Too much choice isn’t always a good thing
I’ve been obsessed with photography now for many years and with this obsession occasionally comes Gear Acquisition Syndrome – more commonly known as GAS. Like a lot of other photographers, this is something we learn to manage and come to terms with. I’m not a professional and I totally get that if you do this for a living you need gear (sometimes lots of it) to do what you need to do. However, despite having plans and training to be a pro a long time ago, it just wasn’t for me, and I’ve become comfortable with being a very happy amateur. But this hasn’t stopped my aspirations to improve as a photographer, and with it the ongoing challenge of managing ‘GAS’!
I think it all started very innocently back in the 1980’s. I had reached the limitations of my very basic Boots 110 Mini grip camera, and I managed to convince my Mum and Dad that I was really wanting to give photography a proper go. After a bit of research, I decided I had to have a single lens reflex camera and that was the only thing that was going to cut it. So, with a birthday and Christmas coming up, we all made a trip to the London Camera Exchange in Bristol and I came back with a Fujica ST605n and standard lens. I really loved that camera and lens and by shooting lots of film I began to get a basic proper understanding of photography.
With very limited funds most gear was still well outside of my reach, but there were some smaller items I began to crave, for what was fast becoming my latest obsession. I somehow managed to convince the London Camera Exchange to put aside any second hand Cokin filters that came into the shop, so that I could try and collect the whole set. Despite my best efforts and the shop keeping tabs on my extensive list (there are a lot of Cokin effects filters…), I didn’t quite get there. However, I soon learnt my first photographic lesson and realised that I just didn’t need all those graduated sky and star filters to make my photography any better. What I needed was more persistence and commitment to improve my photography, so eventually I just let all those Cokin filters go. I did hang on to the multi-image filter though for many years and used it very badly several times.
Despite learning this valuable lesson early on, like many other photographers I’m not cured of GAS, I just work hard to keep it in check, and I’ll be the first to admit that I am a work in progress. These days though I have a basic rule to keep assessing my gear, and if things haven’t been used for an extended period, I do normally let them go. But as I’ve mentioned before, there are times when I decide that I must have them again and under this cycle there are lenses and cameras which I have regretfully purchased multiple times. However, it’s very rare that I don’t come to the same conclusion as I did initially - some things look good on paper, but they don’t always work for everyone in practice.
I think in many ways my photography has become simpler over time. I’ve been through periods convincing myself that I need better cameras and better lenses, but the only thing that has ever improved my photography was focus and commitment - I was reminded of this again on our recent trip to Iceland. I’m lucky enough to have been to Iceland before, but that was a long time ago and I’m not getting any younger. This was a huge trip that Amber and I were about to undertake, and we both wanted to be fully prepared for everything - not knowing when or if we would ever be able to return.
Arnastapi Harbour, Iceland 2025
So, the planning started well in advance of the trip, which involved the inevitable recurring issues of GAS. I decided that I must take several film cameras just in case one failed. Have I ever had a film camera break on me? Well yes, but I can only think of a few occasions in the last 30 years, so this was erring on the side of extreme precaution. I also wanted to make sure I was covered with a good set of newer and vintage lenses ranging from 15mm up to 105mm. So, I ended up packing 3 film bodies and 10 lenses. I then needed to make sure I was well equipped with filters as I planned to shoot exclusively in black and white. This meant that I needed all the standard colours alongside several strengths of neutral density and a polariser… in a variety of different sizes.
On top of this, we also needed to pack the additional photography items that we would both be using. Amber went fully digital this time, but between us we also had to find room for the drone and Ozmo. Could we share a tripod? After several discussions we decided we needed to each have one and the weight of the bags continued to grow… This was just the challenges of our photography gear, let alone everything else we needed to pack.
We were going to be away for 3 weeks and as the bags squeezed in to the car on the way to the airport we were both pretty much at the limit for both checked and hand baggage. But we were ready and we were fully prepped!
This shows the main equipment that I took to Iceland in 2025
I few days into the trip I began to feel the weight of all this GAS and regrettably it’s a similar feeling to how I’ve felt before on other trips. Every time we had the chance to stop the van and take pictures, we had to decide what to take out and what to leave, out of all this equipment. At times I found this whole process a bit overwhelming and started to crave simplicity and fewer choices. Added to this was the pressure that I put on myself that I needed to get the best pictures I possibly could. It didn’t take me long to remember that for the photography I enjoy most, I just don’t need all the cameras and lenses and a bag full of filters with a big heavy tripod. This was just the thinking behind my own gear, let alone everything else that we had both committed to using!
There were many times when I wished I had packed a bit less and narrowed my parameters right down, so that I could just get on with the photography. So, I’ve already decided that for the next trip I need to rethink my approach and have started the cycle of assessing what I have versus what I need. A few months on from the trip and some of the equipment has already started to go. I just need to keep remembering those early life lessons around keeping it simple, getting plenty of film, enjoying the photography and to always live in the moment.