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 Bic Crystal? Can I judge if someone else’s photo was taken with a Canon G7X or a Leica X Vario or a Sony A7? A good camera is simply a good camera, isn’t it?
I notice as I write this what a tremendous snob I am. Why even consider a Leica Monochrome when history has shown me several times how mad rangefinder cameras make me? Why indulge in frustration? It makes no sense. I’m just fetishizing a romantic notion – or the tool of that romantic notion (i.e., a real ”fetish”).
Different cameras for different purposes, sure, but I certainly don’t need any more. I’m too much of a romantic and not enough of a pragmatic. I write. I take pictures. That’s about it.
