My public declaration to resist gear addition syndrome.

[JustJazzie]

Its embarrassing really, to admit that in the last 7 years since I acquired my first dslr, that I have printed less than 100 photos. Probably less than 50. The current 5 pictures hanging in my living room were printed on my home printer, and oh boy can you tell! All of the prints other than that were printed at (Brace yourself) Walmart.

Lets not talk about how much gear I have acquired/un-aquired in that same period of time.

So, I have made a resolution that until I am up to date on printing the last seven years of print worthy photos I will not purchase another piece of gear.

Why am I boring all you TPFers with my ramblings? Glad you asked! ;-) I read some unreliable article one upon a time that said if you make your resolutions public, that you were more likely to follow through on them.

So the next time you see me post something like " which lens is a better one?" if I haven't completed my goal Please, threaten me.

 

[Braineack]

I got the holy duo so I don't really have gas.

 

[Designer]

And what is wrong with printing on one's home printer?

I've printed a fair number on "98 white" paper which I figured is o.k. for my own wall.

 

[sashbar]

That is very sensible. Sure I will remind you of this post.

But buying new gear is actually not always stupid even if your photography is stalling. I think sometimes a new lense or a new camera gives you new ideas or open new opportunities or just ejects some new enthusiasm.

So even if I have posted a lot about the idiocy of upgrading gear just for the sake of it, in reality I think it is not that bad, if it does not hurt your family budget.

When it comes to prints - it is even worse with me. I have printed properly three images for my friends as a gift in the last three years. But when it comes to my home - when I bought a DSLR, some years ago, next week I went and bought a set of seven frames. Quickly shot my kids, printed seven photos on my home printer, knowing that soon I will replace these half baked images with the new great ones. You know what, these half baked filler photos are still there on the wall...

 

[sashbar]

And what is wrong with printing on one's home printer?

I've printed a fair number on "98 white" paper which I figured is o.k. for my own wall.

It really depends on a printer, if you saw what my old Epson produces., you would not have asked What makes me really feel ashamed is the fact that right across the street from our supermarket there is a high quality specialised photo printing service.

 

[Designer]

Well, o.k., depending on the printer. Frankly, my printer is not the most expensive ink-jet, and I have it already. I bought quite a number of frames from the local thrift store and painted them. So my printing and framing was fairly cheap.

 

[BillM]

But but but I love buying gear !!!!

Is it ok if I buy twice as much to make up for you not buying any

 

[JustJazzie]

And what is wrong with printing on one's home printer?

I've printed a fair number on "98 white" paper which I figured is o.k. for my own wall.

Actually, come to think of it most of the prints are decent. One though has bleeding bright colors and is obviously off. But there is no way I would print 7 years of prints on my home printer. Ink is waaay too expensive!

 

[JustJazzie]

But but but I love buying gear !!!!

Is it ok if I buy twice as much to make up for you not buying any

Absolutely. And I CAN accept gifts in the mean time. *wink wink*

 

[Zyr55]

I kind of made the same promise to myself before, that every time I lose 5lbs I would buy a camera gear as a reward...To make the story short, I now have a mini collection of camera gears and I'm still overweight.

 

[JustJazzie]

I kind of made the same promise to myself before, that every time I lose 5lbs I would buy a camera gear as a reward...To make the story short, I now have a mini collection of camera gears and I'm still overweight.

Ohhh, I do need to loose the five pounds I gained when I broke my ankle. So if I make your resolution and my resolution, can I ethically get new camera gear AND photos printed without breaking my origional resolution? :headscratch:

 

[rexbobcat]

The only reason I buy a ton of gear is because it's not like I have anything else to spend it on. I don't have kids. I don't have a nice car.

I just like accumulating gadgets.

 

[limr]

Jazzie, you might want to keep an eye on AdoramaPix. Every few months, they have a sale on prints - 8x10 for $1 and 11x14 for $2. They just had one so there won't be another one in the immediate future probably, but I just printed 40 pictures for $40 (they arrived today!) and they look really good. (Oh, and I think there's free shipping over $39 - not sure if that was a special or if that's their regular deal.)

I agree that I need to print more photos, but I would also suggest thinking about what you are printing them for as well.