One lens shooting speaks (to me) to the Robert Capa quote "'If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough". Keeps it simple and on the composition and location, not the gear.
I did this same thing away back in 2014 on a trip to Vietnam. I used my Nikon F100 with the small 50mm F1.8 D lens and Kodak TRI-X 400 film. Really enjoyed my 5 weeks there with a small easy kit. And Got some great prints and shots to put up on my word press.
Cool thoughts and ideas. I'm heading to Europe and not sure about one lens--if only because I lack the essential bravery. But you have described a cathartic process. And that is appealing.
Well you can leave the rest of the kit in the hotel room and just roam around with one lens and camera😉 And yes, if I were going somewhere I would probably have a few more things, but I always just walk around with one camera and one lens.
I love the minimal approach and feel the same, I know the anxiety of having nice gear sitting unused, it can be hard to take the plunge and advertise it / sell it but it’s refreshing and clears the mind a lot. Cuba looks goooood 🍹
I used to take a larger camera bag and a lot of gear on vacations with my wife. Most extreme was Japan 2014 with a Canon 5Dmk2 and 6D and several zoom and prime lenses (70-200/2.8). Over time, I reduced to less stuff by taking a smaller bag. My last big trip just before Covid was 3 weeks Europe and a business trip right after that. I decided to take just one body and one lens. I took my Canon EOS R and Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art. It's still not a small combo but fits into a very small sling bag with accessories, batteries, etc. It was liberating not having to worry about lens changes and sensor dust. The picture I brought home were great and I didn't miss additional lens options very often.
Been shooting with the one-lens 50mm Distagon three years now. Switched out to the 80mm and felt I had to relearn composition elements. A new challenge! Thanks for sharing your insights.
Thank you, great video. I actually did something similar, on a business trip to Colombia, with a 50 mm. In the end I just had one day to photograph, but the pictures turned out much better than I had expected.
Wonderful video. Good advice. I, too, have a lot of gear, most of which I need to unload. I spend too much trying to decide what camera(s) and lenses to take. Great photos.
I often ‘shoot like film’. Prime lens, all manual settings, etc. Turn off view screen and make it like film minus the chemicals. It’s my favourite way to shoot. Usually 35mm.
Well-done! Liked! I do understand the choice of traveling with just a 35mm lens. During multi-state travel, in 2015, I tended to use my 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens at about halfway between 28mm and 35mm, for most of the shots, and about 40mm, for a somewhat lesser number of shots. In 2016, for a similar trip, carrying a 35mm and a 100mm macro, I used the 35mm for most general photography, and did not feel constrained. (The 100mm macro was mostly for a specific purpose, at one destination.) In 2019, during a road trip from SE Texas to NJ and then into Upstate New York, and then back home along a different route, I used a 35mm f/1.4 lens, on an M10, for the vast majority of the images. My M Type 246 Monochrom, with a 21mm lens, was used relatively little. My beloved Summilux-M 50mm ASPH, which I had planned to use for an excursion into NYC, stayed inside the bag, during the entire trip. (I decided to postpone the NYC leg of the trip, thinking that I would return to the NYC area, soon, though the Panic-Demic interrupted that idea. I have yet to see the Big Apple, in daylight.) My favorite individual M-mount lens is the Summilux-M 50mm ASPH, but, for actually walking about, actively shooting, I have captured far more images with 35mm f/1.4 lenses, either a Zeiss Distagon ZM, for a modern rendering, or a recently-acquired “Re-Edition” Steel Rim Summilux, for a classic/vintage character in the images.
I did the same recently, went on a business trip with one camera only (fixed lens). It was very freeing and I highly recommend it - think about photos not gear.
Shooting mostly Summicron 35mm with my M11 or M6 for film. Always found the Summicrons 90mm too narrow, the 28mm Asph a bit wide and the 50mm too cropped but 35mm just adequate as this one lens. Going to Versailles in 10 days, 35mm will be part of the trip and am still debating whether I’ll add the 50 or 28mm. What do you think should be my 2nd lens.
