did not get better because I got new gear. The two parts of the statement are unrelated.

"Got more gear last year, I grew older, my photos got better" :)

I agree.

[SamReeves]

I have everything I could want. I just need more time to do it though! ;)

[bigdog]

between this topic and the cliche thread, I'm beginning to wonder if forums are the problem...

Maybe. They're certainly not the answer ... ;)

[Brian Ellis]

So I made a new years resolution this year, that for every piece of gear I buy, I have to get rid of two. . . . Mike

Why? The assumption seems to be that nothing is really needed, that it's all extraneous. Which hopefully isn't the case. I'd sell one thing to buy another if I thought the "other" was more useful or better quality than what I'm selling but I'd never just automatically get rid of something else also. Of course I only have one camera and three lenses - wide angle, normal, and long - so I don't have a lot of extra gear to get rid of.

[brian mcweeney]

"... I grew older ... :)

Me too. Happens to me every year. ;)

[rdenney]

gear is just a distraction

Worrying about gear is a distraction. Worrying about having too much, and worrying about having too little, is equally distracting. Not having the gear you need when you need it is grossly distracting.

Rick "thinking the acquisition of gear and the making of art are mostly orthogonal, but even painters choose their brushes carefully, and usually have lots of them" Denney

[Laurent]

I got rid of some gear in the last two years, my photography went better in the same time. Not sure this is related, though.

I'm down to one "main" camera per format (3 in 35 mm, but one the serious one, one is my good old SLR, and one P&S which is unused), only 3 lenses for LF (was 5, with close lengths).

The positive impact is I have less decisions to make about gear, which seems to help (and I also stopped going on the filed with more than 2 formats)

[evan clarke]

I look at my gear as tools and I have a lot of it. I also carry all of it with me almost all the time so if I need it, I have it. Sometimes you need a roll film camera, almost all the time my 4x5, sometimes an 8x10 and sometimes more than one if time allows...Evan Clarke

[Lachlan 717]

The poll options are correct, but the poll question is flawed. I voted the 1st option since that is what has happened - but I am very sure that the photographs did not get better because I got new gear. The two parts of the statement are unrelated.



I don't agree in totality with your thoughts.

Yes, there will be users who get improvement with new gear that is NOT due to the new gear itself. The Adams/Leibowitz/Weston et al magic bullet piece of equipment does not exist.

However, I have read numerous postings about people getting new gear in becoming better photographers for it.

Without quoting the exact postings, I have read of many [often new] members upgrading from 35mm/MF to LF and have been forced to come to terms with a different shooting methodology. In doing so, they have slowed down, "seen" differently, and done better. (I include myself in this group).

Perhaps the poll question/phrasing could have been better, but so, too, could the blanket statement that "The two parts of the statement are unrelated". In your circumstances, I have no doubt that this is what you believe; it is not fully true for me and seemingly at least, some others here.

I would go so far as to say that "The two parts of the statement are not necessarily related".

[Allen in Montreal]

I have everything I could want. I just need more time to do it though! ;)

Bingo,

Is there an option for:

Had no time to shoot, so I screwed around with my gear to compensate for lack of shooting time? :)

[Mike Tobias]

I'll agree that the questions are a bit flawed. I suppose there has to a bit of reading of intent, i.e. if you think that gear had nothing to do with getting better, then the "No new gear, but got better" option would be best. To be honest, I didn't fully analyze the questions, it was a bit of a whim that made me post it in the first place.

Brian, I'm currently a bit on the opposite end of the spectrum gear wise currently, this is partially due to a bit of a "collector's mentality" and a bit because of work. I know I've got a tendency to collect things, and work has kept me very busy for the last couple of years. As a consequence, I look online and find some great whats-it that would do amazing things once I have time to use it. Thus I've spent more time in the recent past on thinking about what would take good photos rather than taking photos themselves. Contemplating different formats and different cameras without having the time to use any has just given me (literally) a pile of cameras, but no new photos. In the selling, I'm trying to refocus my attention back to what I feel is important, taking photos.

Gear is definitely a distraction, and unfortunately in my case it has been a substitute for action, something I'm trying to change.

Excellent input all, I'm going to sit and stare at my pile for a bit.

Mike

[eddie]

not sure how to vote.

my LF photos sucked for the many years when i only owned one 4x5 and one lens.......and they still suck now!

it is not the gear....it is me!

har har har!

[Ed Richards]

I changed cameras and consolidated lenses, realizing I had never shot with my 450mm, and that my D700 with the 12mm may be the ultimate ultrawide for really taking pictures. But I tried to concentrate on making images and changed cameras to help that - moved from a Sinar F2 to an Ebony to make it easier to haul around. My goal for the year was to shoot 500 sheets of 4x5. I have about 400 logged for the year, and since I do not log the test shots and screwups, I probably shot 450 sheets. Some of those are alternative filters, but I do not routinely shoot backup images, so this represents quite a few different shots. I want to see if I can get to at least 500 logged this year. While it is not LF, I also started shooting Zydeco with the D700. I figure I need to do about 10,000 frames to get pretty good at it and build my portfolio. I have shot about 5,000 frames so far. I want to get credentials to shoot Jazz Fest, which is based on a portfolio review. Plus I do not find much opportunity to dance while shooting 4x5.:-)

[Kirk Gittings]

Plus I do not find much opportunity to dance while shooting 4x5

Dancing while shooting a 4x5 can be painful.

