Wide Ideas From Voigtlander and Leica

If you are into landscape photography or architecture with the Leica, Fujifilm X-Pro1, Olympus micro 4/3, Panasonic Micro 4/3. or similar cameras that can take the Leica M-mount lenses, here are two very good ideas.

The first is the Voigtlander 21mm Ultron f:1.8lens. It has an integral metal lens hood as part of the mount but also has a filter thread on the front. heavy, solid construction and 1/2 stop detents between the full stop markings on the aperture ring. Apertures down to f:22. We have one for sale new at $ 1195.

The second lens is the multi-focal type from Leica. The 16-18-21 Tri-Elmar is intended to be used without an additional view-finder - eminently suitable for the Leica M or the new Leica T with the appropriate adapter. It is a little more - $ 6365 - But you can console yourself with the thought that the RRP is $ 7000.

A Wonderful Chance To Pursue A Dream - With Iconic Images

Iconic Images International and Denis Glennon have had a chance to see a great deal of the world and have recognised that you want to as well, To this end, they have arranged for a world-renouned author and photographer to present a seminar here in Perth later this month.

Their speaker, Shem Compion has many awards and books to his name - he is a photographer, hide designer, and author. Now he speaks and conducts workshops that help others to learn the mechanics and rhythms of his art. He has one of the most successful firms in Africa that deal with the subject; C4 Images and Safaris - he has also provided work for the BBC series "Planet Earth".

His workshop will be held at the State Library of WA on Saturday, 17th of May. It goes from 9:00 to 4:30.

Details of this as well as tickets to book a place can be obtained by going to the Iconic Images International website - it pops up first-off on Google.

Or you can ring Denis on 08 9284 7373 or 0418 923 103.

The website has some magnificent images to whet your appetite - Mr Compion has the information you need to know to make your own.

When You Know What You Want...

You can get it.

This was borne home to me two days ago when the chief of a dance troupe brought her ladies to the studio for publicity shots. She could tell me where the images would go, what size they needed to be, and the projected colouration of the graphic designs. She told the dancers how to dress, and what poses she wanted. She watched them and aided their posing - between her and I we got the best out of them - even the novices. They were very theatrical.

The post-prod was a dream. The chief now has a selection of poses, groups, displays, dances, and costumes. The ladies are going to look magnificent. It all ran through Aperture with only 3.75% having to go over to Photoshop for serious correction.

As a result, the work time was dramatically reduced and the cost to the customer substantially less than it has been for other troupes.

Now, if you can do this in your own photography...I mean figure out before you sally forth exactly what you want to achieve...you can be equally successful. Okay, you don't have to approach it like a Prussian Guards regiment and never deviate in spite of the cannon balls, but do know what you want as you go for it.

This also has an echo here in the shop. Wander, please. Look, speculate, ponder. Ask an intelligent question if need be - the staff's little faces will light up. No need to tell us what the latest rumour site has reported because we read that stuff too*. In any case, do think  - for yourself - about what YOU want to do. Then you are more likely to be able to do it.

* I read it in theatrical accents - makes it funnier...

Rubber Balloons

Those of you who remember the Benny Hill sketch on television that ended up with the punch line " Rubber balloons " may now blush in shame....

The question of rubber arose the other week when the new Nikon D4s was shown here at the shop. The Nikon representative took all of the staff into her confidence about the new features of the camera. The more arcane aspects of predictive double back bounce around tracking focus were a mystery to me - other than realising that the camera makes pictures in focus in spite of the user  - but I did fasten upon one new aspect; Nikon have changed the rubber composition for the grips on this new camera.

Not before time. I use the Nikon D300 and D300s and love them for the images they take and the ease of use that they exhibit...but I hate the grips.

Oh, they are comfortably-shaped and soft and squishy, but that is because they apparently contain a large proportion of silicon in the rubber. They are fastened to the body panels of the camera with double sided sticky tape and while the tape takes to the body it eventually peels off the grips. They flap open under your hand. I've had the D300 ones reset by Ernest but my sweaty fingers will undo them again the the future.

Joy of Joys, Nikon changed the formulation of the  rubber for their new flagship camera. A little less squishy and a lot more likely to stick onto the camera for the foreseeable future. Good boys.

Note: the big Canon cameras don't do this, but their grips are a little harder and thinner. Leica has opted for a bare metal body on their new T, though you can cover it with a clip-on plastic surface case. Fuji, Panasonic, and Olympus seem to be able to stay together pretty well.