Really enjoyed your images. Been using just one lens for some time now. 50 or 35 but mostly 35 just because it’s lighter, it means I don’t have to carry a specific camera bag just a normal rucksack with a camera pouch, a Tenba BYOB which is perfect. The idea came from looking at the focal length of most of my images and travelling to remote places and not taking all my kit because it simply took up too much space and was heavy, it was all about keeping it simple.
The idea of photography is to record what you see with your eyes, the more gear you take the more you miss. I just purchased a Fuji GA645 W last week with its 45mm fixed lens it’s perfect for that slimmed down photography you’re talking about. Awesome photo by the way very inspiring.
Hello Todd, following your channel for a while I finally go for a comment. I myself have like many other photographers a lot of gear but in 2019 I changed something when traveling. I got a Leica M10-P Safari a Summilux 50mm F/1,4 ASPH. a Filter kit and a small Bellingham Bag to carry everything. Since then all the Nikon stuff stayed at home and I just grew into this one camera one lens habit. My photography improved so much by this because changing position angle and composition is now the prime concern where earlier the zoom helped to stay in the same position and compose from there by loosing a great chance for a better image doing the right thing. Anyhow love your channeling please apologize for my English I am German and a little rusty on the language.
As a full time newspaper photographer I cart around plenty of kit every day on my own time one camera one lens is the way to go I have so many cameras love them all my faves at the moment are the Q2 for digital the bessa II for medium format and my new addition the canon L3 with an 5cm Elmar for 35 mm. Nice vid Todd lovely shots Cuba has been on my bucket list for toooooo long
What timing. I just returned from walking 4 miles with my M4P and 35 ‘Cron, just poking around. That body size and the excellent glass just makes you want to have it nearby. I intermittently crave a digital version but you can go crazy looking at people’s tech issues with the digital Ms. Small body 1 lens is liberating.
thank you for this true and for me easy understanding informations (my english is not good as it was years before) I reduce my gears like you and shot with a Fuji X Pro 2 and a Leica Summilux 35mm. Regards from Germany Andreas
Thanks! I agree 100% with the concept, not easy, but needs to be done once in awhile to open your eyes. However, I would have loved to see a lot more of the actual photos taken on the trip. Cuba is not a common place for all of us to visit and the video would have been a winner with that new perspective.
Hi, Todd. This is the path I also want to take. When I go out, one camera and one prime lens. (50 mm) It seems liberating to me not to have to think about which lens to use, but instead to think about where and from what position I can get the desired result. You brought some nice photos from Cuba, friend. A very nice video. Thank you for sharing it. Kind regards from the Netherlands, Antoine.
I find myself in a similar situation, having a lot of gear that I will be selling off soon. I darkroom print and I have shot very little 35 mm film for my darkroom printing and this year I plan to do just that with my Leica. The Leica and the Leica lenses are fantastic. Sure there will be grain but I can live with that. I am also travelling to Europe in May and I plan to take just the Leica with one lens.
Same experience for me. Too many cameras/lenses, and as an amateur who doesn't need all that equipment, there's always an inner conflict about which camera(s) to grab. At least a professional can justify having multiple cameras. Looking back, I realized that some of my best images were captured in India and southern France with just my Leica M6 and a 50mm lens-a simple one camera, one lens setup.
