I find myself embarrassingly over-equipped given my desire to simplify and reduce clutter. How to manage bags full of generic speed lights (on camera flashes...) and their attendant batteries and chargers? I tried to donate them to four of the many colleges we seem to have here in Austin. I thought they could stick 'em in a box in the photo classes and students could take whatever they needed. But no takers. No longer any big programs just dedicated to photography. And not much interest from dept. heads for on camera flashes.
Then there is the overstock of LED light fixtures. I really only need to keep a couple for my own projects and I never intend to do another paid video project (such a thankless undertaking...) but here I am with four excess, mono-light style fixtures that plug in the wall. But in the current stages of image creation no one seems interested in anything that has to be plugged in.
And I'm just getting started when it comes to modifiers for lights and other accessories. My tastes tend toward big units. Six foot umbrellas. Seven foot diameter octa-boxes. Six foot by six foot scrims. C-stands (no! I'm not shipping them to you. They weigh ton and you don't need them!). Again, no takers. Not even considering that they would be free.
When it comes to cameras I don't have any issues. Cameras and lenses are small enough to store anywhere and given the cyclical nature of my attention I know I'll pretty much always circle back to re-discover them again and again.
I used to depend on the local camera store to somehow get unwanted stuff to young photogs just starting out, and to students, but they laid off my favorite sales associate (of the last 15 years) and have also become quite mercenary. The original owners (whom I loved) sold the store to a right wing business zealot who will gladly accept free gear donations but none of them will ever see the hands of a needy first year photographer. Nope, he'd doubtless move whatever I "donated" straight on to the sales floor. And I'd rather just leave the stuff in the street for someone to find than to support the new, fascist, retail regime. In fact, I've gone from trying to buy everything locally to giving up on the far right bricks and mortar owner and sourcing everything but seamless backdrop paper from B&H or some other straightforward, high service organization.
If you are in Austin and wanna be a photographer, and are in school or just out of school, drop a line and we'll see if there is anything you can use. Otherwise, we'll leave it in a pile somewhere near where local, young photographers congregate.
To recap. Excess gear = bad. Donating = futile. Cameras and lenses = still coveted. Almost all the stuff I want to get rid of is too heavy to cost effectively ship to anyone. And if you read this blog you don't need it because, demographically, you can likely to be able to afford better stuff-- and probably want better stuff. Don't ask me for a list; it's not forthcoming. But if you have ideas for disposing of unwanted gear in local markets, drop a comment.
Today's gear news: The Leica M to L adapter arrived today from CameraWest and was immediately pressed into use putting a Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.0 Bigon ZM lens onto the front of a Leica SL2. It's a wonderful package as the lens makes the whole of the system that much smaller and lighter. Now heading out to shoot it and confirm accurate infinity focusing. If Leica can't get it right with a $450 adapter ring then I'm giving up.
That's all the news I've got fit to print. Have fun out there.
18 comments:
I need to find a way to repurpose C stands as some form of yard art.
maybe that guy wants something, the youtuber you met
I'm pondering the purchase of a full face UV visor to avoid having to wear sunscreen, gets in my mouth which can't be healthy, i got a legionairres style cap so i don't need to do the back of my neck any more, not sure how much headgear i'll be able to stack
My guess is there might be a high school somewhere with a teacher who could make use of lighting gear, but it might take work to find them.
Otherwise, Goodwill....
Sorry to hear your favorite local camera store went over to the dark side. I'm still mourning the closure of my local, Keeble & Shuchat in Palo Alto, CA.
Joel Bartlett, Looking Glass Photo in Berkeley is a great resource for the photographic community. Their heart is in the right place. I realize it is a drive from Palo Alto, but they are worth supporting. So sorry about Keeble and Shuchat.
Strobist's used to be a movement back in the days https://strobist.blogspot.com/. Personally I still prefer small unobtrusive lightning for any project, outside or inside. So much easier to handle. BUT I do guess the chinese destroyed the market, Godox flashes with the same Li-ion batteries are just so much easier to keep charged (and faster) than a bunch of Nimh powered speedlights. I have mostly sold out all my nimh powered units by now, but an old Canon still lingers on the Norwegian version of ebay.
