I’m a big fan of used stuff. I love craigslist. I enjoy rooting through used books, looking for that “find.” I’ve “rescued” discarded furniture off San Francisco sidewalks, declaring to Marcia, “I could stain it!”, and then proceed to spend hours and hours sanding, staining, and refinishing it. There’s something so invigorating, so refreshing about taking something that still has life left in it and extending its use. Of the several camera lenses I’ve purchased over the years, almost all of them have been purchased used – eBay, craigslist, photography forum, you name it. Some of them are beat up, but still produce great images at a fraction of the cost of new. We’re talking a 50% or more savings in most cases. Just this last week, I picked up one of Nikon’s classic manual focus lenses from the 80s, a 105mm f/2.5 AIS, lauded as legendary by many photo geeks. Steve McCurry used it a lot to produce many of his iconic National Geographic portraits. It’s taken a few licks in its life (a decade or two or three, probably), but I think it’s still got a lot of life left in it.
I think there’s a lot of virtue in the “reuse” prong of the three R’s trio – reduce, reuse, recycle. It’s a value of mine that I think feeds directly into an ethos of sustainability and long-term viability. When there’s a chance to buy something used instead of new, I typically go for it. Here’s a couple shots from my test run yesterday. By the way, that shirt with the stripes on little m? Marcia made it, crafted from scraps harvested from a shirt purchased at our local Salvation Army Store. Used stuff is cool.
little m on a bench (San Francisco, CA). Nikon D200, 105mm f/2.5, 1/350s, f/2.5, ISO 200.
The 2 Clement (San Francisco, CA). Nikon D200, 105mm f/2.5, 1/2500s, f/2.5, ISO 100.