Now whether they various manufacturers have opted for well-shaped grips or not is another matter - and the subject of another blog...

Houston -The Dot Has Landed - And Taken Off Again

Well the Leica T is pretty much here - we had a product launch last night with Daniel from Leica showing the camera, lenses, and accessories.

If you want to see it today...you can't. He took it away again. HOWEVER...he and Saul promised that the whole shooting match will be back here in the shop on the 28th of May, in stock, supplies for sale - you bring money, you get camera.

The whole shooting match includes a range of accessories - two lenses are to be made with the T mount right now and more are coming. There is an adapter to let you use Leica M mount lenses on the camera. There are four fitted plastic cases and a leather model. There will be system cases. There is an electronic viewfinder with GPS in it. There will be a new flash. There is the best camera neck strap in the universe available for it and some pretty snazzy coloured wrist straps. The batteries are to be colour-coded for the camera colour - because they feature a metal plate at the end that forms part of the external surface of the camera.

The device itself is elegantly designed and uniquely manufactured. Only two buttons  -shutter and video start/stop. The rest of the commands go through the very large touch screen.

You are not overwhelmed when you turn the screen on - you pick the criteria that you wish to deal with and cache them in your own interface screen. If you are a steady customer you just need a few controls. If you are the type who jitters around a lot you can have a lot of things to fiddle with. Your choice.

As with many modern devices, it Wi's and Fi's and you can control it from your electronic ear warmer, pocket warmer, or lap warmer. If you wish to put it on the end of a pole and wave it over the wall you can fire it from the ground. Do not laugh - someone will.

The strap that we alluded to earlier is the best in the place because it plugs into the camera body with a minimum of fuss - you get to keep your fingernails - and it is a tough, smooth neoprene rubber. Entirely in keeping with the style of the camera.

The " Leica Enthusiast " who worries whether the company has done a good thing can rest assured. They have. It's an elegant but not as expensive option to the big 'ol M camera. It will develop its own line of lenses and followers. The geeks on forums who cannot afford to buy it will bat the idea of it about like they always do, but the people who can afford to buy it will have a wonderful instrument that takes wonderful pictures.

Red Dot Special

Well, we seen it.

Turns out to be a new Leica camera. Carved out of a solid block of aluminium and polished by hand.

Lens on front, screen on back, no buttons apart from the shutter one - all screen touching for operation. New lens mount - adapters will be made for older Leica lenses.

Most stylish camera on the block today.

Will be on sale after the 28th of May.

Launch Day

Today is a momentous day for the Western World. Or at least the portion of the Western World that hovers around 230 Stirling Street...and for that matter those members of the Eastern World who do the same...

Today is Launch Day for a new Leica product. I'm not allowed to show it here on the blog, but that is okay because I have not seen it myself. I can say it is smaller than the Graf Zeppelin and more expensive than a Kinder Surprise egg. It may, or may not take digital pictures and it may, or may not be carved out of a solid block of metal. Actually that also applies to the Kinder Surprise too...

After work we are going to have ...more work...as we roll out the new item and celebrate it. There will, presumably, be drinks and snacks. If not, there will, assuredly, be murder.

Watch for us in the papers.

Of Course You Can't...But Here Is Your Chance Anyway.

Never let it be said. At least not by you. And if someone else says it, go deaf.

There are any number of things that you can't do, but if you can maintain a healthy level of ignorance you can generally accomplish whatever it is that you start. Once you admit doubt and accept advice you are sunk.

It is the Wiley Coyote principle - you can run as far over the cliff as you like but once you look down that is where you go.

A case in point is one of the staff members who wanted a bowl of home-made chicken soup. Not having ever made it before he gathered the haziest description of the process, and a chicken and ran full-tilt at the problem. He appears to have succeeded, if the big bowl of chicken noodle soup and kneidlach that he put in the fridge is any indication. We shall be testing his skill at lunch time. If the shop is closed tomorrow, you may draw your own conclusions. I am willing to try it, but I ain't lookin' down...

Similarly, the owners of digital cameras can exercise the same courage and resolution by skim-reading their camera manuals, closing one eye and reading Ken Rockwell, and pressing all the buttons in the menu. I am doing that right now with one of  the Fujifilm cameras that I have - unfortunately the computer system I have is too old to support the RAW file for this camera, though it does support the files for the other two Fujifilm cameras in the stable. I am in jpeg only, though you must remember that Fujifilm jpegs are wonderful files.

