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ChrisR

ChrisR

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I quite enjoy The Online Photographer blog, which seems to be an interesting mixture of photography stuff, great value print sales (though I have not yet succumbed) and some interesting Off Topic (OT) articles. Recently he wrote a piece about the digital version of "One Camera, One Lens, One Year"; this article referred back to an earlier article called The Leica as Teacher. In that, he wrote:

I suggest shooting with nothing but a Leica and one lens for a year. Shoot one type of black-and-white film (yes, even if you're completely devoted to color and digital, and hate film and everything it stands for. You don't have to commit to this forever; it's an exercise). Pick a single-focal-length 50mm, or 35mm, or 28mm. It doesn't have to be a "good" lens—anything that appeals to you and that fits the camera will do. Carry the camera with you all day, every day. Shoot at least two films a week. Four or six is better (or shoot more in the spring and fall and less in the dead of summer and winter). The more time you spend shooting, the better. The amount of film you shoot is related but not so important. (Photographing is like jogging: benefit accrues to time spent doing it, not how fast you go or how much ground you cover.)

Proof the rolls of film by contact and file them sequentially in a notebook. Get or make between one and six workprints per roll, however you choose to do it (even if you scan your picks and look at the pictures on a computer screen), and, every five or ten rolls or so, have one nice print made, or make it yourself. Craft well, but don't crop and don't fuss; just take what the camera gives you.
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The aim is to improve your photography...

... I'll say this: A year with a single Leica and a single lens, looking at light and ignoring color, will teach you as much about actually seeing photographs as three years in any photo school, and as much as ten or fifteen years (or more) of mucking about buying and selling and shopping for gear like the average hobbyist.
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He had some reasons why a Leica was a good idea (particularly the viewfinder, getting away from the seductiveness of the ground glass image), but they are a bit pricy, and he pretty much suggested picking any camera. The more recent piece has further practical suggestions for how to make it work.

This has been at the back of my mind for a while. I'm really intrigued by it. It's pretty much opposite to a lot of the general "buy/try as many cameras as possible" approaches (very valid and lots of fun). A few people here come pretty close, at least as far as the shots they post coming almost exclusively from one camera (or maybe two). But while I'm intrigued, and while I do think it would be valuable (reminds me of those first few years in the late 60s with only the Werra 1 and black and white film), I'm not sure I'm quite motivated enough to want to give up a second camera with colour (or, for that matter, my little digi beast for appropriate moments).

Anyway, I wondered if anyone here had done a one camera, one lens, one film, one year challenge, or was (or is) tempted by it?
 
It does keep rising in my consciousness, yes.

Not sure if I could do it for a year though.
 
It is a great challenge and I'm sure it would benefit my photography and just like I may manage to give up alcohol for a month I don't think I could keep either up for a whole tear.
 
That's weird timing. I actually decided last week to start a new 365 this year using only one camera and one lens.

My decision was mainly based on being a cheapskate because I don't own any film kit any more so I've bought an Eos30 and 50mm/1.8 but I'm quite looking forward to the challenge. I'll aim to shoot one or two rolls per month then put the whole month together in one go when they're developed.
 
Sounds like a good idea Steve, one of the problems trying to do a 365 on film is the pressure to get films shot and developed within a reasonable time frame.
 
I know what you mean Nick. I've done two digital 365's in the last two years and know how hard it is to get something bordering on interesting every day. My thinking is that one roll of 36 shots covers the month plus spares so if I shoot two rolls I should be able to pick out enough good shots. I'll see if I feel the same by March!
 
I also read the Online Photographer, I find it very interesting and well written without a lot of the hyperbole you get on some other fora. I too thought about this but like youse guys I don't think I could carry it on for a whole year, maybe a month though. It might make an interesting challenge for us as a forum as well if enough people were interested.
 
Interesting idea, but I'm not sure I'd manage it! I've been making sure I have my Fuji X-E1 with me everyday and while I take a lot more images, I wouldn't say they are all that much better and I doubt I even shoot more than once a week with it.

Of course then there's the what camera problem? The Zenit TTL seems a bit masochistic, the F80s seems a bit too much like a digital camera, maybe the Pentax P30T? I have a ~50mm for all of those so that's probably the obvious choice.

Maybe if I manage to use up what's left on the XP2 in the Pentax over Xmas I'll give it a go.
 
It does sound really interesting and I'd really like to give it a go, but I have the attention span of a squirrel so there's no way I'd be able to go a month using one camera and lens, let alone an entire year!

Perhaps we could do a "five camera, ten lens, one year challenge"? :D
 
I find it limiting going on holiday or a day trip with one camera/lens, let alone spend a year with it. I only took my GS645s (roughly equivalent to a 35mm lens on 35mm film) to Majorca in order to try and push out some creativity but I think I ended up with mainly snapshots that could have been taken with a P&S if I'm honest.

