End of the line for my Leica journey?

[Ruhayat]

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Well, I can only hope. But... Finally! The mighty MP at last. After my father passed away last year, and then my mother 11 months later, I've been rethinking life and what it should mean to me. Photographically, I made a resolution to buy less, shoot more. I thought I should only need one camera and one lens; that might help me focus on developing my photographic vision instead.

 

Over the past week I have been selling, auctioning or pushing stuff off to my friends. It was like standing at the precipice of a cliff - looked scary at first, but then I closed my eyes and jumped. Surprisingly, I found that letting go was not as hard as I thought it would be. The only regret I have is having to let go my Canon 5D. I really like that camera and the images it can make. But then the Canon EOS-M with my remaining fast CV lenses are really sharp with great bokeh, while delivering both pro-level video and photo quality. The 5D just had to go.

 

It hasn't quite panned out the way I planned, though - one camera, one lens, I thought I had all but settled on the MP, with a 35mm Summilux ASPH (which I acquired after selling two lenses). A friend was sympathetic, and offered to sell me an MP from his sizeable stable. But when I got the camera and stuck the Summilux on it, I didn't like how it balanced in my hand. Then I switched a 28mm Elmarit ASPH on it and, wow! Just, wow. It feels like a combination I would want to carry everyday.

 

GAS being GAS, I then found myself thinking of selling both the Elmarit and the Lux, and getting the 28mm Summicron instead. But bugger that, I thought, maybe next year. For this year, I am content to use the MP + Elmarit for my everyday camera, with a 75mm APO Cron added for travel. The 35 Lux now lives on my MDa, for, erm, "backup".

 

In one week I managed to halve the number of lenses I own (with a few more to go soon), and my cameras are down to 4. Apart from the 2 Leicas and EOS-M, I also retained a Canon Elan 7e for the times when I might need an SLR. This is a crutch for now: in the near future I see the EOS-M replacing the need for this camera, too.

 

So where to next? The MP should last me for a lifetime. I can't wait to see it brass off. I think I'll stick to my plan of using just one lens for the bulk of a year. This year it's the Elmarit, next year will be the Lux, and after that the 75mm Cron. And after that? Who knows. I think my photographic journey is only just beginning.

 

Taken with 75mm Heliar 1.8 on Canon EOS-M by ramayanax, on Flickr

[Michael Hiles]

I think there is a strong case to be made for 1 camera, 1 lens – or something close to it. There is an old saying, “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there”. This idea can be adjusted into “Choose a road and see where it takes you”. An M Leica is a good place to start – the camera will gently nudge you into a way of looking at the world. With a 28mm lens, you will not be tempted by macro pictures of bugs, flowers (but maybe gardens…) and you will find yourself seeing the world through a mind’s eye that can be enhanced and then recorded with your trusty camera. This is not Leica-centric, but a Leica’s simplicity lets it get out of the way and puts the development of the idea that become a picture squarely into your hands and mind. And the discipline of one camera and one lens (and one film…) makes you focus on creating a picture, and not on shooting anything and everything that crosses your path – because you have an arsenal of equipment that enslaves you and stifles your creative mind. The technical simplicity hones your visual creativity and will make you a better photographer.

 

There is some parallel in restaurants. A restaurant that serves Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, French, Italian and a little taste of Moroccan is going to be a disaster. They don’t know where they are going, and all the roads they are taking lead nowhere. The great restaurants I know of are French or Italian or Indian – but they know who they are and where they are going. That route can lead to Michelin stars.

[CalArts 99]

I think that people tend to have this conception that a particular lens or camera will somehow inform their work and make a difference in their lives and their photography. Your view of the world and how you want to interpret that world resides in your brain and not in a lens or camera. A specific lens or camera won't change that world view.

 

This gear 'conundrum' that is often expressed on camera forums is kind of like putting the cart before the horse. People would be better off having a 'conundrum' over what their final images are about and where they fit in respect to a broader context. Spending time on how to produce a project or a series of images is time much better spent then over worrying about the gear itself. And that I believe is why some people say 'one lens and one camera' is a discipline thing. It really isn't so much about any sort of visionary 'epiphany' but more about just forcing discipline on yourself and so not to feel that you should collect more gear.

 

Whether you have dozens or lenses or cameras or just a single lens and camera won't make a difference in your work. Again, it might make a difference in your mentality about obsessing over gear (i.e., having just a single lens and camera) but it's not going to change who you are as a visually oriented person. As I mentioned above, spending time and effort (and anxiety) on a project and the images themselves is much valuable in the end. Formulate two projects per year, and then as you get into the work you can decide whether you might need a particular lens or camera that will help you fulfill that project. But deciding on the gear first and then making images is the 'cart before the horse' kind of approach.

 

But to be honest, it seems like you enjoy collecting gear. Nothing wrong with that. A lot of people are collectors (and also photographers at the same time.) However talking about your perceived 'affliction' on a forum like this is like talking to a bunch of alcoholics.

[Ruhayat]

Haha no doubt. But I notice there are a few recovering gearholics on this and the Rangefinderforum. Well, I wish everyone on LUF the best of luck and great success with your photographic endeavours. Take care.

[euston]

Thank you, Ruhayat! Good luck to you in your continuing photographic journey. I have enjoyed your contributions here - always balanced, always sensible. You’ll be missed.

[Ruhayat]

Thank you, Ruhayat! Good luck to you in your continuing photographic journey. I have enjoyed your contributions here - always balanced, always sensible. You’ll be missed.

 

Anytime you happen to find yourself in Malaysia, drop me a buzz at my Flickr and I'll take you 'round. And buy you a round.

[aesop]

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Thank you, Ruhayat! Good luck to you in your continuing photographic journey. I have enjoyed your contributions here - always balanced, always sensible. You’ll be missed.

 

...not sure Ruhayat is leaving the forum, euston - at least that is my understanding.

[euston]

...not sure Ruhayat is leaving the forum, euston - at least that is my understanding.

 

This thread suggests otherwise: How to deactivate one's account?

[aesop]

This thread suggests otherwise: How to deactivate one's account?

 

...quite right, euston - my mistake. Apologies.

[Herr Barnack]

...I've been rethinking life and what it should mean to me. Photographically, I made a resolution to buy less, shoot more...

My resolution was to surf and post less, shoot and develop more.

 

As it turns out, being out in the world and making photographs is much more conducive to the honing of a person's photographic vision than surfing and posting.

 

Today, the number of negatives I created has exceeded the number of my posts. I call that a successful day in terms of photography.

[wda]

...So where to next? The MP should last me for a lifetime. I can't wait to see it brass off. I think I'll stick to my plan of using just one lens for the bulk of a year. This year it's the Elmarit, next year will be the Lux, and after that the 75mm Cron. And after that? Who knows. I think my photographic journey is only just beginning....

I am confused. Your thread title combined with your final paragraph suggests to me that Leica will be part of your life for some time to come.

 

As to one camera one lens, I share belief in this idea but not at the expense of restricting my choice of lens. I often go out with just 1+1, but tomorrow it could be a different lens. Even with a limited inventory of lenses, ringing the changes is beneficial to my everyday photography. Travel photography is a slightly different matter.