Words from a master photographer

Valuable words and so true. I can remember taking some really cool images with a Brownie Hawkeye at age 12. I even developed them myself and then made a contact print. Course I will say that the SLR has made life a lot easier; albeit, expensive.

 

I'm getting so old, I can't even remember if I ever was 12 :?

 

These are indeed wise words. As of late I've been minimalizing my kit as I realized that I often were carrying glass that I did not even use. My back and shoulders appreciate that after a long day.

My minimalist kit is the 24-85mm AF-S Nikkor and a D70, a polarizing filter, the CF-D70 soft case, and 2GB of memory.

For times when I need to carry the 70-300mm ED Nikkor, I take the Tamrac Expedition 3 backpack. My back sweats though on hot days like today for example with the backpack on.

Anyway, choosing the right lenses for the job is a good idea. Why waste energy carrying more than you need?

Kind Regards,
Przemek

 

I try to decide what I am going out to shoot in advance and take camera and one lens. Well I'm in trouble if something else comes along. :>)))

Till next time anyway.

 

You know what though, the only way to learn what the minimum amount of lenses or equipment is for a situation, or how to minimize your gear, is to buy, play with, and use a TON of gear (esp. in real situations, ie for $, or with time constraints, etc.).

Then after 100 mistakes, or 'next time I know not to bring the... cause it never left my bag' or 'the 50/1.8 would have been a hell of a lot lighter' or 'never forget your CP again'

So while I totally agree with the quote, I find the path to getting there is just the opposite.

 

I agree with you. You have to find the tools that fit your style. Once that is done things can be minimized.

 

Since I don't have to earn my money with photography, I am using one lens at a time, most of the times. More so, when I recently got a 24mm f1.8 prime, I spent about 2-3 weeks using this lens only. It's a very nice experience, having to cope with fixed focal lenght. It makes one think more about the right position, distance, composition - the picture itself - instead of changing and zooming and so on. It also made me walk more, which I really need.

Cheers,

 

After coming from a Nikon Coolpix 5700 with a teleconverter, I'm so used to being able to shoot macro to 420mm with just one camera that I really had to do a LOT of research to figure out which two lenses would fill the most of my shooting. In the warm months, I do 99% of my shooting from a kayak where space is at a premium and fighting against the bag with lunch, snacks, etc, the water bottles, the emergency kits, the extra clothing in case I dump in, etc etc. I've become very adept at packing that kayak perfectly and keeping everything in grabbable order during a 12 hour day out on the water. I HAVE to keep equipment to a minimum just because there's no room! *LOL* Going from 17mm to 400mm with just two lenses, and macro with the 500D works.
I do like Heiko's method though. When I learned to golf, my husband made me play the whole round with just two clubs, so I could get a feel for the range each club would produce. Works with lenses too.

 

A longer explanation is given here http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm @ Ken Rockwell's site.