The following was left as a comment on a previous post by one of our readers – Angelino Pan y Vino (no link given). I thought it was a great story and one that might encourage readers who might feel they have lower quality cameras and gear.
Image by colodio
“Saying a camera takes nice pictures is like saying a guitar plays nice melodies.”
You may quote me on that.
This goes to both amateur photographers, who don’t have top-notch equipment, as well as those ‘professional’ photographers, who like to compensate in gear what they lack in skill (ie: buying 10+ studio lights, 4-5 different cameras, with countless lenses and props).
You can spend all your money in professional equipment, but if you don’t have the skill to use it, it’s pretty much worthless. Likewise, even if your equipment isn’t top notch, you can still accomplish wonderful things, as long as you know what it is capable of.
The Dominican photographer Wilfredo García, when going on photography trips with his students, and clubs, always came back with the best picture. He was known for having a huge collection of cameras, going well over a hundred.
During one of these trips, a student challenged him, saying he would obviously bring back the best photograph, as he had the fanciest cameras. He replied “So why don’t you choose a camera for me, for the next trip?”
He went with a disposable film camera, and still bought back the best picture.
As long as you know the limitations of your equipment, and how to overcome them, it is possible to take gorgeous photographs, even if you don’t have a fortune to spend on your gear.
Note from Darren: I‘m interested to hear your thoughts on Angelino’s comments! While I’m someone who has spent his fair share of money on different photography gear – I’m amazed how often I come back to the most basic lenses when taking my best shots. What do you think?
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