I got lost somewhere in old Nice this afternoon.
Way back in the days I used to shoot film, I had a small Tamrac camera bag that was a backpack, carried my camera, the two lenses I had and an insane quantity of film. When I got the 70-250mm, it taxed things a little but this is life. I got over it.
Now, I have a couple of Lowe camera bags; the big one and the small one. The small one is bigger than the Tamrac; but it’s smaller than the big one. The big one goes everywhere with me; if I’d any sense I’d bring the small one as well and decant. But it’s hard to pack two camera bags when you’re paying attention to airline luggage restrictions. The big one is already a battle.
At the moment, it has in it – if you haven’t seen it – a 40D, a 100mm 2.8, a 50mm 1.8, a 70-300mm, a 17-85mm and a 10-20mm, a 580 EX II and an array of filters. And it is heavy. It would be heavier still if I didn’t happen to leave the 50-500mm zoom at home.
I hate carrying the camera bag. I never actually realised just how much I hated it until this morning. I picked up the camera, and tossed up between the 17-85 and the 50. The 50 is sharp yes, but it lacks range, and it was bright outside. I was not likely to desperately need the speed of the 50 although I might regret the depth of field. I spent the day shooting with the 17-85 and just one memory card. And it might be the best fun I’ve had in ages. I walked miles, something which is soul-destroying with the full camera bag. I can understand why a lot of Art Wolfe’s photography is coming out of an iPhone lately. It means you don’t have to lug a full camera bag around.
The 17-85mm is a very useful range. I would like it to be a little faster and so am toying with a 24-70mm. I’ve been advised that on a crop sensor, this is not really wide enough at the short end. Unfortunately the alternatives, the 18-55 for example, are nowhere near long enough at the long end. If Canon or someone produced a 2.8 17-70 or so I’d be quite happy with them.
I didn’t take any great photographs today, the one above notwithstanding, but I got more on average out of the day which given the weather conditions (bleh and cloudy) was nice. And okay I had to fake the tripod and filters lark with the waterfall and still blew out the sky highlights, but I managed. Sometimes, it is no bad thing to walk away from all the gear and actually take photographs within some practical constraints like “this is the only lens I’ve got with me”.
The one above, I am thinking about putting into black and white although there’s something about the warmth of the colours that appeals to me. More than anything the toy cars appealed to me. They are a very nostalgic shape.
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