The tools to really do what I need to do are definitely already there. Every little additional acquisition makes me drift slightly away from the core. Sometimes I’m attracted to an object and I can tangibly feel the inspiration it could provide. An example: a strong desire for the Leica Monochrome or even the Leica X-U. But as I’m not out and about hunting for that kind of image daily and manically, then what does it really matter? Getting to the core is what counts, and not much is really required. Our recent trip to Egypt was a great example of that, with me traveling solely with the Canon G7X. That has never happened before… Just one camera! But still… a successful field trip with ample documentation. It’s all in the writing anyway, with the photos backing up the stories. A camera really can’t (or shouldn’t) take a picture of itself, so what does it matter? Blind tests are pretty great for people like me. Who can tell if I wrote this text with a Montblanc Meisterstück or a...

  After suffering some work-related setbacks recently, it dawned upon me that basically all of the people who have caused me genuine consternation during the past years have been metal fans. What I mean by that is that these people have expressed a genuine delight in partaking of the music and culture of ”heavy metal,” and its various offshoots: black, death, speed, whatever. Is there a real pattern here? The more I think about it, the more I can see how tangible the equation actually is. From my own very personal and therefore highly subjective perspective it’s as true as it gets: people who like metal ”for real” are people with whom I can have no working relationship. They have proven it for me over and over again. I should have learnt that lesson earlier, but alas… From now on, whenever I initiate some kind of substantial creative or business relationship, I need to inquire what the person in question feels about heavy metal or black metal or whatever metal. If they give an...