Does this make sense?

[elsa hoffmann]

I try and stick to my (own) rule - only keep gear that will fit in my bag. I want to be able to travel with everything I own - in one go - in one bag. What's the point of owning a lens I cant fit in  - I am simply unable to choose what to take and what to leave.

Even so - I do believe I am not using my gear to it's full potential.

I have therefor set myself a challenge. And hoping if I share it here - it might inspire others to delve into their bags again without having to buy something new to get inspired. (and no I am not saying don't buy anything - I am saying use what you have)

Usually we go out for day-drives - drive, stop shoot, move on when done.

The challenge is to find one good spot. Park - and shoot that one scene in every possible way -
Work it with different lenses - from your fisheye to landscape to doing portraits, close ups, silhouettes, filters, whatever you can think of.

The idea is to think of different ways of shooting a scene - and not only the one you see when you first look at it.

Does that make sense?

[David H. Hartman]

The first paragraph does not make sense. The last two sentences do.

Dave

---

I pack for what I'll likely need for the subjects I plan to photograph. Mistakes will be made at times but that's life.

Years ago I made a very foolish trade with a camera store. I've probably admitted what I did but I won't here. Today I own almost all the lenses I bought since 1978.

I do not subscribe to a life of optical poverty thought my current poverty condemes me to one.

Dave

---

Should I admit here that I once packed three lenses and several rolls of film for a  short hike or maybe two miles. When I got to my destination I discovered that I had not selected a camera body.

Dave

[Bjørn Rørslett]

I call this the "stay put - maximise output" challenge and often issue it on workshops. Same subject over and over again, or just moving around in a *very* confined circle are two variants thereof.

One's immediate neighbourhood typically is hastened by, but really should be one's best hunting grounds as we are in depth familiar with all the details, so just can await the perfect light for a given scene within it. if you cannot plan and get the shot of your liking from here, it is quite unlikely you can get it, at least on a regular  basis, anywhere else.

[elsa hoffmann]

Should I admit here that I once packed three lenses and several rolls of film for a  short hike or maybe two miles. When I got to my destination I discovered that I had not selected a camera body.

Dave

i nearly wet my pants laughing - sorry

Bjørn - agreed. I am also wanting to use all my lenses, filters, adapters whatever in one scene - not only photograph from different angles. If I understood you incorrectly - my apologies.

[Jakov Minić]

Sometimes we give too much emphasis on gear rather than the shot.   

[Fons Baerken]

i wish you a fixed lens camera

[Frank Fremerey]

There are two aspects:

First. How much gear do I need to own, want to own, do I use, do I take on a trip?

My current ideas concerning that are:

I sell everything I did not use in one year, except for stuff I sometimes need very urgently in a professional context.
Yet ---- currently I am too lazy or to occupied with other things to actually really sell the stuff.

Do I want to own stuff I do not need for my photographic purposes? No.

What can I take on a trip?
Airline says: 8 kg or 10kg --- my currect notebook alone weighs 3 kg, so Airline restricts my set to much less than I own.
Car says: All I plan or like to use, so 25 Kilos or more --- easily.
If I walk my city I usually decide for one camera one prime at a time.


Second. Maximize shots in one place or stroll around and let my eyes wander until I "see" something that might surprise me?
I am not an avid car driver. I rather take my feet if I want to shoot. Even going by bicycle is to fast for my way of seeing.

[Akira]

Elsa, I'm not professional photographer, but I hear you very clearly!

I get ants in my pants whenever I realize I own lenses I rarely use, no matter how I like them, so I would sell them for the peace of mind. 

[PedroS]

I tend to disagree Elsa...

Photo gear is, for me, a collection of tools, that I have to have to fulfill my job properly.
Hence, being tools, should I just use an hammer to perform all my metal/wood works? Of course not. So why should I, with lenses, bodies, and whatsoever?

The other thing you quote is really important; what should I choose to keep in the bag for that particular job?
At least for me, the best equipped I am, the easier the answer, and more specific tools (better efficiency) went to location. What is really tricky, but truly worthwhile, is understanding and having a perfect knowledge what each lens can do for you.
Ah... and I don't carry anymore big bags... but their number increased, meaning, instead of one big bag, I prefer 2-3 small ones.

[elsa hoffmann]

I love your replies

Pedro - how on earth do you carry 2 - 3 bags!!

I am not as strong and fit as I used to be - so one is enough

I really honestly and truly want to use each and every lens I own properly - work them as much as possible. It's not that I am short of anything to work with - I do have a good collection that covers anything I need for any job (except a T&S)

Fons - re fixed lens - sometimes I dream about that 

[PedroS]

Pedro - how on earth do you carry 2 - 3 bags!!

 
Easily, one carry on with wheels, the other on top of it, and the third as a backpack

[Matthew Currie]

I guess I don't see why the minimal and maximal approaches cannot coexist at different times.  In recent years I've done a lot of traveling, and when I do, I pack light, and that is why I have cheap light equipment.  I have gone to all sorts of exotic locations with a D3200 and two lenses - the 18-55 and the 55-300.  I made a rare exception for Antarctica, and threw in the ancient 28/3.5 which is suited to magical landscapes and the use of a polarizer. 

But at the same time, I have all sorts of other nice lenses that I use from time to time, and leave home at other times.  I'll grab just about anything that looks like a bargain in a Nikon lens, and not worry a bit about how often I use it.  Every once in a while, I go out and use them, and enjoy the results.

For my normal use around home,  I usually have in addition to the two cheap AF kit lenses, a 35/2.8 PC that serves as my normal lens, and one of a variety of other lenses depending on mood;  when I'm after birds, the 200-500; when I'm after bugs and flowers, the 85/2.8 PCD and maybe the microscope adapter with a typesetting lens or two, and when I feel like doing something different, maybe one of the old Nikkor Q lenses, and so forth.  I have no qualm about having a bunch of lenses that sit around much of the time if they are any use at all.  Besides, I have some old Nikon film cameras that I have no intention of selling, and they all need something to put in the holes to keep the dust out!

On the other hand, I do appreciate the purist approach too, and find that more often these days I put the 35 mm. lens on and leave the rest behind.  When I was young and poor, I managed pretty well with a single normal lens, and if I had to I could again.   But I'm not young and poor, and I have a big cupboard, and most of my lenses are cheaply acquired, so I feel no guilt not using them often.