It is usually no problem donating things through the internet for people to pick up (again here in Norway), but sometimes there is a business zealot in the other end for sure. Most of the time you can not be to picky about who actually picks it up.
also if you're truly desparate to get rid of them, that art of photography guy is in tx, i'd imagine he could help you out, ted forbes or something
Interesting about the "local camera store". I had noticed things were different and stopped going there very much, but didn't know about the sale. Too bad, it was great for many years. The nice thing about B&H is they have a way to avoid paying state tax, so there's a nice saving there, as well as good inventory and service.
Dick
Of course...sit all day at a flea market to sell your stuff!
No, bad, bad idea.
Sadly Precision Cameras was sold. In time it will probably close
when former customers stay away as you mentioned.
I've written here that the closest "real" camera store is
over 150 miles away from me in LA. "Real" meaning it stocks
cameras not just photo albums (are they still used?).
There is always the on line stores. That in itself is sad.
Ditto sentiments about Precision. Not going to drive there to do any shopping…or their store in the Woodlands. Thanks for the info.
Kirk – I, as one of the followers of the VSL, think that it is time, or past-time, for one of our great universities to have an exhibition of some of your finest portraits and other examples of your best photographic endeavors. Some universities that come to mind are the Harry Ransom Center at the U. of Texas, and the Center for Creative Photography at the U. of Arizona.
Hopefully looking forward to such an event happening.
Onward and upward for the VSL!
I hope your friend who was canned lands on his feet. So sad about Precision Camera.
You might want to see if there are any photography groups/clubs in your area and just put the word out to them.
Unfortunately there seems to be a large concentration of ultra political nut jobs in Texas so I would expect your former home away from home will do just fine.
I don't suppose you still have that Lumix XLR attachment for the GH5 laying around looking for a new home. I could use it.
Eric
There’s an app call Nextdoor that I used to successfully give away all kinds of stuff prior to our moving earlier this year. Post an add and prepare to be deluged with responses.
Get a large cardboard box and print "free" on it with a Sharpy, and leave it near the UT campus. It will all disappear in minutes, probably later to turn up on eBay. Then, somebody who wants it will get it, and some students swill have a few more bucks in their pockets.
Ah JC. That would have worked well back in our student days. Now it would just be an invitation for the bomb squad to rush over, followed by a thorough scrub through of all the many video feeds from the surveillance cameras followed by a loud and insistent pounding on my front door and then the hiring of lawyers to extract myself from my good intentions...
My latest concept is to choose one piece a day, like a flash, put it in a small camera bag to carry it around with me, and offer it to the first young person I find with a camera. I could do that every day for a month and not run out of "party favors".
Wish I lived in Norway. We live in such a divided country here that I'd live in fear of an open ended invitation to come to my office to get free stuff...
Hello, my name is Bailee Watson. I have been taking photographs for 7 years and graduated from Bowie H.S. in 2020. I have been taking photography classes at ACC since then and am going to Rocky Mountain School of Photography in the fall. I really like taking portraits and would love the chance to get some of your equipment to help me start my own studio since I no longer have access to the ACC studios. My friend, Jim, who shared this blog post with me and is friends with Rosemary and Jerry from Precision from WAY back, says you also like Lotus Hunan. Maybe I could buy you lunch in exchange for some equipment and some advice. Thank you!
Bailee, get in touch with me. My phone # is on my website : www.kirktuck.com
Post a Comment
We Moderate Comments, Yours might not appear right after you hit return. Be patient; I'm usually pretty quick on getting comments up there. Try not to hit return again and again.... If you disagree with something I've written please do so civilly. Be nice or see your comments fly into the void. Anonymous posters are not given special privileges or dispensation. If technology alone requires you to be anonymous your comments will likely pass through moderation if you "sign" them. A new note: Don't tell me how to write or how to blog! I can't make you comment but I don't want to wade through spam!
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.