May - A trip to Vienna
The dilemma of what kit to bring on a photographic trip, organised by a photographic society.
A collection of Leica camera, at an LSI meet up. Credit - Mert Halaman.
The great dilemma of what camera equipment to take on a trip has been foxing photographers around the world for many years. It's really quite funny to watch and I'd like to think that I know better now, but being completely honest, it's been a dilemma for me too on more occasions than I'd care to admit.
So, I'm heading to Vienna to meet up with friends as part of the Leica Society International's spring shoot event. Having previously worked in Vienna but never actually seen the place, my wife and I wanted to get out and actually see the city. We met up with our friends in the city and had some great fun seeing the sights. So, what kit will I take to photograph Vienna?
You'd be forgiven thinking that after a few trips, and many years of experience, the answer to this question would be really obvious and to some extent, maybe it is. However, I'm reminded on countless occasions that it's not always the case.
It's a Leica sponsored event with enthusiasts from all over the world, so it was a given that I was going to take Leica camera equipment with me on this occasion.
For me, as a tourist in Vienna this time, the choice was quite straight forward. I knew I'd be doing a fair bit of walking so my kit needed to be lightweight and be able to cover views of the city with a little street photography.
I like shooting colour and monochrome on both film and digital cameras. So, I took my digital monochrome camera and a film camera with 5 rolls of Kodak Portra colour film. Both are mechanical rangefinder cameras with manual focus and I can swap lenses between them.
I took an ultra-wide-angle 16-21mm lens which I mostly used on the digital camera. This was really useful for the city views. On the film camera, I mostly used a 35mm lens but took a few panoramics at 16mm.
Photos of Vienna
The term term G.A.S. or 'Gear Acquisition Syndrome' is well understood by photographers the world over and was so appropriate here in Vienna among so many photographers. While it always makes me laugh when I see it in others, and often talk about rationalisation of kit, or carrying only the essentials, I'd be lying if I said I've never fallen victim myself.
Photographers also suffer with FOMO, 'Fear of missing out', or more to the point, 'Fear of missing the shot'. This usually results in every possible lens and aperture combination being packed into the bag for some people. With a lot of walking ahead, this was never going to be a good idea. I think my 2 cameras and two main lenses worked reasonably well on this trip.
The truth, is I could have taken all the shots I wanted on this trip with just my Sony mirrorless camera and a 16-35mm lens. If I go back to Vienna, this is precisely what I'll take next time. No lens changing required and just one camera to carry. Maybe I'd pack a small compact film camera for some snaps too, I do enjoy the character of film and it’s imperfections.