One Camera, One Lens
As I write this, I currently have four films loaded in various camera systems and another two digital cameras on the go, plus more I’m trialling and testing, each with a different set of lenses. Deciding which to bring on a trip and what to leave behind has become a challenge, with the question of ‘what if…?’ lingering in the back of my mind. What if I didn’t have a particular lens, or was unable to shoot in a particular way on the trip? What if I missed a shot, or didn’t return with an image at all? What if I restricted myself to one camera and one lens eliminating the choice and just shot what I could, when I could. So this is what I did.
I packed the Fujifilm X100V, a digital camera with a fixed 35mm equivalent lens. To be honest, besides from having a fixed lens, the camera itself really isn’t limiting, but rather liberating. Being digital, it’s like the camera has every possible colour and black & white film stock at any speed imaginable, not to mention the completely endless processing options afterwards. Even the fixed lens, being 35mm equivalent is arguably the most versatile focal length for the work I do, it’s not going to exaggerate any foreground element, nor is it going to compress distant features together, it just portrays the scene as we see it, staying visually true to the landscape.
There’s always moments of wanting a lens that’s either a little wider or tighter, but knowing if I had such a lens with me, I’d go straight to it and would likely not consider anything else, dampening creative thought. I feel that it’s in these moments of not having what I would initially consider to be the ‘right’ lens is when my best work is produced.
Another benefit of restricting choice, is just that, there is no choice to be made. I can only shoot what I have, and what I have will always be ready. As with the first photo of this trip, I would generally have a telephoto lens ready if I’m expecting wombats, and if such a close situation arose, I would likely miss it from faffing about changing cameras/lenses. Contrary to this of course I also miss images, like the following day I had three wedge-tails circling overhead and while I still tried to compose an image in my mind, they were simply too high up and too small in the frame for any composition I could imagine. I could only look up and observe the eagles, it was wonderful.
Of course there are times when more gear is certainly nice or even necessary. Especially when a range of images are required, or you’re unable to revisit/recreate situations, but having the ability to cover everything is often an unnecessary burden, something I must continue to practice.
For now, here’s a set of images from the weekend’s wander at wulinantikala / Cradle with one camera, one lens.
