Don't leave home without it - your camera, that is

[Karim Ghantous]

For lunch on Sunday we went to see some friends that we hadn't seen

for ages and I didn't think much of taking my camera. Well I should

have taken the bloody thing as I would have come home with about 2-4

rolls worth.

 

For the first half hour after I arrived I was severely regretting

leaving my camera at home. Every second I kept telling myself that I

should have brought it, I should have brought it. I managed to

slightly recover my mistake by getting a few decent shots with

someone's digital compact (Digital Ixus). But the power went dead

after only about 10 frames.

 

I don't know how often I'll have to learn this lesson but next time

I'm just going to take my damned camera with me.

[Alex_Es]

Karim, you are right. You should take your camera when you go out. Try this. One camera, one lens, a small camera bag across your shoulder like a postman (or woman).

[monkey]

I've regretted NOT taking a camera with me far more often than regretting having taken one. I'm sure most people are the same.

[stephen_w.]

I left my camera (M7, 35 pre-lux) on my desk yesterday. I didn't want a double repeat of my commute, so didn't go back. All's well, it's still here.

[henry_chu2]

Karim, I carry a camera with me at all times. Oftentimes, people will see it and

assume that I'm out taking pictures. I respond by saying without a camera, I would

not have an option to take a picture.

Whether I get to see them or not depends on my effort in the darkroom where I have

over 40 rolls of B&W awaiting attention. The nice thing about digital is the near

instant feedback. I recently purchased the R-D1 and love using it.

[cebes_johnson]

"The greatest pictures are the ones not taken"

 

(I think it was Ralph Gibson who said it, I can't remember....

 

...but it always pops back to me, smack in my face.)

[al_kaplan1]

Well, a couple weeks back I had about 30 undeveloped rolls but managed to get caught up, got everything contact printed and filed. I keep telling myself not to EVER let that happen again. But that's what happens when you never go out without a camera!

[jim_doty]

Karim:

 

I was going to the store at lunch time. Why take a camera? (I almost always do.) I pulled into the parking lot of the store in time to see the store manager confronting a shoplifter in the parking lot. The shoplifter pulled out a knife and lunged at the store manager. Me with no camera. The shoplifter missed with the knife, thank God, jumped in his car and drove off.

 

The manager ran for the store as a police car pulled into the parking lot. I gave the officer a description of the car and the direction the shop lifter went. The officer called in and took off. I got back in my car and followed (at a more normal speed).

 

A few blocks down the road there was a multi-car police road block in front of the local high school. The suspect's car was up on the high school lawn and the suspect was spread eagled on the lawn and being cuffed by police. Hundreads of kids were standing around (lunch break). Me with no camera! The terrible irony is that I did free lance work for the local paper.

 

ME WITH NO CAMERA!!

 

So if I don't have my SLR with me, I do have my G3.

 

Incidentally, the shoplifter had stolen a carton of cigarettes. Let's see, assault with a deadly weapon, speeding, resisting arrest, publc endangerment . . .

 

Happy Shooting! (and carry your camera with you)

 

Jim

[summitar]

My employer prohibits unauthorized cameras on the premises because it is a defense contractor. But a lot of people bring one and keep it in their cars in the interior parking lots. But then one has to worry about it being stolen or baked in the summer sun. A foam lunch pack with "blue ice" or whatever they call it provides some physical and thermal security. It will be good to retire.

[morthcam]

I was sitting in a restaurant, waiting for my take-out, and happened to look out the window. The line of trees, all in full autumn colors, were lit with the gold light from the sunset (behind me). Behind them, thanks to a storm that had just rolled through, was a dramatic dark grey sky. And one tree, a little higher than the rest, was topped with the arc of a rainbow.

 

Of course I didn't have a camera with me.

[jim_mcbride]

I've never had an experience quite as exciting as Jim Doty's adventure. Just the same, I

never go anywhere without an Olympus Stylus Epic in my pocket. The little f2.8 lens is as

sharp as a tack and the flash works well if I need it. I usually keep it filled with Fuji Superia

400 and every now and then I am happy that I have it with me.

[mtwhite]

Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. Now I don't go anywhere

without at least my little Nikon EM and a 50mm series E. Small,

sharp, quiet, fast, and most importantly, cheap to replace if

something goes wrong.

[constance_cook]

Matthew:

 

i just got an EM very cheaply on ebay and I have a 50 series E I put on it to put in my car. I either don't have a camera when I want it or I have to worry about it being stolen so this should cover those times when the shot is there.

 

Conni

[pensacolaphoto]

I always have a small camera bag with me in the car. In it, I have one camera, usually a Leica CL or Canon P or Canon VI-L with Leitz and Canon lenses [35mm,50mm,90mm] and a small flash and 2-3 rolls of film. Most of the times, I do not use the camera, but on occasions, I shoot 1-2 rolls.

[jean_.]

I don't know, for me it doesn't really matter.

 

a) When I bring the camera I keep regretting the weight and bulk instead of having fun (my cellphone already bothers me), when I hike I regeret the weight and bulk, and the fact that I'm constanltly ruining the fun for the others every time I take a photo and need more then 5 seconds to do so, on the job I regret it since it adds to the laptop or whatever else I need. And I rarely take photos when I have the camera.

 

b) If I leave it at home, great photo opportunities just jump at me from all sides, making me want to rush back anf grab the camera, and I keep regretting to have left it.

 

OK, conclusion is easy: regrets are equal in both cases, option b) has less weight and bulk. So I take the camera only when I decide to take photos, and if I don't carry the camera I don't torment myself anymore for missed photos, but enjoy whatever I'm doing instead.

[charles_stobbs3]

I think going without a camera is a chance to look at scenes without thinking of lens, exposure, depth of field, batteries, etc, etc. I see the world more clearly and hope some of it carries over to the times when I do have a camera.

[Robert_Lai]

Sometimes, even if you have your camera, it doesn't help.<P>I had just received my camera back from it's CLA (Nikon F3, no Leica), and I had it on the passenger's seat of my car. I was stopped at an intersection for a red light. I was the first car at the stop line. I had a real craving to pick up the camera and play with it. Unfortunately, towards the right side of the cross street was a police car, so I thought I should appear to have both hands on the wheel. Just as I was having this debate in my head (fondle the camera in public or not), a red light runner sped through the intersection at high speed and struck the back end of a car who had the right-of-way. Because the intersection was at the top of a hill, the struck car spun around in the air, and landed against the side of the road. The red light runner lost his front wheel and dug into a stop. The cops came running out of their car and were all over this guy. All this happened right in front of me as I waited for the light to turn green!<p>I should have fondled the camera in public!

[robert goldstein]

There's an interesting article on Sebastiao Salgodo in the current "New Yorker" in which it is revealed that Salgado never carries a camera unless he is working on a photographic project. I guess that when you shoot as many frames as he does, missing one or two photo-ops is not a big deal. Also, he is interested in subjects of great social importance, not random events or scenes.

[larry_kincaid1]

You're all forgetting something that really matters: your interest in photography is motivating or inducing you to SEE the world around you all the time. So, naturally we're taking pictures "in our heads" all the time. We should be happy about this. Visually and perhaps emotionally, our life is richer for it. It also prepares us for our next shoot with a camera. It makes us better photographers with or without a camera. I once sat parallel to someone in Maui while a beautiful sunset was occurring to my left. I decided to wait to see how long it took for her to notice and tell me about it. Never happened. I always tell people now whether they like it or not. Also, even if you have your camera with you, you'll still miss some great photographs. I still agree, however. "Always take your camera with you."

[nozar_kishi]

I always carry a camera; always. Sometimes M4-2, sometimes XPan. They make me see things I wouldn't, had I not had them with me. Camera to me is what a fishing rod is to a fisherman; you can still enjoy fishing regardless of having caught any. Sometimes I take pictures, too; some of them turn out good; but that is another matter.

[james miller]

I always have my Contax T3 in a case on my belt and I NEVER miss a good shot. For example, last week, I noticed a completely restored eye-popping 1956 turquoise Lincoln convertable complete with white-wall tires parked in front of my employer's building. I ran up to my office, grabbed an attractive co-worker, and had her pose like a model all around it while I got pictures of her with it. The shots came out fabulous (of course, it's a Contax T3!) and everyone in the office loved them, particularly one colleague who restores cars as a hobby.

 

James Clifford Miller

millerjamesc@cox.net

[gary_brown2]

"Random events and scenes..." as Robert mentioned above is what makes life itself magical. The greatest photographers revel in the average and mundane in my opinion and see the beauty of a different perspective

[michael_kastner]

Of course, I often forget to take it with me, too. But the learning effect (at least for me) is in no way just the [no camera] = [no shots] offer, it's also the best way to decide on one single body and one single lens. Maybe a good reason as well to think about an Elmar 35 or 50 etc, and about zero bag or case. Just keep it in your pocket!

[jason]

I always carry a camera. it is always my Leica M3 with the collapsible 50mm Summicron or Goggle-eyes 35mm Summaron. I never feel the weight unless its not there! It's my "security" blanket..A spare roll of color film and a roll of b/w.

As regards Sebastio Salgado, after reading that he "never" carries a camera except on a pro shoot, i guess he has kinda lost a place or two for me! No shots of friends or family!

All the PJ's I know always carry a camera.

If there is nothing really worthwhile, we can shoot each other!

[robert goldstein]

In the "New Yorker" article, Salgado states that he considers himself a storyteller, not an artist. Hence, if a particular subject or scene does not advance the story that he is trying to tell at that time, he has no desire to photograph it, and that includes family and friends. Personally, I find this approach refreshing. Here is a truly great photographer who uses his skills for purposes beyond mere self gratification. Although I am certain that he derives immense pleasure from producing his massive photo journals, it is mainly related to his overriding desire to show something important to the world.