Lea & Lens

What are the perils of too much gear?

• Never mastering its usage because you have to devote the time to learn all your other gear as well
• Shooting less due to indecision regarding what gear to bring
• Potentially more subpar gear rather than investing in quality limited gear
• Becoming camera poor – funds are allocated to buying more tools rather than invested in improving your photography

Benefits of limited gear:

• Learn to “see” at a particular focal length (especially when shooting with a prime lens)
• Knowing your camera inside and out, which makes you a more efficient photographer
• Shooting more because you’re not paralyzed by choice
• Saved funds can be devoted to continuing photographic education

With all that said, I will share that I’ve paired down my excessive amount of gear to just one camera/lens. It’s true. I was reminded of when I just started out in photography, when all I could afford was one camera and one lens so I used it exclusively. This is actually an exercise beginning photographers are encouraged to do and there’s no denying that out of it springs creativity and contentment.

I missed that.

It’s been a decade since I had only one camera and lens so it seemed a worthy way to refresh my vision and jump into this new realm where photography is only for me and not for clients. I know, I know. It took me like a year and a LOT of trial and error with gear to come to that realization.

I am pretty hard headed sometimes.

I may share what camera I’m shooting with these days or I may not. I never intended for this blog to be so gear centric but that does seem to be what it turned into during my period of experimentation. I’d like to focus more on the creative process moving forward. Life. Photography. Maybe even writing. We’ll see.

Thanks for sticking around.