[Leica] Spending time

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

>They're obviously not spending
>a great deal of time using cameras to make photos...:-)

B. D.,
I'm working (after work hours) to organize my proof sheets, get caught
up on film developing (I'm woefully behind) and select the negatives for
the "Gauntlet" portfolio (if you can call it that). Not doing too much
shooting: down to four or five rolls a week.

But I'll tell you, it's chastening to go through all this old stuff,
matching boxes of negative sheets up with stacks of proof sheets from
times when I was too lazy to do so right away. I see how MUCH time I
have given to trying different cameras and lenses, how much motivation
to shoot that I derive from the necessity of testing...I also see how
very little the equipment and the lenses, especially, matter. I mean it
matters to me, because it's an enthusiasm of mine...but, really, it
hasn't got much to do with creating good work.

Ed Buziak is working on a "master portfolio" of his life's work and I
think that would be good discipline for me this winter. As you can tell
from the volume of messaging I do (even though I type fast and compose
as I go), I'm in need of a more serious project.

- --Mike