Safe Trip, Kirk
Kirk Tuck is my new BFF. Well, perhaps my new BPFF (Best Photographic Friend Forever). Assuming, of course, that my other BPFF, Matthew Robertson, doesn't read this and decide to disown me. Or something worse. You can never tell about Canadians. Especially around hockey season. But I digress...
Kirk's accomplished a lot in his professional life in and around Austin, Texas. Many of his accomplishments are documented in his books and on his blog and website, and he's posted enough of his work to drive home the point that he's a Photographer (like Matthew), as apposed to someone like me who just knows how to operate the camera.
Kirk's always written his blog entries with an ernestness and honesty many of us have come to appreciate. Kirk's opened his personal and professional life up a bit in his blog, and so it's with a certain degree of sadness I read his most current entry.
Kirk's been planning a road trip for a while now, in which he hoped "to recapture [his] love and passion for photography through the metaphor of a road trip." He approached this project with the same openness and zeal he's always displayed, and he outlined what he planned to take on his road trip:
I'll let your read the details; there's no need to repeat them here. My greatest hope is that Kirk does recapture his love and passion for photography. If he doesn't and in the process he drifts away, then as a community we'll have lost a truly important personality; a witty, intelligent, sincere, and above all, honest man.
Safe trip, Kirk, and I hope you come back to us whole again.
Kirk's accomplished a lot in his professional life in and around Austin, Texas. Many of his accomplishments are documented in his books and on his blog and website, and he's posted enough of his work to drive home the point that he's a Photographer (like Matthew), as apposed to someone like me who just knows how to operate the camera.
Kirk's always written his blog entries with an ernestness and honesty many of us have come to appreciate. Kirk's opened his personal and professional life up a bit in his blog, and so it's with a certain degree of sadness I read his most current entry.
Kirk's been planning a road trip for a while now, in which he hoped "to recapture [his] love and passion for photography through the metaphor of a road trip." He approached this project with the same openness and zeal he's always displayed, and he outlined what he planned to take on his road trip:
EP-2 with kit lens and Nikon 50mm 1.2 (for video)Now compare this with what he wrote in his latest blog entry, right before he left:
Tascam DR100 audio recorder and Rode Videomic (for audio)
Olympus E3 with the 35-100mm
Olympus E30 with the 14-35 mm
Gitzo Carbon fiber tripod with Arcatech head
Profoto 600b power pack and head for high powered flash.
Two light stands, one soft box and one circular diffuser.
Sekonic Light Meter
10 eight gig CF cards
6 eight gig SD cards
Cameras? I'll take some. All little pixie sensor cameras. A small bag of pixie system lenses. A tripod. A bucket of batteries. No studio flash. No stands. No umbrellas. Nothing that feels like work. It's the new Pixie Camera Aesthetic.Sounds a bit dark and burned out, doesn't it? Maybe that's why he titled his latest "The mechanics of hitting the wall."
I'll let your read the details; there's no need to repeat them here. My greatest hope is that Kirk does recapture his love and passion for photography. If he doesn't and in the process he drifts away, then as a community we'll have lost a truly important personality; a witty, intelligent, sincere, and above all, honest man.
Safe trip, Kirk, and I hope you come back to us whole again.
Is it hockey season? I suppose it must be, since it's March. And if I'm half of what Kirk Tuck is when I grow up, I'll be very happy. I'm not a fan of the double-spaces after each sentence, but otherwise I really like what and how he writes.
ReplyDeleteI know Kirk had a rough bit on his blog, and can't imagine what being a self-employed photographer and writer must have been like these past couple of years. He's certainly earned a solo vacation. But it also sounds like his idea of minimalism isn't all that light. Swapping the 14-35 for a 12-60 and leaving behind the lights could easily count.
(Perhaps I'm projecting, since my lens count for my next road trip continues to climb.)
I'm looking forward to the end of the week, when KT's back and lets us know how it went.
>> Swapping the 14-35 for a 12-60 and leaving behind the lights
ReplyDeleteI think that's what he did.
My idea of minimalism would be the E-P2 and the RFT 14-54 f/2.8-3.5 Mk II with the MMF-1 adapter. I'd use the Mk II because it's been tweaked to work with CDAF (specifically the E-30). No flash, extra batteries and SD cards. And maybe the ZD 50mm.
It's good to see him back, although it doesn't sound like a very refreshing trip.
ReplyDeleteThe 14-54 II is an interesting choice when looking for a light kit, leaving behind the petite 14-42. I'd almost certainly make the same choice, if it ever occurred to me.
My idea of minimalism is pretty flexible, but it generally involved picking a smaller camera bag and then trying to stuff just as much into it. My limitation really comes down to practicalities; I don't drive so I need to stay within what I can carry with me. It's just the details that change.