In the years when I worked as a photojournalist, I took all the equipment I was using at the time everywhere – my camera plus a couple of lenses packed in a sizable bag.
Too hard…
I remember holidays in Greece where I was carrying this heavy equipment with me everywhere. I took pictures of the sights, lots of souvenir shots.
When I arrived, I reselected the shots, prepared the selected ones and… abandoned them on the disk. I don’t remember if I ever showed them to anyone, although of course I could have made a holiday photo book (as some of my friends do) and had a super souvenir. It didn’t occur to me at the time, I didn’t feel the need to do so. The photos there were no different from the views available on the internet.
Before my next holiday trip, I already knew that taking all my kit wasn’t a good idea. I realised that by carrying so much gear every day at work and then on holiday, I didn’t make me feel that I was relaxing. The kilos weighing down my back, the constant attention to my gear to keep it safe. It just didn’t make sense.
Then I decided to bet on… two cameras 😉
Mobile photography
The first is, of course, the one on my phone. It is a diary for capturing curiosities, nature and photos with the people I meet on my travels. When I changed my phone I made sure it had a better camera. I like to frame vertically and I run the best shots through Snapseed, a free photo editing programme on my phone.
The photographs that decorate this text were taken with my phone, during my recent holiday in Italy, and the forest and mountain frames during weekend trips to the Beskidy Mountains. For my needs of keeping a visual diary of the places I visited, they are completely sufficient.
Analogue photography
The second is my medium format analogue camera, which I have in a completely basic version: one lens, one cassette, I throw a few ISO 400 negatives in my bag – that is, with a fair tolerance for different lighting variations.
It’s a pleasure to catch situations, people, places that fit wonderfully into my One People Story series (take a peek – the link to the website is HERE). The photographs are on the one hand a reflection of a journey, on the other hand part of a larger project.
I happen to take just a few frames and that for me is very ok. I am not in a hurry with this kind of photography, I am not chasing tourist attractions, I am trying to see and explore, and above all – to be.
The holiday season is approaching, so choose whatever equipment you are most comfortable with and enjoy your time off.
