I’m not a collector of many things, but I can understand the impulse. There’s a certain satisfaction in finding all possible instances of a particular item, even if that item is mundane. I think we all have some hard-wired hunter/gatherer impulses that make us want to grab shiny stuff and bring it back to the cave. But my cave is pretty little, and I’ve discovered over the years that for me, the burdens of hoarding the stuff outweigh the benefits.
However, photography, when combined with cheap digital storage, doesn’t have that particular limitation. I can go hunting for whatever item I find interesting without having to pay for it, or explain why I’m dragging it home. In addition, it’s also much easier to examine instances of a particular item in its natural habitat. There’s really no pressure to collect anything because of its value, real or perceived. Anything can tell you something - even if it’s an ordinary traffic cone. It’s just up to us to listen.