Photo gear from an earlier time: the great Ansel Adams (left) and the historic Mammoth Camera (right).
| So why even have a Gear Page?
Many photographers say “It’s the photographer, not the camera”. The corollary of that is, “A great photographer can make a great photo with any camera”. But photographers who say that almost always have very expensive and careful chosen cameras and lenses. What that says is that our photo gear matters, and is probably more important than we like to admit. I think we should give credit to photo gear manufacturers (hardware & software) and their engineers for making some amazing tools that help us make pictures. In many ways, they are the invisible partners in a photographer’s work. Photography is a kind of automated drawing and, as such, the gear is integral to the process: it makes the physical drawing. And that by itself is a great ability. Different cameras and lenses draw in different ways. To master them, we have to learn those differences. However, despite their mechanical nature, photographs are still the photographer’s expression. They reveal the photographer’s way of seeing the world. And here is where the “gear doesn’t matter” theory is partly true. I’ve found that no matter what gear I use, I still see the world in the same way. This affects what I photograph, where I stand, how I compose, which moments I choose, and so on. Each item of photo gear is just a different “pencil” or “brush” for “drawing” the picture. Even if I were literally drawing or painting, I would still be expressing the same way of seeing. In a sense, the most important “part” of the camera is in the photographer’s head. That is where the photograph is mentally created before it is physically created. The camera and related photo gear stand between the photographer and the photograph; they are the tools for bringing the concept to its expression. Given this intimate relationship, it is not surprising that many photographers are very particular about their photo gear. That said, I think I can offer a gear page without promoting the idea that a good camera necessarily produces good photos. A good camera can produce as many bad photos as any other! |
Photo Gear I Like Follow the active links to pages with additional comments and sample photos. Canon 5D Mark II cameras I’ll be updating this list from time to time as I make changes. Thanks for stopping by! See my camera bag ready for an event in this linked post from early 2010. |
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