Kitchen sinks

Yesterday on an otherwise very interesting story for People, deep in the hot, sticky, bug-infested wilds of the Everglades, one of the guys approached me to start up a conversation about gear. The guy in question had a pistol and machete on his hip belt, but the equipment he really wanted to talk about was photo gear.

"So, what's that, huh?"

"Just a Canon."

"Yeah, but which model?"

"Nothing special, just tools. Pretty hot out here, right?"

"Is that tape over your cameras? Is it like a secret or something?"

"Nope, its just not important."

"Uh... Well. I have a Nikon D1x... (pause)... yeah, its pretty sweet."

That was the moment at which the conversation was supposed to explode into an exchange of mega pixels and anticipations for the next shiny new model coming out. Maybe we'd even have a light-hearted argument about Canon vs. Nikon. Guys talking about toys. Oh yeah! Oh no...

There was once a time, but somewhere I lost all of that. It's gone. A close friend asked me last week which zoom lens she should pick up next and I couldn't even answer. I just can't stand to think of photography through that focus anymore. It's all that aspiring photographers who send me e-mails ever want to talk about; their intense fear and apologizing for not yet having all of the sweet gadgets they feel that will signify their status as a professional. Then my long speech about how the gear isn't important, etc.

And I was thinking about all of this today when I began collating a list of a few accessories that I had jotted down possibly wanting to buy during the last dozen assignments. Shortly thereafter I was online at B&H, and an hour later there was another $1000 out the door to that retailer... the easy, well-marked trail between my wallet and their bank accounts that many thousands of other dollars have skipped along. Sigh.

The difference between my spending these days is that the purchases are anything but sexy, and I'm so not enthused when they get there that sometimes they wind up spending a couple weeks or months still in the shipping box. Now the buys are about trying to give my photography more flexibility and professionalism, making things safer and stronger, and creating less chance of ruining an assignment because of the malfunction of just one item.

Almost half of the money today went into 220 film, so that really doesn't count. The rest was spent on a mixture of new lighting stands (my old ones are just too unreliable and unstable) and a boom, sensor cleaning supplies (goodbye spots!), and sandbags (does it get any less sexy?). I don't really have an immediate need for any of it, other than the cleaning stuff, but I know that I want to step up certain areas of how I'm approaching jobs, and that these tools will help me focus more on the end result, and less on whether Donald Trump is going to wait for me to pick up my stand again that fell down because of wind and a clumsy foot before deciding the shoot is over.

There are a few other bits and bobs that I'll eventually pick up (esp. a new flatbed scanner), but for the most part its only the little stuff from here on out (fingers crossed). Hopefully I can keep my focus on documenting the world in an exciting way, and not on how many damn mega pixels I capture my subjects in.

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Comments (4)

Um, yeah. I, the least gadget-happy girl you'll ever meet, just bought a track-and-field starter pistol for my pelican case. Long story, but I certainly feel more secure knowing that my gear won't be 'misplaced' by airport security anymore. Plus, it's fun to say I'm packing heat.

Best,

R

j

are u going all hollywood on us ? bringing big production back ? stands, boom, sandbags ! fuck man don't put your back out make sure u get a cart for all that stuff ! and the 220 ? whats going on ? no more mega pixels ! hooray for you !

cheers

a

Of course I'm going Hollywood on you, Andrew! Now if only I could get an assignment to photograph some celebrity in an astronaut suit... I'll be set!

And you speak the truth, I'd be screwed w/o my previous purchase of a R-2 Micro Cart. It saves your life when you are dragging lighting gear through an airport. Also, just because a brother shoots a bunch of digital doesn't mean he isn't still down with the f-i-l-m, word.

Just some gear talk: I'm getting that Epson as well. 99% pro quality for a fifth of the price of a Nikon MF scanner.

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