Sometimes it’s good to step back and remind ourselves of the miracles of digital photography, and the power this technology gives us to control the outcome of our work.
Category Archives: Essays
Regrets Leaving Full Frame?
Since July 2015 when I sold all of my full frame camera gear, I’ve had people regularly ask me if I’ve had any regrets leaving full frame cameras behind. The quick answer is an unequivocal “no”. This lengthy article provides a detailed explanation.
Integrated Imaging System
Advancements in photographic technology are making it increasingly important for us to view our camera equipment as part of an integrated imaging system. We need to look well beyond simplistic assessments of cameras, based primarily on sensor size. It is true that the sensor inside a camera is an important component that contributes to its photographic capabilities, but technology brings so much more to the table for us to consider.
Gear Matters
While it is true that a talented photographer can create great images with virtually any camera, it is also true that camera gear matters. There are so many great choices of camera equipment available today that we sometimes forget that there is no such thing as a perfect camera.
Paid Article Placements
Over the past number of weeks I’ve had a quite a few solicitations for paid article placements. I have no idea if these approaches were from legitimate photographers, or were from scammers, as I ignored all of them.
Buying Criteria Changes
A recent comment from one of our readers (thank you Lewsh!) caused me to ponder if our buying criteria for camera gear is changing, and if so, why. It wasn’t that many years ago that it was reasonably common for photographers (especially enthusiasts) to upgrade their camera bodies frequently. Perhaps not with each new model generation, but many folks would upgrade with every second successive model. That often worked out to a new camera body every 3 years or so depending on the brand.
Uncertainty
There obviously is a lot of uncertainty in the photographic world these days. Depending on what you have read or watched recently, it would be easy to assume that the world as photographers currently define it, is crashing down around us.
Habitual Photography
Staying fresh and challenged with our imaging craft can be difficult at times, and if we are not vigilant we may fall into habitual photography patterns. When that happens our choice of subject matter becomes more limited. We rely on existing methods and approaches. Sometimes we lose our creative spark and photography becomes a chore, not a joy.
Photographic Soul
As a photographer, there is nothing more important than being able to reveal your photographic soul through your images. Sometimes we get caught up in quite meaningless aspects of photography. The amount of money we spend on camera gear. The size of the sensors in our cameras. Our choice of lenses. The software programs we use in post. Comparisons of trivial differences between pieces of kit. While these things may help us create our images, they are not integral parts of our photographic soul.
Camera System Objective
Having a clearly defined camera system objective is critical when buying equipment. The more tightly we define our photographic needs, the more likely we are to select the right combination of components to meet our goals. This is true regardless of the camera format and brand we purchase.