Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“This is true of all collecting. It extinguishes the moral instinct. The object finally possesses the possessor.” ―
It seems that we photographers are as much collectors of photographic gear as we are users of the equipment.
Despite my recent film camera purchases, I’ve been working on reducing the amount of gear that I own, especially stuff I don’t use that much but maybe at one time thought was indispensable. Some of that gear may have been useful at one time but as I become more focused on film and mirrorless Micro Four-thirds photography, maybe not so much anymore.
Some of the new full frame mirrorless cameras appeal to me but they’re expensive and I can’t afford them right now. Although I did buy Mary a Nikon Z fc so she could update her Nikon D5100. I’ve asked Canon and Nikon to loan me some of their mirrorless models for review but haven’t heard back from either if them; if and when that miraculously happens 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 and after Kondo’s Netflix series was launched, Mary went into high gear around the house. The upside is that the house is somewhat more tidy but is also seems to me this is a constantly evolving situation. And that seems to apply to my photography junk 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 she donated to Goodwill.
What happens 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 just used some of it to buy a new 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 Why Film, Why Now is live now on my YouTube channel, Joe Farace’s Videos, featuring a look at my reasons and philosophy for why I’m currently a film photographer. Also my Podcast #5 is now available as well.
If you would like to send me some 35mm film or any other film photography gear to review or write about on the blog or in one of my YouTube videos, please mail it to: Joe Farace, PO BOX 2081, PARKER, CO 80134