Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“This is true of all collecting. It extinguishes the moral instinct. The object finally possesses the possessor.” ―
Several years ago, a bunch of us photo writers were sitting around a table in the Press Room at the fotkina show in Cologne Germany when the legendary Joe Meehan asked us: “How many cameras do you own?” A former editor of Shutterbug thought he had 200 cameras. Me? I scratched my head and said “I think it’s 25.” Many many years later, my pal Barry Staver asked me the same question during one of our Pixels, Grain and Cookies podcasts, and funny enoughm the answer was the same: “I think it’s 25.” But only a few were the same ones that I counted all those years ago in Germany.
Are We Hoarders or Herders…
It seems that we photographers are as much collectors of photographic gear as we are users of the equipment.
Despite some of my recent film camera purchases, I’ve been working on reducing the amount of gear I own, especially stuff I don’t use that much anymore but maybe at one time I thought was indispensable. Some of that gear may have been useful at one time but as I become more focused on shooting film and mirrorless Micro Four-thirds photography, maybe not so much. For example, I can’t remember the last time I used my Canon DSLRs even though….
Recently, while talking with my podcast co-host Barry Staver I told him that for my next model shoot–I’m still waiting for it to happen–I wanted to shoot part of it with my full-frame Canon EOS 5D Mark I. When I said him that, he asked, “”why?” I told him I wanted to compare the results with my micro four-thirds camera and again he asked, “”why?” I told him I wanted to write about the experience for my blog but I could tell he wasn’t buying my excuse. The real truth was that I just wanted to see what it was like to shoot these kinds of cameras again and compare it with the shooting experience of the Micro Four-thirds gear that I typically use during these model photography sessions. I still want to do this.
Some of the new full frame mirrorless cameras appeal to me but while these days the bodies are less expensive than earlier models were, the cost lenses for them are way far outside my budget. I did buy Mary a Nikon Z fc so she could update from shooting with her Nikon D5100. I’ve also asked Canon, Fuji and Nikon to loan me some of their cameras for review here and the podcast but haven’t heard back from any if them; if and when that miracle occurs I’ll update this post.
Maybe my change of attitude is due to the Marie Kondo effect or maybe not. My wife, Mary, was a fan of Ms. Kondo’s “tidying up” concepts that first appeared in her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Mary went into high gear around the house. The upside is that (some of) the house is more tidy but also seems that this is a constantly evolving situation. That approach can apply to my photography gear as well.
Ms. Kondo’s KonMari philosophy is that you should only keep stuff that “sparks joy” and this must have rubbed off on me because right now I am using this approach to tackle my equipment closet in my basement. Ms. Kondo also suggests that you thank all of the stuff you discard. I didn’t do that but Mary did thank all of the clothes that she donated to Goodwill.
What will happen to my excess gear? I got rid of it through a combination of charitable donations, gifts and selling stuff sometimes though Instagram of all things. Selling on Craig’s List and eBay? No thanks, been there, done that, hated it. In the past I had some occasionally nice experiences selling photo equipment, mostly lighting gear, though Craig’s List but my good experiences with selling anything on eBay have long disappeared as eBay provides sellers with no protection from unscrupulous “buyers.”
Am I using the money from selling my gear to buy new equipment? Sometimes but I used some of it to buy a refrigerator, to give you some ideas of where my priorities are these days. As far as new film camera purchases is concerned, I don’t know what will happen next. When I do I’ll write a post or do a video for my YouTube channel—Joe Farace’s Videos— about any new/used gear I purchase.
PS: Just a reminder: My video The Pros and Cons of Film Photography is available on my YouTube channel, Joe Farace’s Videos, featuring a look at my reasons and philosophy for why I’m currently shooting film. Also Barry Staver and my latest Pixels, Grain & Cookies podcast is now available as well.
If you would like to send me some 35mm film or any other photography–film or digital–gear to review or write about on the blog or in one of my YouTube videos, please e-mail me to get my mailing address