I like to think I got a few reasonable shots on the Yash GX for the 36-exp challenge earlier this year though and that's not too different to the GS (fixed 40mm lens) so it's probably down to me and my perception of my results more than anything else.
 
Maybe the challenge could be mixed up with a 'guest camera'? It's easy enough pick up any one of the many basic 35mm cameras like a Trip35/Olympus Mju 1/ XA for under £20 but they're all really good fun to shoot with.

By shooting with a 'different' fixed lens camera from time to time it would keep the challenge fresh?
 
The addition of a "charity shop find" could actually be quite interesting. Nobody needs to risk divorce by spending out hundreds on yet another camera but still has a bit of variety :0)
 
I also feel a year is too long, but I suspect a month is too short for this to be effective. 3 months might do it, though...

ETA: Oh, and I had the idea of one film camera but allow myself to use the digi when needed... they are SO different, they don't feel like the same thing at all. However, even just framing in colour might be enough to spoil the effect. I remember when I went from b&w only to starting with colour, when I went back to b&w shortly after the results were rubbish.
 
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I've been moving in that direction by selling quite a lot of gear and I'm very sympathetic to the idea of spending more time on subject selection and composition than on thinking about camera gear; but I think it is possible to do this without going to extremes.

I could be fairly happy with two cameras (one large system camera and one smaller fixed-lens) and two films - one colour and one black and white.

If you choose to go down the one camera route, Chris, I think your Pentax MX meets the essential characteristics of the Leica idea (at the risk of enraging some readers) - small, light, manual focus and exposure, everything a camera really needs and nothing it doesn't need - without breaking the bank.
 
Carl Hall said:
It does sound really interesting and I'd really like to give it a go, but I have the attention span of a squirrel so there's no way I'd be able to go a month using one camera and lens, let alone an entire year!

Perhaps we could do a "five camera, ten lens, one year challenge"? :D
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Five camera, ten lens, one fortnight may be doable. Maybe :)
 
ChrisR said:
I also feel a year is too long, but I suspect a month is too short for this to be effective. 3 months might do it, though...

ETA: Oh, and I had the idea of one film camera but allow myself to use the digi when needed... they are SO different, they don't feel like the same thing at all. However, even just framing in colour might be enough to spoil the effect. I remember when I went from b&w only to starting with colour, when I went back to b&w shortly after the results were rubbish.
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Sounds more reasonable to me
One camera, one lens, around 3-4 ish rolls. I could do that.

I would still use digital, as much as I got the F80s to use my big lenses when I gout for wildlife I wouldn't want to limit my self artificially. I also doubt I would use it in place of digital on family days, or at least I'd use both.
 
Easy peasy. Just get a normal slr and add on a sigma or tamron 28-300 ;) Still one camera, one lens :D
 
ChrisR said:
3 months might do it, though...
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I think what's putting me off the idea is that having narrowed down my cameras to the ones I want to keep and the ones I'm going to sell, narrowing the choice down further to a single camera/lens to use for three months is proving tricky! That said, I've hardly used any of my cameras this year so maybe I should think northern about it - "better owt than nowt".

Besides, I have 20 rolls of tri-x in the fridge and most of a bottle of APH-09 in the developing box, neither of which are getting any younger. I also have my Canon P which fits the bill of a Leica-like camera.
 
H'mm one camera :eek: well you better make sure it's 100% reliable, and no sneaky use of a digi for backup at important events :D
 
excalibur2 said:
... no sneaky use of a digi for backup at important events
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I understand that the correct protocol for photographing important events is to take a camera/film combination that's completely unsuitable, miss the opportunity anyway and then cry about it on the internet. I'm not sure I could keep that up for three minutes though, let alone three months - I don't have the experience. :rolleyes:
 
ChrisR said:
Anyway, I wondered if anyone here had done a one camera, one lens, one film, one year challenge, or was (or is) tempted by it?
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Ninety-five percent of my photographs are with a 6x6cm format camera and normal lens, so that part would be pretty easy for me. If fact, I don't even use a digital camera and I sold all of my 135 format gear ages ago, so I would just need to choose between 6x6cm SLR or TLR.

As for using one black and white film for a year? Living in Scotland, I just couldn't do it; I'm not a fan of B&W in dull, overcast conditions. If we had a bit more light and a few shadows to play with up here, I'd be more interested.
 
I must admit, I don't think I'm really in a place that would benefit from one lens/camera/film.

I'm basically settled with what I use and what for, I still have a little bit of GAS with the LF kit but I'm still getting to grips with it and learning where the holes are my kit are. I strategically thinned out my gear a few months ago but couldn't bear to part with the RB.
 
well, on film I've shot one camera (the perkeo I) , one lens (the only one fitted), one film (pretty sure it's Fuji Acros 100) for the last year, but as I loaded the roll of film just before Christmas Eve last year, and it's now on frame 12 of the same film, I don't really know what kind of learning experience it has been - other than I need to get out and shoot more film...
 
