Gear Up
toys
Last week I had my second band shoot on location and I spent a few days beforehand thinking about scenario’s and what I could encounter during the shoot. I cautiously packed my camera bag with everything I thought I would need, and then some, as you can’t know what will happen. I did check beforehand if there where power outlets for charging stations and whatnot, but I had no idea about the location.
So of I went with a bag full of tricks and had a great day shooting and listening to the awesome band members make music. After the day was done I realized I didn’t even use half of my arsenal in my bag to make it all work.I stuck with a few basics, like my camera (of course), my flash, triggers and my gorilla pod to mount the flash on. The rest was just circumstantial. Now every photographer will tell me that those extra batteries, a chargers, lenses, extra SD cards, a backup flash and trigger, some cloth, lens cleaners, rope, a knife, pens, a little notebook, my iPad, cables of the sort etc are bare essentials. And I agree in part to it, but it got me thinking.
Having a lot of gear does open up a lot of possibilities if you can master it, but does it make you a better image maker? When I started my photography ventures, like my 365, I started of with an old Minolta 3Megapixel camera from 2001, which had a manual setting that I could play and learn from. For the most part of my first 365 I only had that camera, my computer and Photoshop. I upgraded to my Canon 450D a little later in the year and after I shifted my production time to evenings I realized I needed some better light.
Now two years later my arsenal has grown slightly, adding an off camera flash, an umbrella, some new lenses and a lot of extra accessories to my bag. And if I have my way I could let it grow even more.
But what I always keep in mind is the story I’m trying to tell, the idea behind the image. I try to let my purchases be dictated by my storytelling, by my idea’s and not because it’s a cool thing to have, or that my life is worthless without it.
It’s a shift in vision, as I am a real gadget freak and I’m quite a technical guy. But for my art I try to make the tech work towards my vision, and not let it dictate my work. It’s hard making the balance work. The band shoot was a good example of overdoing it, as I’m sure it would have worked just fine with a little less gear. I shouldn’t have listened to my inner self, who was trying to convince me that if I didn’t take this or that with me, the shoot would fail.
As for my upcoming trip to London, I was already packing all my gear, which usually ends up being my whole hand luggage. But I decided to not bring anything and rely on just my iPhone and iPad to make my trip of a week work just as well. It will give me peace of mind, not to think about dragging the stuff around. and it will push me creatively to make do with the stuff I have, which is always the best way to go.
Thoughts of a Photographic Artist 