My computer system is also of a type that does not show all the gazillions of colour variations that the professional EIZO monitors do, so I am going to restrict the colour space of the camera to the gamut that the screen can use - and that my screen readers can see - and see if it makes a difference to the actual end result. Some will decry it, and advise against it...but then they said that about shelling Verdun and that worked out pretty well in the end.

Reading The Book

" I don't know anything about cameras but I want one to take good pictures and I'm going away tomorrow and which is the best one? I get discount."

Good thing , that. Not the discount bit, mind... the going away part. You'll have a good 3-6 hours on a Boeing with your knees in your chin and you can balance the camera instruction manual on them. If you can't become an award-winning iconic master in that time well where is the world coming to.

You're in good company - a long line of Australians have headed to Singapore, Bali, and Bolivia with a new 35mm camera in a leather case and a little Japlish instruction book in the bag. The ones who took a boat were better off as they had more time to read and were not likely to have their ( mostly blank )  colour slides back from the processor until they returned home. It was disappointment deferred.

It was a bit better in the 1960's as there was a longer time-frame for a number of things. Items came from the eastern states at a slower pace and people in the west accepted that they might not get what they wanted inside a fortnight. There was no instant view of an item bouncing on a screen to promise them instant delivery. The wise ones used the time interval to study up on what to do with the new camera that was coming. The less-wise just opened the instruction book ( " Thank You for the buying to this fine instrument...") and winged it.

I must complement the writers from Japan. They now make an instruction book that instructs - it may be plodding and patronising, but it actually explains what happens when you press the button. The more cynical members of the trade sometimes feel that there are too many features offered ( full-time birthday face recognition predictive AF exposure compensation for pets being one, particularly when the Schnauzer is in HDR...) but people want to push buttons anyway so you might as well give them buttons to push. It keeps their fingers away from the front of the lens.

As for right now, please remember to put your instruction book into airplane mode before you buckle up.

The Ball O Light - Gary Fong In The Steampunk Era

I am glad that the neighbours can't see me in my little studio. They would ring the department, the men in the white coats would come, and that would be the end of it. As it is, I close the curtains and put on my Mad Doctor outfit and start experimenting...

The current line of research revolves around a steampunk event that will be run in May. I've decided to run a portrait set-up and have been assembling the equipment and the lighting. The get-up is no problem - I've been wearing steampunk outfits for the last twenty years at various events and it has stopped being costume long ago - it is clothing now, and old clothing at that...

The camera is the new Moriarty Portrait camera - supplied innocently by Justin Moriarty and the Fujifilm company. Not that they knew it at the time, mind, but I'm sure they will be charmed by the results in the end. Hey, any company that deliberately gives me a sepia setting in the menu of their digital camera ( the X-E2) must expect me to grab the idea and run with it. If they will kindly put a daguerreotype, ambrotype, and tintype setting in as well I will send them a bouquet of chrysanthemums.

Camera sorted, I have turned to lighting. As tempting as it is to devise a lighting system that incorporates a miniature steam engine ( Saito Mfg.. from Japan), a motorcycle generator, and antique light fittings, the work and oily mess involved would make photography impossible. So I have chickened out and  opted for electronic flash.

The Elinchrom Quadra system would do it on a professional basis - two light stands, two heads, battery controller, Skyport trigger and such, but I don't own one and I don't want to borrow one of the Rental Department's kits. The idea of steampunk is you think it up and make it yourself.

I do own some Nikon SB 700 speed lights so I turned to one of them and the Gary Fong collapsible Lightsphere. In the top the sphere I dropped one of the silver diffusers - up until now I have never been able to make this chrome accessory do anything. Now it is brilliant. It fires the light out into a flat annular pattern while still allowing some of it to exit the top of the Fong going toward the ceiling.

The result is absolutely even lighting and some degree of reverse fill in the shadows to the back of the portrait subject. No hot spot on the frontal planes of the face and no burn-out on bald heads. ( I have found my own pate useful for test purposes...)

I've got the light on a standard light stand and  have found that the legs of it can stand within the compass of my tripod legs - thus reducing the chances for people stumbling over them in the dark of a ballroom. I am thinking of decorating the legs of the tripod to further warn off the punters.

Next experiment will be to reduce the output from the Fong and do a hand-held SB 700 with a snoot or grip for spot lighting. Steam on!

Serving On The DEW Line

Easter in our family is traditionally spent serving on the DEW line.