TheBigYin said:
well, on film I've shot one camera (the perkeo I) , one lens (the only one fitted), one film (pretty sure it's Fuji Acros 100) for the last year, but as I loaded the roll of film just before Christmas Eve last year, and it's now on frame 12 of the same film, I don't really know what kind of learning experience it has been - other than I need to get out and shoot more film...
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I quite like the idea of one film per year, there was always something rather reassuring going through my parent's (parents') photos (photo's) (photographs) and finding holiday snaps and birthdays bookended by Christmases.
 
yeah - it used to be a feature of most of my parents rolls - a summer holiday with 2 different christmas trees on frame 1 and 36...

It's a bit sadder when it's just a roll of 120 on a 6x6 frame camera though :(
 
TheBigYin said:
yeah - it used to be a feature of most of my parents rolls - a summer holiday with 2 different christmas trees on frame 1 and 36...

It's a bit sadder when it's just a roll of 120 on a 6x6 frame camera though :(
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6x9 then yeah but 6x45, not so bad :D
 
To be honest, I don't get on with rangefinders. Which is lucky for my bank balance, because Leicas looks lovely. Although it would be a great excuse to finally get a Pentax LX...
 
You don't need an LX, Charlotte, as Kevin pointed out, the MX is perfect, and I think you might already have one of those!
 
Mmm, a Pentax MX, and a Takumar 35mm would make a cracking combination for this challenge. That or the 40mm pancake (which is lovely on film).

As has been mentioned above, how strict would you need to be with the "one camera" challenge? I'd have no issue using it for general photography on a challenge like this, but there are times (weddings, birthdays, once in a lifetime stuff) where I'd want a digital in the background too, just to know I definitely have something for definite. I know that's not how it used to be done, but I'm not a pro, and some modern conveniences can definitely be relaxing :)
 
I don't think the challenge should mean that you're not allowed to use any other camera for the year. My idea was just to deliver 30-odd pictures each month on film to challenge myself but I'd also be shooting digital for everything else.
 
@Cuchulainn I think the idea is to make it work for you. Since I use my X10 in P mode and the MX is full manual, I don't think I would get confused by the cameras, but I might lose the benefit of "seeing" in b&w, which is proving hard for me.

I don't own the Pentax-M 40mm, and when I've tried it I've not liked it as it is SO SMALL! I do have the 35mm f/2 which is a lovely lens and the one I was thinking of.

I should say, I haven't decided on this at all at all! Wondering whether to indulge in a bit of GAS on a Voigtlander R3A with the 40mm lens and then do it ;) !
 
I've remembered another thing I like about people here - you're all so pragmatic!

Back to the challenge, I think it's a great idea. But with a baby on the way in Feb, starting now would be setting myself up to fail. Perhaps a 6 month one starting in June. Looking forward to seeing who does try though.
 
I reckon I'm going to try one camera, one film, one lens, one month. Different lens each month.

Tokina 11-16 @ 16mm. Nikon 24mm f2.8. Nikon 50mm f1.8. Nikon 85mm f1.8. Tokina 100mm f2.8 macro.

And Bronica SQ-B with 80mm, 50mm and 40mm lenses.

That's 2 cameras, but you know what I mean.:sneaky:

See how it goes.
 
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TheBigYin said:
well, on film I've shot one camera (the perkeo I) , one lens (the only one fitted), one film (pretty sure it's Fuji Acros 100) for the last year, but as I loaded the roll of film just before Christmas Eve last year, and it's now on frame 12 of the same film, I don't really know what kind of learning experience it has been - other than I need to get out and shoot more film...
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Well, Ansel Adams said that 12 good images a year was a good haul, so you must have just succeeded in omitting the non-keepers and only shooting the good ones !
 
srichards said:
Easy peasy. Just get a normal slr and add on a sigma or tamron 28-300 ;) Still one camera, one lens :D
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Pretty sure there's at least one person on the forum with a bulk back - still one film, even if it's hundreds of frames!!! ;)
 
simon ess said:
I reckon I'm going to try one camera, one film, one lens, one month. Different lens each month.

Tokina 11-16 @ 16mm. Nikon 24mm f2.8. Nikon 50mm f1.8. Nikon 85mm f1.8. Tokina 100mm f2.8 macro.

And Bronica SQ-B with 80mm, 50mm and 40mm lenses.

That's 2 cameras, but you know what I mean.:sneaky:

See how it goes.
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From reading the leica challenge I think you also need to print and be quite critical of each shot I'm not sure a month would really benefit.
 
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