The Freedom of Choice

Confessions of a Maximalist

I am a photographic maximalist, but in an organised way, if that makes any sense. If you’ve looked at my YouTube channel and read my blog, you’ll know I have many cameras and lenses to support those cameras. If I have a camera system, I build one for that camera. Why should I stick with a single lens when there are lots of options out there? I want to ensure that I have at least three lenses for those cameras with interchangeable lenses. I feel it makes the camera more useful. It all started with my first SLR, a Minolta SR-T 102. When I bought the camera, it came with three lenses: a 28mm, a 50mm, and a 200mm. Plus, there is a zoom lens in there for good measure. This sense of having a choice has now expanded to include film stocks and developers.

While I still have several cameras in this photo, a few have since left the collection. But you get the idea.

Now, before everyone piles onto me for this, I recognise the power of consistency and certainly use consistent kit in several of my photographic practices. I use a consistent camera for film reviews (although I switch up lenses) and stick to a standard three developers (D-76, HC-110, Rodinal) for most films I review. There have been a few that I have switched it up because the film uses a dedicated developer (think Silvermax (RIP) and HR-50). Also, I will stick to a single camera and film to achieve a consistent look when approaching projects. This is probably best seen in my Railway project from 2022, where I wanted to get that consistent look across all my blog posts, using my Graflex Crown Graphic, Ilford HP5+ and Pyrocat-HD with my Nikon D750.

The Kit for my Railway Project - The Crown Graphic, four lenses, the Pentax Spotmeter, Ilford HP5+ (50 Sheets), and my D750 with a single lens, the 28-70/2.8D.

But I had to get to the point where I had to figure out what I wanted in my image, and that required several years of hard work and wildly experimenting. Now, this might seem a bit off-putting, but note that I said experimenting. I have. Since I started using film regularly, I have taken many notes. The idea is that I can quickly figure out what works, what doesn’t and how to tweak things. That, combined with tagging and describing the process on my Flickr uploads, allows me to create a living set of benchmarks, which I can then quickly reference through searching and sorting. I can create almost any look I like by keeping around enough lenses, cameras, film stocks, and developers. And if I don’t like how a certain film, developer, lens, or developer works, I quickly know that also!

I figured out last year that exposing Tri-X 400 at ASA-320 and developing normally in 510-Pyro makes for amazing images!

Now, there is also a bit of a problem with this method that I ascribe to: you often have so many options presented to you that you get frozen on what gear to bring along. You get overwhelmed with the choices and bring too much or too little. It’s why I often take a month to decide what to bring to a photo walk or a family trip. But even here, I’ve learned to adapt. The first question is, “What final look do I want to achieve?” From there, I can narrow it down to film stock and developer, always keeping several options open because the weather changes. The choice of gear is usually tied to the available space for camera gear. But having done so much, it is easy to narrow it down to at least a handful of combinations and then make the final decision. Plus, I can always look online to see what others have used and if those can spark inspiration.

How much is too much? This was too much! In all fairness, I was photographing a wedding and then heading on vacation, but still, I could have used about half of this kit.

Ultimately, the choice is yours; there is nothing wrong with whatever point on the spectrum you are. I’ve seen photographers who are way worse than me regarding gear choices. And I can see photographers who are perfectly happy using a handful of cameras, one or two lenses, a few film stocks and a single developer. As I’m always saying, gear doesn’t matter until it does, and the most important person to please in your photography is yourself (unless someone is paying you). So, let me know: Where do you fall? Are you a photographic minimalist or a maximalist?