No, not that chain of radar stations and weather * domes across Alaska and Canada - someone else can sit up there and freeze if they want to. No, I mean DEW all the things that have built up over summer before the rains make it impossible. This includes cleaning the arrows out of the gutters, hosing the lounge room, and burying the pets.

It is also wise to clean and oil the photographic equipment and change any parts that have broken. Dead pixels can be removed from sensors - not a job for people with shaky hands, I must say - and the computer screen can be collaborated. Or is that salivated? Well you do something to it and then it is ready for winter.

This year I tried all the lenses on all the bodies to reassure myself that the contacts still worked. One battery grip proved to be faulty but when I checked it here at work it came good. I put that down to the beneficent influence of our repair department. I am still waiting for the batteries in my Nikon cameras to give up the ghost but they are proving to be immortal.

Cleaning the sand out of the tripod legs has proved to be both a good and bad idea - I have a small beach on the floor of the computer room now. I used shotgun swab to clean the inside of the tubes and then oiled them with Ballistol. It might not be what the manufacturers use but it has proved to be perfect for every other use I have ever put it to and I can't see why this won't succeed. The smell is very comforting - Ballistol in the morning smells like victory...

The computer was not neglected. I blew through the circuits with a 24 v aircraft starter battery and everything seems freer now. I used fffg powder last year and it let quite a residue.

So we're all ready for winter. Hope you've been as busy yourselves.

* New Zealand also has a DEW line. It has wether domes...

Leica Announce Winners Of Their X Contest

A little while ago we announced that Leica was conducting a contest that featured their X-model cameras. People who used these cameras with their superb lenses were invited to send in images on-line for judgement and there was a selection of valuable prizes for the winners in various categories. Arrangements could even be made to borrow a Leica X camera to shoot for an entry to the contest. A number of people took Leica up on this.

The results are in and Leica have made their decision. If you were part of the contest, or would just like to see some great photography,  we have advised that you can go to:

http://leicarumours.com/2014/03/22/winners-of-leicas-me-my-leica-x-photo-contest-announced.aspx/

I've done so but it does not seem to connect quite yet - the leicarumour page comes up alright, but the rest of it still seems to be buried. Undoubtedly Leica themselves will make the matter clear in good time - you might drift over to their site and see...

Like Peas In A Pod - With Fuji

Are all mirror-less cameras the same? Are the systems really identical - like peas in a pod? Can you buy one camera and use other lenses? Should you get a body here and the accessories there? How many forums should you read at any one time before your brain explodes?

To give you a quick series of answers; no, no, yes, no, none.

There are at least 6 mirror-less systems that I can think of and only two of them share similar lens mounts. With a bit of a fiddle and two trombones you can adapt some of the other maker's lenses to some of the other maker's bodies but you always drop some of the maker's automatic features...and you frequently pick up optical distortions that make the whole thing an exercise in futility.

While I love to hook up unlikely combinations of optics and sensors - after all I work in a camera shop - I have come to the conclusion that in general you really should stick to the lenses on offer from the particular manufacturer of bodies you have chosen. The exception to this rule would be if  Zeiss offers a lens for your chosen lens mount. These are likely to be very good lenses indeed and you will be asked to trade many potatoes for them.

All the above leads to the subject of this post: the new Fujinon 10-20 lens for their X-mount cameras. Fujifilm are forging ahead with the APS-C sensor cameras - the new X-T1 being hot at present - and they needed to supply a wide angle zoom for the landscapers and interior shooters. The 10-24 will give the same angle of view as a 15-36 would on a full-frame camera, but with a fast autofocus or focus peaking on suitable bodies.

Note: The focus peaking really does work well for manual focus in a studio situation - it makes it easy to see in dim conditions when you are dead on for focus. It also costs a few potatoes but is well worth it.

Oh, Here. Look.

No sense describing an exclusive design product when We have cameras and the internet. here's some fast shots of the new Leica 100-year anniversary camera and the G-Star Raw camera as well as just a few of the colour examples for the binoculars and the X-2 cameras.

There are more in the sample swatches.

Whole Lotta Leica Goin' On

No post from me yesterday because we were busy preparing the shop for and important event - the official opening of our new Leica boutique shop-within-a-shop.

In case that sounds complicated, it really means that we have a dedicated Leica section here at the front of the shop that has been designed and manufactured by Leica to showcase their product. Now we have a lot more of their products here with us right now and can service the needs of the Leica enthusiast and professional with real style.

