I am blessed to live in a time and place with enough financial resources to explore my photography without much hindrence. I often wonder what if I had been born into a third world country with parents unable to encourage me in photography from a young age, where women aren't encouraged to learn and advance, where money was very hard to come by. Would I still have this yearning to shoot? Would I even know what photography is? Where would my desire to create have taken me then?
Lea,
I accept that the financial fluidity of the developed world may bring easiness to explore expensive hobbies such as photography. But, if there is an overriding desire to pursue any hobby, it can be done successfully anywhere including so called "third world countries".
I was born in India (a 3rd world country) in a family that can not be categorized as rich, with successful use of camera since the age of 8-9 yrs. The first camera that I ever saw and used in my life was a 4X5 field camera (originally made to use glass negative plates, but later modified to use film) gifted to my grandfather by a British officer (who then occupied India). That camera was instrumental in starting my (as well as my Dad's when he was young) hobby in photography. Later we ( our family) spent a lot of money, often diverting from non-essential needs, to buy various 35mms including used M3 rangefinder.
The reason I am writing this is that I accept your thoughts that hobbies can be eased by money; I just want to tell from my personal experience that it often is not a limiting factor to continue if there is a will and a vision. Also see following URL (to assert my notion that a vision is more important that affluence)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4205049
