Mark,
I wish photographers starting out would only be allowed to have one
camera with a fixed focal length lens for the first five years. Then
they would be told to go out and see the world. No zooms. No ultra
wide angles. No super telephotos. No 50 frame-per-second bodies.
The only permitted accessories would be a tripod and cable/remote
release. If more photographers did this and spent their time looking
and seeing rather than fiddling with equipment and pining over what
they don't have, they would become better photographers.
I agree that a good photographer can make a good picture with almost
any properly functioning piece of equipment. That's because the most
important elements of a photograph aren't reliant on the gear one
uses--composition, content and the quality of the light. Gimmickry
rarely adds anything, but, rather, detracts from the skills of a good
image maker.
A few years back I did a slide show for a local camera club. I
projected three 80-picture trays which represented 5 or 6 years of my
work as a photojournalist. The only questions I received at the end
of the show were along the lines of "what kind of equipment do you
use?" I promised myself never again would I waste my time doing that.
Cheers,
Rich
On Oct 11, 2008, at 12:51 AM, Mark Blackwell wrote:
Ok I will throw out some stink bait. I am often amazed at how many
people think that they MUST have the latest and greatest new
equipment. They have great stuff but no idea of what to do with
it. Others take junk and excel which begs the question, "Just how
much of a part of the total success is the tool, and how much of it
is the person running the tool?"
I use some old stuff. I have an old Voigtlander that was bought in
the 50s that I still use. I have an old 4x5 view camera that is
probably about that old. Both still work well, with some limitations.
Lenses are another long term investment. Do you upgrade every time
a new lens appears? Who buys used lenses?? How used??? grin Zoom
or primes??? Oh the choices.
Digital with its short life expectancy is a much tougher choice.
It's not a mature industry, at least not yet but it seems to be
getting closer. Not that long ago for what you would spend for a
5D you could get the D30 that was a 3.3 MP and the state of the
art. Each new model does bring improvements, but when is the
improvement enough to justify the new investment? It's not like
the old one quits working. All tough decisions.
Its all part of the overall product. IF money is no object, you
always get new stuff. Still that rarely is the case. So it brings
us back to how much of a great photo is tool, and how much is
between the ears of the person running it?
