gear
Living It
The best camera is already always with you. The best sensor is your brain. The best lens is your eyes. If you don’t take the time to live, see and experience before you photograph, you’ll always be a cover band. Your goals will move match the experiences of
Carpenters Who Work Every Day With Their Craft
> “Carpenters who work every day with their craft don’t get magazines about hammers.” — Marco Arment [http://5by5.tv/buildanalyze/65]
A Truce for DSLRs
DSLRs are not the enemy. Surrendering creativity for automation is the enemy. Looking for features instead of benefits is the enemy. Not doing the work is the enemy.
When Pros Attack
I got the feeling there was a coordinated attack on Lesser Photography this week. It started with a poorly researched article on Yahoo, More Americans Becoming Serious Photographers [http://news.yahoo.com/more-americans-becoming-serious-photographers-193239546.html] , which equated buying more lenses with becoming a more serious photographer. It was parroted [http://www.
Photographers and Phashionistas
Here’s to the Phashionistas: * to the ones who wear a camera to compliment their scarves and skinny jeans * to the ones who agonize over the number of compartments in their bags * to the ones who wouldn’t be caught dead with black lenses on their Canons * to the ones
We Need New Specs
Speed shouldn’t just be measured in the 100ths of seconds it takes to expose an image, but in the time it takes to get your camera out and capture the moment. Exposure shouldn’t just be measured in a histogram. It should be evaluated in the ease by which
Go Ahead and Buy Expensive Gear
Constraints breed creativity. But what if the constraint that happens to bring out your creativity is a film camera? A $4500 film camera? That’s what happened to street photographer Eric Kim [http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2012/04/why-digital-is-dead-for-me-in-street-photography/] . He knew film gave him a creative edge over digital. That
Specializing in Mediocrity
The latest excuse I’ve heard from “advanced amateurs” to justify buying expensive equipment and ignoring creativity is “I specialize.” Wow! Just like a pro (only without those pesky clients and market forces). I understand the attraction of confining yourself to a niche of photographing dung beetles or retro bottle
Priorities
If you know the difference between the Canon 5D Mark III and the Nikon D4, and you’re not a pro…what exactly do you consider a good use of your time? OK, that was a bit harsh. But when I was a spec monkey, it never occurred to me
Everyone with a camera thinks they're a photographer
Right?! Well, what if they are? What if how you measure skill and success in photography is of no importance to the majority of photographers, or viewers for that matter? What if it has nothing to do with money earned, equipment used or the set of rules we’ve all