Just had a fallout with film the other day. I’m not sure what changed the mood, but suddenly the hassle got to me. Maybe because I use it more intensive than ever before. Developing and scanning 3-4 films each week is a new experience, and it robs me of time I could spend on looking at images and printing. And then I had an instance of the M6 film loading failing me. Or maybe I was failing it. Anyway, the film didn’t catch the spool, and I didn’t notice because I was in a hurry. This never happened to me with any other film camera…. ever. The result was that I shot 36 exposures on nothing.
So, I’m rethinking my approach now. I have too many cameras right now. And I don’t cope well with owning too many things I don’t use. Soooo, what to do? What do I want to achieve?
- Photograph every day
- Be more comfortable on the street
- Take pictures of strangers
- Have fun while photographing
- Experiment with more abstract images
Nothing on this list screams out “Film”. If anything, it suggest “Convenience”. So maybe just keeping a film camera for the odd times I want to dip my toes again, but rely on the Fuji for everyday work.
I have already concluded that I don’t really enjoy landscape photography all that much. I love being out in nature, but I like the experience more than the photos. I do like the city and man made objects. I want to photograph people and their environment. And I like abstracts. It’s not that I never find exiting images in nature, but the classical landscape thing is not for me.
What the M6 experience has taught me so far is that less is more when it comes to gear. But the solution is not necessarily the M6. I think I will sell most of the cameras. At least the Hasselblad, the Pentax and some of my Fuji lenses. Maybe keep the M6 as my only usable film camera (the Konica is more of a exhibition piece), but use it only when the mood is right. It’s an expensive item to have on the shelve, but it keeps its value pretty good, so no harm. But then I go back to a 2 lens setup for the Fuji. The 23m f/2 and either the 35mm or 50mm f/2. And if I manage to sell the stuff, I’ll upgrade the X-T3 to X-T5.
I could have gone for Leica digital, but the cost is too much. A new M11 is crazy no matter how I see it. A used M10 could be it, but they still go for 45.000NOK, around 4000-4500USD here in Norway. Not to mention the cost of lenses. A single 50mm lens can cost more than my entire Fuji setup. As nice at the Leica is, it’s not that nice.
We’ll see.