Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/03/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Eugene Smith -- who, you might remember from an earlier thread, used five or six cameras at a time on a shoot if he could, mounted with lenses ranging from the very wide to the longest available -- frequently after he quit Life Mag found himself with no cameras and all of them in hock and he would go around and find people to give him the money to get them out again. He lost more than a few this way. Was he enough of a real photographer? Sometimes, especially when others are relying on you, you do what you have to do. No part of one's work or one's equipment remains sacred in the face of a child. You'd have to turn away from that face in order to think it so. And many artists do that -- including Gene Smith, whose work was paramount to him, making him quit a good job and leave a good family too. But he sold off and pawned equipment many times when the wolf was finally sitting on the studio floor checking his watch. The idea that art -- serious art -- is good for people makes me laugh. It's more like Sherman's March. On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 6:15 PM, Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote: > Apparently I don't view my photo gear as liquid part of my net worth. Its a > solid. In 33.3 years as a photographer with most my friends being > photographers and this was the real world before the internet but we did > have the Shutterbug I cant think of somebody who sold off a bulk of their > gear because they was having "a slow year". I'm sure it must have happened; > I just cant think of an example. > > I did have a few friends who loved to buy and sell or trade cameras back > and > forth but I think they thought of better excuses to do so. Like "it was not > so sharp in the corners". "the canons have better shift lenes - I'm > trading in all my Nikons for Canons.". > If always having new gear is the point then we can pick any excuse we want > to to justify that And the rest of us can all pretend we believe it. > Cameras are not money. > > > [Rabs] > Mark William Rabiner > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >