this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2025
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Photography
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"Gear Acquisition Syndrome"
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that was a tough thing to get past when I was first starting. everything was changing so fast from film to sensor size to removing the reflex to adding video.
i've always felt like 10 years behind the imaginary "you need this gear" curve
getting comfortable shooting with what you've got is a hurdle
I'm not a photography guy (browsing all while I wait on a 2am Uber so I'm not out driving drunk) but GAS is huge in musician circles. I remember when I was younger I wanted one of every guitar, one of every pedal, one of every amp.... Eventually I realized I could get credible results with a handful of guitars, a few decent amps, and one intentionally curated pedalboard.
I still have a pile but that's because I'm building and not acquiring these days.
I imagine it's a little different in photography circles since there's probably no good way to build new lenses with solder, a box of components, and a bad idea. However, I wanted to reach out both in solidarity (I know how you feel) and to let people feeling behind the 8 ball right now gear wise know that it's not just them. A lot of us with gear heavy creative endeavors have felt the same way.
@Leavingoldhabits@lemmy.world for example modded a scanner to be a camera: https://lemmy.world/post/18023559
There's also abundant experimentation with pinhole cameras such as https://lemmy.world/search?q=pinhole+camera&type=All&listingType=All&page=1&sort=TopAll
Or homemade light-sensitive materials even. (though i haven't seen that here yet)
just thought you might be interested :)
Absolutely I am! That's so fucking cool. I love when folks build things out of bad ideas and gumption for creative endeavors