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“What we need most today, is to want less.” was said by an Athenian many centuries before the birth of Christ and it is, I suggest still a very sobering thought today. The singer Cheryl Crow echoed the sentiment in a 2002 song “Soak Up the Sun” with: “It’s not getting what you want, it’s wanting what you’ve got.”

With all the talk in the media of a potential economic slowdown, it set me thinking about our consumer society but viewed from the perspective of a 62 year old man and in that context, many of my views will be highly subjective rather than objective because at this age, am I really concerned with the latest ‘must have’ mobile phone, the “right”car, the ‘in-fashion’ clothes label, the places to be seen, the people to be seen with and so on ? In fact if I were, I would be a very sad old chap indeed because I would have learned nothing in my 62 years if I were just a “Dedicated Follower of Fashion”.

In the 20 years since my divorce, my life has been fairly nomadic in terms of where I lived and as a consequence, every time I moved, I had the habit of shedding stuff that was no longer crucial or important to me, the better to travel lighter. I would arrive at a new place with relatively little, a camera, computer, some books a cycle (or two), music tapes/CDs and some clothing however, some 3 years later (roughly), when I moved on, a van is required to shift the stuff that has accumulated again and another round of pruning is required, just how does that happen ?

A Camera Started it…

Being January, there are sales and I get a fair number of e-mails from businesses I have bought from previously and the other morning one came from a company that sells photographic equipment. Right now I don’t need anything but as photography is a passion, I browsed the offers amongst which was a stunning one for an Olympus digital SLR and a couple of lenses which at £250 was less than half price. In fact, it was such a good deal that under other financial circumstances such as having spare cash, might I have bought it ?

To have done so would have been illogical because my digital SLR is made by Canon and I have 5 lenses for it that are incompatible with the Olympus body and lenses cost more than camera bodies quite often. Also, I already have 3 cameras, each different capable and/or appropriate for different kinds of shooting situations so, I have no need of another camera right now but for me it illustrated just how we can end up with so much junk cluttering up our lives that we just don’t need.

A View on Value…

I am prepared to pay above average money for the things that I want but only if I can see that I will get good use out of whatever it is. So as an example whilst most people would not want to pay more than say £300 for a bicycle, I have on more than one occasion been happy to spend far more than £1,000 on the cycle I want simply because I know it will get used because I ride one of my bikes every day.

But on the other hand, a couple of years back, I was discussing with my Pops the fact that I needed a chain-saw to deal with a lot of overgrown trees and shrubs in the garden. We talked about buying one but in the end, I bought a heavy duty electric saw instead even though it was not quite as good for doing the immediate jobs. My reasoning was simple, my use for a chain-saw was limited and after a couple of weeks, it would no longer have a function and just sit in the garage for the next 10 years unused, in comparison the electric saw has proved highly useful and frequently used on many jobs, it sure beats a hand saw.

Constant Effort Matters More than Kit

Whilst of necessity since the summer of 2004 when I moved down to Somerset to look after my Parents, my life has been restricted in the sense of my not being able to just swan off on a junket with some mates at the drop of a hat. However that has not been a great problem because in striving to keep myself “technically current ” in IT and intellectually stimulated, I have focused (unintended pun that one), on photography and discovered what is most likely, an ancient truth in that by having a restricted palette and limited choice, you can concentrate on the fundamentals and create better work. Do we succeed in what we try to do in life “because of…” or, “in spite of…” our circumstances ?

A close friend phoned me and asked me how I was doing because she is aware of my “creative ambitions”. As I told her, I have all the cameras, computers, software, printers and books that I need to help me achieve my goals, all it takes is for me to keep learning and experimenting by taking and processing images until I start to see the type of results I am aiming for.

In simple terms, you can’t buy time, you have to put the time in to master the craft as you develop the art and the most expensive camera with the most exquisite lens ever made will never turn an idiot into a great photographer. And whilst practise with your camera may well make you a technically flawless photographer, it will not give you a creative ability that you just don’t possess within your heart and soul or, the eye to see a picture before you take it or, even put the camera to your eye, the important things in life just can’t be charged to a credit card.

And Tomorrow…

My Mother is 87, is not in great shape so in time and sooner rather than later, will be gone and I will need to return to work although doing what and where, I don’t know however and providing I didn’t need one for a daily commute, I would get rid of the car and replace it with a good quality folding bike like a Brompton that I could take on public transport and the why I hope, fits into the above themes.

When I came to Somerset, I had given my car away because I was going to take over my Father’s Honda Civic which he never drove again after meeting me at the Coach Station that June. That car will be 6 years old come May, only have around 24,000 miles on the clock and will motor on for years more but whilst important to have with my Mum alive, once she has gone, if I’m not going to be fit enough to ride a bicycle, I sure as heck aren’t fit enough to drive a car ! In simple terms by myself, I would consider that the car lacks value because its not being used enough to justify itself in being another ‘material thing’ to worry about – life is just too short to waste on cluttering it up with too much stuff.