i had similar travel to cuba more than decade ago but with 3 different cameras 😅 i was carrying m9p with 35cron, bessa r2a, nokton 35 with e100vs, and 6d with ef35mm i use bessa as my main camera on day time and dawn and dusk time use m9p after dawn use 6d
I always travel with two, three cameras... Not because I might use them all... But because I want a back up... Right now I'm in love with an Olympus pen EE3, half frame camera... From 1969... From which I've made some nice 18x24cm prints at home
I'm with Avedon that cameras are a bit of a barrier. I love the look of Medium format film (as per my comment in the Thai video) but even a 35mm SLR is large enough to pass for quite a cumbersome barrier. Up until recently I have had quite a rational kit of different formats and lenses that just complement each other, and would rather use GAS money for plane av gas ✈ and film costs. As I said, RX100 or a phone is an ideal "invisible" camera and a Leica/Small SLR next up. On film, I have standardised in 35-40mm but the logistics are more cumbersome. Beautiufl video and flow. Cuba is a very enticing location that I have looked up to visit for more than a decade with that romantic image one gets musical and visually. I don't know when and if I will visit it. If there is a justification, having seen it so well thru other photographers' lenses has made me feel like I have been there; and the US SST status doesn't make it simpler.
Been thinking of getting rid of stuff as well. Don’t know if I could bear to ditch my Pentax 6x7 gear yet. I will often travel with just two lenses and end up just using one.
I recently switched to a 2005 DSLR + 40mm; photography is simpler and now it's more about making photos and less about trying to use all the features of my camera system.
I love the idea of one camera, one lens. I'm halfway through a year long exercise of shooting a leca M camera with a 50mm Summicron, with 50 rolls of tri-x and making 50 prints. It's been rewarding as well as challenging at times. With travel I am a little hesitant to only have one camera and lens, only because I hate the idea of my one camera breaking down on me somewhere remote and not being able to continue shooting. So I carry two bodies and two focal lengths (sometimes three) that I enjoy. But they are mostly small rangefinder cameras so even two bodies and three lenses do not use up much space in the bag. The majority of my favourite pictures end up being on a 50mm lens... but I do also like going very wide at times with 21mm.
@@toddkorolphoto Thanks! I'm about halfway through with it now... time and inspiration have been a challenge though. I mostly shoot this project during my daily walks or during errands around town etc. I am trying to avoid making the same shot I perviously made on an earlier roll.
I’ve gone the the other way! For years I used to travel with just a 40mm lens but found I was missing some shots, so now I also take an 85mm lens with me. I think it depends on your style of photography, and what you are trying to achieve.
Very nice to see this video. Next week I will be in Beijing and Hong Kong. I declared the year of M10 photography for myself in 2024. I‘m just deciding wether to use 28mm or 35mm…😅
I've gone out with one camera and one lens, but that was at home. I don't think I'd be brave enough to trust my photos to just one camera and one lens on a trip.
I can't do without my 500cm, I'm getting a back and lens focus ring repaired soon. Bought it new in 1984. I need to find something to preserve/restore the plastic-like material around and in front of the lenses (50, 80, 150, 250).
I used my 50mm Collapsible Summicron on my Leica M3, as main lens, since 1967! Lately using Goggle Summaron 35/f2.8. Too many people everywhere! Regarding your choice for a a project, weird! I hate those old stolen cars, everything falling down, miserable art of a Murderer, Che! Friends went a short time ago, the young men harrassed by the Police! Paid monies! There are better islands! Where there is eatable food, help and assistance, think!
Lovely evocative photography & looks like a great trip / very much get the one lens mindset, but have never really paid much attention to Leica photography specifically. That’s some serious vignetting? Is that an issue with that lens in really bright conditions?
Thanks for the inspiration. I have been wrestling with selling my Hasselblad 500c/m for a while now. I love the camera but I am not using it. Thanks for the nudge.
This is amazing, such a good video, and a great exposition on the one lens approach. How do you find framing with glasses and that M10 finder? I always have to hunt if composition is critical, but its also somehow freeing?
I made 2 big mistakes going abroad with 1 camera and 2 lenses. I got robbed in Budapest the first week of a 3 weeks trip. The second time I was walking on the beach of Varadero looking for a good shot and stepped into a hole. I fall into the salty water with the camera and lens. The camera died. For the rest of the 10 days I had to take pictures with my phone, which I hated.
I can see that, I should have said the point was to go out and take photos with just one camera and one lens, have backups in the hotel room is always a good idea ;-)