Style is a lot of it - we saw the new 100th-year anniversary camera introduced here last night and a wonderful range of colour-coordinated Leica cameras and binocular sets. The former has a special logo engraved onto the Leica D-Lux 6 and a silver lens assembly while the latter are yellow, blue, beige, red...you name it and if Leica can catch it and skin it they can likely cover your camera with it.

The other fashion device is the G-Star Raw camera - again derived from the Leica D-Lux 6 body but with an entirely different covering and body colour. It has a very cool bag included as part of the assemblage.

There was German sausage and beer, German sparkling wine, German cider, and a very pretty blonde model for the photographers to test the cameras out on. There were speeches from the Camera Electronic and Leica managers. The new 100-yeqr camera was announced and shown, and the national manager for Leica was able to remind us of some of the most iconic images of the twentieth century that were taken with Leicas.

Side note: If you once thought that Leica was sort of a staid old-guy's toy sold by staid old guys, you can put that thought firmly out of your mind. The company here in Australia and in Germany is running young and thinking young. Big things coming. When they come, they'll come here to our red and black boutique!

M & M's. The Leica Cameras That Don't Melt Away - In-Store Now

Here's a cheerful announcement for the Leica Enthusiasts out there - and those who wish to start with the best rangefinder digital in the business.

Camera Electronic have stocks at present of both the silver and the black version of the Leica M body. This is the latest top-end body from Leica and is keenly sought amongst the high-end photographers. It is not a decision to enter into lightly...the Leica system is very extensive and premium quality. They are not throw-away purchases...you keep Leica and use it for decades.

I cannot say which looks more attractive, nor which colour choice reflects enthusiasm or professionalism, nor yet which one maintains a higher resale value. These are topics that the collectors can debate to suit themselves. Wise Leica enthusiasts will get both, just to be safe.

After all, it would never do to bring a silver Leica to a black Leica affair...or vice versa...and as engraved invitations sometimes omit to tell you which it will be, it is as well to have a second body available in the camera bag. Be prepared.

Dark Or Light?

It's been years since I owned a silver-coloured camera - the last one was a Pentax MX in the 1970's. It was a superb compact film camera and one that i can readily recommend to anyone who encounters it in the S/H market. I noted at the time that even then, there were no silver chrome Pentax lenses to accompany it - they were all black.

Years passed, all the cameras were black until I hit the Hasselblad 500 C/M and 553 ELX era. Chrome bodies both of them, and I noted that this was a wiser choice - the black-painted Hasselblad bodies of the period nearly always seemed to wear poorly. I daresay they were all the same inside, but the chrome looked better.

Now we have the Nikon Df in silver or black. Also the Leica M cameras. also a number of the mirror-less Olympus, Fuji, and Panasonic cameras. In some cases there are lens option to match the body colour. I am shortly to acquire one of the Panasonic Lumix GX7 cameras and have asked for the silver version in both lens and body.

Why? I don't contemplate taking it into such high sunlight that the silver would be required to reflect heat from the body - indeed next month may well see the entire opposite for me in terms of climate.

Am I not afraid of appearing to be an " amateur " photographer? No, no a bit. I will be a travelling tourist photographer with it, and travelling where a tourist would attract less interest than a professional. I will be seen, but not, hopefully, as a threat to public order. Just a tourist.

Likewise the choice of lens for the front of it. Now you can get marvellous micro 4/3 lenses for the Panasonic cameras but if you put a big long one on there the people you point it at may take exception. Intrusive is as intrusive does, so I am going to pick the 20mm f:1.7 Lumix and just wander about harmlessly.

The results from it should be marvellous - I've tested the combination here in the shop. If you are going away for the Northern spring or summer you should call in here and see if the same idea will suit you.

Note: Unobtrusive clothing is a good idea too. Forget the camouflage gear - wear quiet colours in quiet locations and loud colours in tourist traps.

Printed messages on tee shirts also bear a little thought...I remember being behind a young Asian man in the checkout line at the old IKEA store in Scarborough Beach Road while he was wearing a tee shirt advertising the Waffen SS and it was all I could do not to welt him one with the table lamp I was buying. I suspect he was completely unconscious of what it all meant...

In The Portrait Studio No.1 - Where To Put The Hands

Newcomers to the world of photography often ask for hints and tips on how to do a really professional job. In some cases this concerns camera handling, lighting, or posing. Or billing, self promotion, and court procedures, as the case may be...

