Didja ever wonder?

You got the gear. You got the lights. You got that shiny new megapixelbeast of a machine.

You even have one of those latest doohickeys that everyone is drooling over.

You know the one. Yeah… it’s sweet.

But where are you going with all that stuff?

Are you off to make photographs?

Why?

Seriously… why?

Is there a reason for the images you are making? Is there a strong desire to make those images? Is it something you have been thinking about for a long time? Was it a sudden desire to go out and record something on a bunch of pixels or a roll of chemically smeared acetate?

I think most people spend more time thinking about what stuff they have and what to do with it instead of what can be made with it.

A photograph.

A single ‘click’ in the vastness of space and time and the continuum that I have no idea how to describe, but hell it sounds sooo good to say.

Continuum.

A moment frozen forever.

And why did we want to freeze that moment?

Because we have the gear that makes it freeze better than those point and shoot moment-in-the-continuum freezers? Is it because we spent all that lunch money on the great glass that it seems NECESSARY to make images? Any damn kind of images… before our spouse finds out that we have spent all that lunch money on some ‘toy’.

“Dear, an f1.2, 50MM lens is not a toy. It is a highly refined optical unit that helps me with freezing the anomalous entities of position, time and motion in the continuum. … … Besides, EVERYONE who is cool has one…”

Yeah, that’ll work.

And I don’t really think of that as a great reason to make a photograph.

So what is the direction? Where is your map?

I am not sure you need a map, but I can tell you that without one the journey to becoming a professional in almost anything you want to do becomes more murky.

Sure, we always hear of some kid who had, like, no idea what he was doing and simply “lucked” into a great position that he “amazingly” milked into this sweet career.

Bullshit… the “luck” and the “milking” were part of the plan – even if the plan did not exist overtly.

We all get moments to grab that luck ticket, and turn it down. We all have a chance to wring the wonderful from the chances we are given and most of us don’t. We just don’t.

If you are wondering where I am going with this whole thing, believe me – I gotta map. It just has a lot of scribbles on it.

And reading through those scribbles is hard.

Kinda like figuring out where we are going with the gear… and where we are going with our photography.

It is changing – the whole thing is changing.

Nikon just released news of the upcoming D800, a full frame monster with 36+MP. That is right into the medium format range. That is a pixel peeper’s nirvana at a price that makes it a little over prosumer. Not much, just a little.

So now we will have the option of creating files that will choke the shit out of our current machines, and the cycle starts anew: new camera, new computer, new storage, new cards, new this new that new new new.

What about photography?

Is it new now? Or better because we can capture a gazillion bytes of info at 16Bit. Or 24Bit… 32Bit (hey – you know it’s coming).

Will we use this “new” thing to make something “new”?

Sadly, we will most likely not. We will continue to make what we currently make but with a lot sharper edges and great shadow definition.

Perfectly exposed crap.

What if we had a map to where we want to be? A guide. A pamphlet. A napkin with faded pink marker… whatever.

Where would your map lead you?

B&H? (Hey, yeah – everytime I go to NY I drop in to see and play and touch…. wooohooo.) But that has nothing to do with photography.

It really doesn’t.

What about the images… and the imagery you want to take?

Is it real people working? Is it high fashion skinny models in impossibly expensive wardrobe? Is it impeccably styled still life or exquisitely designed architectural masterpieces?

Is it the simple moments of our lives?

What if we had the map first and then we packed for the destination. I think that is a far better way to think of it.

If I were moving to Anchorage, I would take some warm clothes. I would invest in a parka and some gloves and maybe electric underwear. I would learn all there is about living in cold weather, and how to maintain my vehicles and stay alive in case of disaster.

My map would take me there and my bags would be full of the stuff I needed  when I arrived.

If on the other hand, I was moving to Key West, I would probably not spend a nickel on parka’s or spend a moment looking up how to live in cold weather.

I would instead be looking up all the bars that serve Corona on tap (priorities!!!) and packing my bags with shorts and Hawaiian shirts and sun screen.

Right bags for the right place.

Because I knew where I was going.

Recently I spent an entire day at the studio cataloging and listing all the stuff I have. Lots of it was purchased over the last couple of decades. I own 3 camera stands. I use only one. Occasionally. I own giant, heavy, bigass Norman packs. I use Profotos and Dynalites mostly. And even they are too powerful for what I want to do.

I have 4 view cameras and a full darkroom x3 – and it is in the garage.

I have a map to where I am going and it doesn’t require that stuff. It did when my map included it, but not now.

Wasted investment now… and over time it is not hard to swallow. But spending a lot of money on stuff that is not going to be needed when you get to your destination is just foolish.

When I was done with my re-arranging and packing I realized I had packed two separate “kits” – one that is perfect for most of what I do these days – still life, environments and people. And a backup kit for larger setups of the previous three genres.

I know now what lenses I really want (need) and what I don’t need (but crave cause I am a human photographer and damn that 85MM 1.2 is sweet…).

I have set out to make my photographs, and I have ‘packed’ accordingly.

I know where I am going with my work. I know where I want to end up. I can see, hear, and taste the place I want to be as a photographer in the next few years. It is real and palpable to me. I have created my vision of what that world will look like. And I got the coolest walking stick you have ever seen…

How about you?

Have you created a map for your photography? Where you are going with it? What you will need along the way? What you will need when you get there?

Where “there” is?

Great travellin’ with ya all.

See ya along the trail.

(For those of you wondering about my camera choices here is the skinny: I am currently using some very old glass that I love, but also am aware that they may stop working at any time. I have backup funds to cover that eventuality, but I am also thinking that if I am to switch systems, this may be the time. The Nikon D700 really appealed to me on a visceral level… that is I love the way it feels and molds to my hand. I also love Nikon’s skin tones and shadow transition handling.

So I will either go with a Canon 5DMKIII with 24, 35, 50, 100 and 200 primes. Or a Nikon D800 with the same configuration. I am moving away from zooms. I like the feel, weight and speed of primes.

I haven’t made a decision on that move yet, but will keep you apprised when I do. The thing is, the brand doesn’t alter my map, travel or destination.

It’s just gear.)