Today, I made a big decision, one which is the reverse of the culmination of my goals from 15 years ago. 15 years ago, when all I had fashioned was 35mm equipment, I began accruing my medium format equipment. But, it wasn’t just any equipment, it was the best — Hasselblad. No Pentax, no Mamiya for me.
I wished to deliver the best images possible, and the optics that Victor made were the best for that. So, rather than spending 10k for a whole Mamiya package, I bought, piecemeal, my Hasselblad. A physical body here, a zoom lens there. As I developed, I found myself with a full kit, able to serve whatever clients needs were, from fisheye to 300mm, and most inbetween everywhere.
0) to determine the age of backs, body, etc. I scoured the camera shows looking for unique items, pre-ebay. I learned about element plans, why FLE was much better than it’s predecessors, why early lenses were magic, and other Hasselblad users thought that using anything apart from a WL viewfinder was cheating. I recall loving which i needed to “go vertical” never, I used to be a square guy, and pleased with it.
Many of the best images were made with this equipment, and there is certainly nothing like seeing 120mm transparencies on a lightbox in a dim lab. Sadly, that laboratory shut 18 months ago, yet I have already been unable to bring myself to dispense with my blood-sweat-and-tears earned equipment. They may be more than tools if you ask me, they may be a representation of achiving “professional” status many many years ago.
- Objectives – financial goals
- Maryland Limited Liability Company
- 7 years ago from Deep South, USA
- You can easily see how easily we can try our Business guidelines from the EM system
- Add water sufficient to cook it until sensitive
It was my Hasselblad equipment that allowed me to say “absolutely, we shoot with Hasselblad” when a skill director called, and asked “do you have medium format?” It was an instantaneous differentiator. That made them happy always. Now, it’s no more necessary. I haven’t used the equipment in atleast five years, nor experienced a request for it. Editors have stopped asking for medium format, and I miss stating “yes” to that question.
Yes yes, I understand, a lot of those lenses can be used on Hasselblad digital physiques/backs. Oh well. I haven’t acquired a client require that either – the file sizes we are delivering are frequently too large for clients, and we must down-rez them so they don’t crash their computer systems.
10k, which, in the end, is about 1/3 of what the great deal cost me after i first bought it all new. I suppose, that isn’t bad, a two-thirds depreciation for 15 years roughly. I know they’re supposed to be just tools, but to me, these were like family.Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you questions, please present them inside our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
