A fictional parable by Peter Pickering.
Grasshopper (lugging an enormous camera bag)
Sensei! I bring the 35, the 50, the 85, the 105, the tilt-shift, the wide, the ultra-wide, the fish, the macro, and… the pancake!
I am prepared for anything!
Sensei (carrying one old Leica with a 50mm)
Yet prepared for nothing.
Grasshopper (panting)
But what if I miss the perfect shot?
Sensei
What if the perfect shot walks past…
…while your head is in your bag?
Sensei sits on a bench. A bird lands. A woman laughs. A moment happens.
Click.
Grasshopper still fumbling for the right lens.
Click.
Sensei smiles.
Sensei
It is better to know one lens like a friend
than to carry many like strangers.
Too many choices dull the eye.
Too much weight slows the soul.
Moral of the Scroll:
The decisive moment waits for no lens cap.
Come, Grasshopper. Ditch the bag.
Keep one lens.
And sharpen your mind instead.
