Fun subject.
It seems like the more lenses and options I have in my bag the less satisfied I am with the process and results.
I experience a mild paralysation by too many choices.
I feel the search for a subject to photograph with a one-lens-perspective and one-film-type offers me a clearer vision.
It appears to be valid across formats for me, not only LF.
Facilitating mobility is becoming more important - not only for the sake of my ageing body, but also the ability to move quickly and change plans with less weight to lug me down. I feel a need to be more spontaneous with age.
For a large format day trip of 5-8 hours walking/photographing, the kit looks something like this:
Intrepid 4X5 (1.3kg)
Typically 150mm/5.6 Symmar on a light Intrepid board (0.4kg).
SLIK Master tripod (1.7kg) (wo. head)
4 film holders (0.7kg)
Sekonic L308 (0.1kg)
Misc.: release cable, loupe, yellow filter etc. (0.8kg)
That is about 5.0kg (11.0 lbs)
My softshell jacket doubles as dark cloth, my smartphone as notebook and backup light meter so these are not included.
The bag itself adds an additional 1.4kg though, making
the full kit grow to 6.4kg (14.1 lbs).
Add to that 2 liters of water, food and a emergency kit and the entire load reaches 9.5kg (21 lbs).
I don't think it is possible to reduce the load by more than 1 kg, and that would not be without a significant investment replacing the tripod and the bag.
ca. 9kg is probably at my limit and if (or rather when
) my health degrades, I will have to switch to medium format.
A Rolleiflex, a ballhead on a clamp and a handful of 120 film will cut the load by 2.5kg easily. And after all, it is a matter of enjoying the process.
In the end, nobody will care about my "arty" photographs. My audience only want to see the 35mm snapshots I have taken of family members and events over the years, I don't think that will change after I pass (and why should I care?).
Bookmarks