In the first of this series of helpful posts from Camera Electronic, we call upon Uncle Dick from the Hazel Leaf Studio to tell us how to deal with the hands.

" Well, the first thing to decide is whether they will be required. If the image is being taken for a passport application, you needn't concern yourself with them at all. Getting the client to keep their eyes open and their head still while you try to size the image to satisfy the Department of Bureaucracy will be difficult enough.

Secondly, if you feel that the hands will improve the portrait, ask yourself if this is because you need them to support the face, distract from it, or hide it completely.

The sitter can chuck themselves under the chin, place their finger alongside their cheek, or curl it around their upper lip. This will look lame, but at least it will be traditionally lame. They can go for the Johnny Rotten look by sticking the finger up their nose. This also works for federal politicians, but for different reasons...

If they insist on covering their eyes with their hand just go ahead and shoot. Eventually the Department of Corrections will get a clear picture.

Photographs of legal practitioners and real estate salesmen will also present the problem that their hands may not be in their own pockets.

Dancers and artist's models are really the easiest to pose in respect to their hands as they have a good body sense and know where their arms end. They can generally accept direction except when a squirrel runs through the studio, and then all hell breaks loose.

In the end, as long as the only hands appearing in the portrait belong to the sitter, things generally work out. If you add gloves, gauntlets, jewellery, or handcuffs it takes the image into a different category. "

One Roo More Or Less

Our Australian readers will groan at that pun, but at least they will be rewarded when they come to the end of this blog post...they will get to turn off the computer and go and get some work done. The North American and European readers may puzzle at the image and the title.

Well, the farm cart that you see is a traditional one that was used in Australia since before the turn of the last century. It was also adopted for use in wartime for water supply to Australian troops. As they gathered around it to draw water for their sections, they would pass the latest gossip...or rumour...amongst each other. Thus any unconfirmed bit of  news or plan - that might very well prove to be false - was termed a furphy.

We have them here in the photographic trade as well. Of course a lot of them can be rejected out of hand as nonsense...the planned introduction of the atomic powered helicopter bubble car camera that made full chicken dinners out of a little green pill has long been exploded. Apparently that was disinformation put out by the LOMO company when it was still run by the Soviets to prevent sales of the similar product by the Flapoflex company in America. The American one did sell in small numbers in Florida and Minnesota but was never a commercial success. The organic fur-covered slime monster camera took all the sales...

And that is how it still works, but this time the manufacturers merely have to prod the enthusiasts who write for the internet and let them do the speculation and/or lying to each other. There are enough people in the " don't-know " to make it work. The people in the companies that really ARE going to introduce a new product - or delete an old one - are probably bemused by what the enthusiasts say to each other. Possibly they make notes on it and steer the R&D department into new fields.

Whatever, we can definitely say that rumours always prove to be either right or wrong or none of the above. If we predicate our purchases upon the forum wrangling we might miss out on opportunities to get real equipment right now and then to go out and use it to make images that can never be repeated.

Think about the chap who went out to Lakehurst, New Jersey one evening to take a picture of the German zeppelin HINDENBURG  as it came in to land. He probably had an old Speed Graphic and a couple of plate holders that his editor had given him. Now, he could have been at home reading the trade press predicting the next fast lens and how much better it was going to be to take pictures of airships and he might have waited...

Oh...

Don't You Never let A Chance Go By

Was that John Williams and the Newcastle Song? Or Arlo Guthrie? Whatever, it is a good motto for the active photographer. Whether it is a chance to cover the landing of the Hindenburg at Mandurah ( " Oh, the Boganity...") or invent a totally new image genre that will make you millions*, you need to seize upon everything. This also includes seizing on all the extra things that come in the package, whatever the equipment.

Once you have the hoard you need somewhere to store it - quite apart from the linen press that is full of photographic equipment boxes that you are keeping until you trade the cameras and lenses back in. Yes, I know. Keep the sheets and pillow cases in the shed.

Here is our answer to the little bits that we use to solve the stranger problems of the trade - the ubiquitous* plastic box. Howard's World or Bunnings or Woolworth's are the deal - IKEA probably has them but when you go there you end up coming back with wooden toys and hot dogs as well.

All joking aside - if you have a spare bit from your camera outfit or some weird casting that Novoflex made in 1961, keep it. You can never tell when it can be combined with something else to do what you need. Store it in the tray and sit down and think whenever some problem occurs. If nothing else, you can at least make a new problem out of the old bits...

*Until you find out that it was done in 1923 and it was Reichsmarks...