[sun of sand]

the question is just fine
Some will believe their photos got better because they got a lens instead of using pinhole cameras
you just need an additional option for "no connection"


"..in this case means collecting gear that you don't "need" but "want", or gear that's redundant to what you already have"

I'm not sure I really "like" this aspect to the question
Im thinking -no offense really- that this makes this question really retarded

If you don't NEED it
----in order to take what you think would be better photos
your photos really CANT get any better through its use
..You would be happy with where you are and the extra stuff is just cunsumption
Only when you become unhappy with your results and try new things to achieve what you desire in your work can your photos get better
Having a desire to improve your work means that by using new --gear/technique etc- to improve
your quality can never go below what it was before
Because it already wasnt good enough
You cant go below not good enough
Not in my opinion

Growing pains? Sure. Not the same as declining. That's learning new skills.


I think the Q needs more straightening out cause I really dont believe this is what you meant for this question to be
I believe how I'd and everyone else would ordinarily take it is what was meant


anyway
I don't buy new "gear" and I sure as hell don't buy new "kit"
I don't trust anyone that uses those terms EVERY TIME they talk about photographic equipment etc
what I end up not trusting about them can be any number of things but they're almost always in a hole from that point
they can show me immediately there never was any hole but after that first use or two the benefit of the doubt is gone

I've bought stuff
I think
I bought a longer FL lens
a Ries ..to refinish more than anything
I dunno
I don't TAG items I've bought with a need to make "it" prove anything to me so it's hard to think about what I've bought for the hobby
Perhaps this is the difference
I'm fully conscious at the time of purchase whether I truly NEED or WANT the item
I don't know if I EVER buy ANYTHING that may not see playing time
When I buy something Im dedicated to it
It's not a trial or a look and see
It WILL be appreciated.
"I'll never miss any of the things I'm giving up"
I cant really say that. I ask myself before buying if it's something I would miss if lost/broken whatever and if the answer is Ehhhhhh ...ehhhhhhh
I think about it longer
This has "cost" me in the past but when I reflect on truthfully I can usually see that I would have buying for reasons other than True personal benefit or however it should be said
Not a real GAIN but more of a jump in arbitrarily handed out status
Still bothers because I'm still too material and vain

To me, thats hoarding. compulsion to spend. wasteful. disrespectful
Perhaps I've learned throughout life from the things I've and others have bought that were solely bought
"specutively" ..for no intended purpose or even a real wanting
that I no longer do it myself


Its the vision that that leads to the use of what is needed to get the desired result
the random something doesn't lead to epiphany
Epiphany is the knowing of what is needed to achieve the vision

[sun of sand]

"I cant really say that"

Of course this is sort of bound to current life standards or whatever i have

If the earth imploded but left me with food water love ...what seems essential to life
a slinky, bed nor a camera would mean anything to me at that point

[Stephen Willard]

got rid of gear last year. Sold a HEAP of digital junk and switched back to film.

Welcome back to the fold brother!

[Robert Hughes]

Got a new girlfriend. Photos got better, but journaling got worse ... :rolleyes:

[Diane Maher]

Well, I upgraded my gear last year so that I wouldn't be fighting it for one reason or another. Has my photography improved? I'm not sure. Will I try something new with it? I'm planning to. Might still be the same subject matter.

[SamReeves]

Bingo,

Is there an option for:

Had no time to shoot, so I screwed around with my gear to compensate for lack of shooting time? :)

LMAO! Too true. Just get out there and do it…when the time comes! :D

[Larry Gebhardt]

I replaced the Shen Hoa with a Chamonix. I thought things were fine until I enlarged some to 16x20 or bigger. Then I noticed more general blurring than should be expected. This is on several shots made with careful technique (in the past I could expect them to be sharp). So my shots got temporarily worse from the new equipment. I have fixed the fresnel issue and checked the ground glass spacing so I expect this year to be better.

Got a 50mm for the Mamiya 7, and have some really nice shots with this. Another option with this wonderful camera, so that is better.

I also got a Mamiya 645 this year, and can't say I have noticed any difference in my shots one way or another from this. But it is easier to pack and handhold than the RZ. So it will get used more. So that's better.

So my MF images were better (slightly), and my LF images were worse.

[William McEwen]

Somewhat related: I have thousands of books. My decorating scheme has become "books everywhere." A few years ago, I decided to take a route similar to the OP's plan -- for every book I purchased, I had to get rid of at least one.

I did that for months, but no longer. I regret selling those books.

[Rick Tardiff]

the poll doesn't fit:

Got new LF gear last year and its a whole new world....