There have always been people who carry lots of gear, for whatever purpose - to show off, to "cover every contingency," for backups, and so on. I suppose you're right that in every generation there will be the gear-carrying photogs. I was thinking about some pics and gear inventories I saw from some photogs covering the war in Iraq and comparing those to some of the photos of earlier war photogs, and also the gear that some people carried to the first NorCal get together in Muir woods. Times have changed somewhat for some people in some situations, though.
I spent a week in Chicago a few years ago and took three bodies and four or five lenses, and felt quite burdened. AS for film, I wasn't so much as talking about now as then, but some emulsions are still readily available world-wide (or mostly so - when I was in Peru, Panama, Chile, when film was plentiful, it was hard to find some emulsions although there were many more choices available at the time in Mexico, Canada, and Europe). I think you and I try to carry a minimum of gear, regardless of what might constitute "minimum." Location and length of trip will often dictate what's appropriate. Shel "The smallest feline is a masterpiece" - Leonardo da Vinci > [Original Message] > From: Godfrey DiGiorgi > On Sep 5, 2006, at 7:51 AM, Shel Belinkoff wrote: > > Think of all the gear some people carry today - far heavier and more > > cumbersome than a couple of bodies and lenses plus film (which could > > usually be purchased just about anywhere, so there was little need > > to carry lots of film around as part of stock). When I read about > > what some people take to GFM, I cringe. > > I recall some people with SLR systems 20-30 years ago carrying about > the same load of gear as today in terms of lenses, bodies, tripods, > batteries, light stands, lighting equipment, etc. I don't see much > difference there. I've never seen the need to carrying all that gear > for the kind of photography I do, but for some people's work it's > necessary I guess. > > What they don't carry is a cubic foot of film that must be managed > and cared for as it goes through security devices. The additional > load for such a person today is perhaps a laptop computer or > standalone storage device. I'll take the trade-off of a laptop over > that cubic foot of film. > > (I've never been to GFM, but going on a Leica gathering I was shocked > at how much gear people just carted around to show it off. I recall > doing a quick addition of the cameras and lenses littered around the > dinner table I was sitting at, with 8 other people, and estimated > that there was around $100,000 worth of gear there. Now that's a > heavy table.) > > Yes, film is available most places you travel, if you're not > concerned with price or getting the same film as you prefer to use. I > don't know about anywhere else, but carrying my two/three dozen rolls > of film to the Isle of Man for a fortnight's shooting there generally > cut my cost to about 1/3 what I'd have had to pay to buy film there, > and I could use the emulsions I was familiar with. The Epson P2000 > plus charger, plus a wallet with six 2g SD card in it takes up less > space and weighs less than 24 rolls of 35mm, 36 exposure film, and > provides the ability to capture an order of magnitude more exposures > to work with. And presents much less risk with regard to air travel > damage. > > Godfrey > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
