The Art of the Single Camera Travel

Photo by David Grandmougin on Unsplash

The concept is so basic for so many people. Most people travel with a maximum of one camera, but for a photographer, this is a massive challenge.  Changing cameras opens up the artistic possibilities. You can move from digital to film, color to b&w or from a medium format to 35mm. These changes alter how you see the world, what you photograph and the very story you tell.

​So to limit myself to a single is not a small challenge.  Consider that a single camera would eliminate film or digital.  I prefer film for the color shots but love the B&W that film gives me. To simplify that even further, would be to limit myself to a single camera and a single lens. But what would that look like and how would it impact my view of the location?

I recently was asked to shoot the grand opening of a base during a work trip. I had to travel light as we had a full week planned.  I ended up taking my Leica M10 and took the Zeiss 50, 35 and Voigtlander 15mm.  I had been shooting almost exclusively on the 50mm and was sure that this would be the lens I used during the base opening.  

While there I quickly switched to 35mm and was so grateful I had it with me. I needed to get closer to the subjects and get a large number of people into the frame. The 35mm gave me that.  I used the Leica app to transfer some images to my phone and get some early shots processed on Lightroom CC. 

The combination turned out to be perfect.  The 35mm gave me the angle of view and the wifi file transfer allowed me to work on some early examples that ended up being published on various forums online. 

This got me thinking that a one camera solution might just work.  The challenge is film and how to balance my love for both mediums.  Right now the best I can do is to take a single digital camera with a few lenses and a film camera with a single 50mm lens. The Leica M10 and the M6 give me the ability to share the lenses between the two however when shooting a rangefinder I prefer to have a SLR enjoy both camera forms. 

So this is the best I can do.  A single camera in each medium.  At the end of the day, it is me who has to carry the stuff around, and I am willing to carry a few more pounds for the sake of medium flexibility.