Limiting the Gear

     I have been meaning to post about this for a while. As a Photographer/Filmmaker, I can't help and talk about gear. I know I've discussed at length about how the gear doesn't matter (you can check those posts out here), but I can't help it! Even though most people don't need to buy them, I know a lot of you out there are drooling over the new Sony FS7 and I know a lot of you are gawking at the recently announced Canon 5DS & 5DS R.

My favorite Wide-Angle Lens (Check out my review of it)

     But we have to stop and realize something: More gear won't always make a better photo/short film. Most people can agree with this right off the bat. But let's think about that for a second. Would a tripod help you in an outdoor sports scenario? Not really. Would an intervalometer help a portrait photographer? Possibly, but it's unnecessary. There's all these accessories that we could add on to make our photos better, but most of the time they usually hinder us from taking "the shot". In the case of a tripod, because of the weight, and in the case of the intervalometer, because of the extra wires.

My favorite walk-around lens (Check out my review of it)

     Having a lot of gear with you can sometimes be a problem if you're traveling. When I went to Washington DC a few months prior, I made sure to only bring the gear I knew I would use. My 14mm Rokinon (top picture), my 40mm Pancake (second photo), my 55-250mm telephoto, my tripod, YN-560III Flash, a softbox, two cards, and of course the camera and charger. But even with this little gear, I found myself only bringing camera and two of the three lenses. I felt that I could get better shots without the distraction of all the gear.

Shot with my T1i & Rokinon 14mm.

     Sometimes when I get a chance, I like to challenge myself to shoot with only one lens or only shoot a certain type of shot (motion-pans for example). Just recently, I decided to pull out my Canon SX230 HS Advanced P&S camera, blow the dust off of it, and take some flame photography with it. At first it seemed limiting. The focus wasn't reliable, the lens wasn't as sharp as I was used to, and it didn't shoot RAW. But once I figured out how to work with it, it was a lot of fun. And the results surprised me.

Important: Fire is dangerous. When taking open flame photography like this, make sure you have a multi-purpose fire extinguisher with you.

     When you don't bring all your gear with you places, it feels like a weight has been lifted off your back (literally and figuratively). You don't feel the pressure of using it just because you brought it, or that you might lose it. You brought only what you needed. No more, and no less.

     Thanks for reading the post! I guess gear has been on my mind for a while and needed to vent it somewhere. If you like, come back next week for another post. George out!