GEAR MATTERS

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Ask any Photographer about gear and you will get a strong response almost every time. Beyond the initial cliche musings about ‘the best camera is the one you have’ you will find two truths about Photographers and gear.

Firstly, there is never a point where you have all the equipment you need. The reason being that there is always always something else to buy and the impulse to keep buying is always there. New lenses, better cameras, more megapixels, faster, lighter, stronger, better - it just goes on

But how much does gear REALLY matter?

I have been on a strong minimalist journey this last year and a bit. I looked at my gear cupboard in 2021 and just sighed at the mess. The overflowing boxes and containers. The birds nest of cables(why are there always so many cables!!)the gravity weary shelves I installed to hold my lenses, most of which I didn’t use but kept on the off chance I might. And I realised it was time to get ruthless.

Jump forward to 2022 and life as an Outdoor Photographer is, if not easier, at least more streamlined. I now have just one camera body and three lenses I use again and again. So my R5, RF16mm, RF50mm and RF100-500mm. I also recently downgraded my drone to the DJI Mini 3 Pro I’ll talk about my specific gear in another blog but the point is I released how little gear I actually need to do what I love to do.

It’s honestly been a revelation to my working practice. Less deliberation over what to pack. I have one system that I take everywhere. I am free of taking this lens or that lens ‘just in case'. My back and my legs are thankful when I go hiking now as my pack is substantially lighter and easier to carry long distances. By the way the impact of all the supplementary accessories is considerable too: Less batteries, less lens filters, less space taken up with gear which means more room for other things that perhaps had to be left aside.

I’ve realised that lots of choice with camera gear truly isn’t important. The pressure to consume is great and every year new versions are released which continue the pressure. But if you can take a step back and look at what you really need you perhaps will realise as I have that less truly is more. It’s not to say that gear isn’t important but we can get by as Photographers with a lot less than we realise. What is far more important is that you know your kit inside out so you are free to concentrate on the capture of your subject, whatever that may be.

Until next time.