Optimism or Delusion
04th February 2019
Optimism or delusion?
Whatever the weather I almost always take my photography equipment. The occasional times I relent I am soon chatisng myself as I am suddenly surrounded by amazing compositions, beautiful light and form. The guilt, the frustration, the damn irony becomes a distraction as I seem to be presented with views that I never experience when I have my gear.
So why not just always carry your kit, you might ask?
Just like golf spoils a good walk so can photography. This is mostly because of the debelitating weight of all that gear. Each incline it pulls at you, pushing you into the hillside and reminding you all too painfully of the existence of gravity.
The weight also makes me clumsy, less stable, inflexible and comprises my already limited ability. I feel I am stumbling, sweating and wheezing my way across the landscape.
Of course problem is obvious as I am essentai carrying a collection of metal and glass, all disguised as hi tech gear. As part of the process of my ongoing masochism I have broken down my camera kit:
Camera 1.6Lbs (730g)
Wide angle lens 1Lbs (500g)
18-200mm lens 1.5Lbs (650g)
L-bracket 0.5Lbs (300g)
Tripod 4Lbs (1800g)
Accessories (filters, cleaning clothes, Alan keys, etc 1Lbs (500g)
Total 8.6 Lbs (3.9kgs)
This is before general hill walking kit and is a weight that grabs and pulls at me on the way up a hill, then thrusts me down any vertical descents.
I stubbornly, or stupidly, blindly endure, even though the weather looks poor. I live in hope there might be this wonderful scene, a window that opens revealing a landscape of drama and profound beauty. Somewhere in this hillscape is a composition full of contrast, colour encased by a narrative, a story that demands attention and inspires the mind. When I come across it, I will be rewarded for my efforts, my self discipline, my suffering. My heart will soar, my body pumping with adrenaline, whilst my camera chip will bathed in a holy light of beauty.......”and all will love me and despair”.
However, in the end, I too often, like the grand old duke of York, carry all this kit to the top of the hill and march back down again .....without taking one image.
Am I an eternal optimist or just delusional(?)
Whatever the weather I almost always take my photography equipment. The occasional times I relent I am soon chatisng myself as I am suddenly surrounded by amazing compositions, beautiful light and form. The guilt, the frustration, the damn irony becomes a distraction as I seem to be presented with views that I never experience when I have my gear.
So why not just always carry your kit, you might ask?
Just like golf spoils a good walk so can photography. This is mostly because of the debelitating weight of all that gear. Each incline it pulls at you, pushing you into the hillside and reminding you all too painfully of the existence of gravity.
The weight also makes me clumsy, less stable, inflexible and comprises my already limited ability. I feel I am stumbling, sweating and wheezing my way across the landscape.
Of course problem is obvious as I am essentai carrying a collection of metal and glass, all disguised as hi tech gear. As part of the process of my ongoing masochism I have broken down my camera kit:
Camera 1.6Lbs (730g)
Wide angle lens 1Lbs (500g)
18-200mm lens 1.5Lbs (650g)
L-bracket 0.5Lbs (300g)
Tripod 4Lbs (1800g)
Accessories (filters, cleaning clothes, Alan keys, etc 1Lbs (500g)
Total 8.6 Lbs (3.9kgs)
This is before general hill walking kit and is a weight that grabs and pulls at me on the way up a hill, then thrusts me down any vertical descents.
I stubbornly, or stupidly, blindly endure, even though the weather looks poor. I live in hope there might be this wonderful scene, a window that opens revealing a landscape of drama and profound beauty. Somewhere in this hillscape is a composition full of contrast, colour encased by a narrative, a story that demands attention and inspires the mind. When I come across it, I will be rewarded for my efforts, my self discipline, my suffering. My heart will soar, my body pumping with adrenaline, whilst my camera chip will bathed in a holy light of beauty.......”and all will love me and despair”.
However, in the end, I too often, like the grand old duke of York, carry all this kit to the top of the hill and march back down again .....without taking one image.
Am I an eternal optimist or just delusional(?)