talk about photography gear

people get so enamored about their photography equipment that when they meet a fellow photographer, they can talk at length about their canon mark 5d iii or their Nikon d3. it’s not rare to go to photo forums and see the debates between the canon fans and the nikon fans. I personally prefer nikons though I have used in the past, when I was shooting film, a canon ftb and a canon ae1. my love of nikons stems from how their gear looks, their aperture priority mode, and maybe a good dose of marketing. though canon has always had top of the line, nikon somehow managed to position their camera as status symbols with so many great photographers swearing by nikon. so I call this guy but for nearly half an hour it was a litany of effusive talk about photoshop, lightroom, canon cameras and lighting equipment. I have never been that much into gear. of course, if you’re photographer you may have some liking or bond with a particular brand but my point has always been that it’s not the camera that makes the photographer. I’ve always thought that these guys who would tell you how canon is superior to nikon would be hard pressed if shown a photograph to tell you if it were taken by a nikon or a canon. plus, it’s sterile. I really don’t know what you can get out of an hour’s conversation of canon vs nikon, aperture vs lightroom. I don’t use either anyway. I come from a background of film, so I was trained to use as much photography skill that I can pack into producing a very good image right out of the camera. so, to me, the camera is only the extension of my eye. any artist may feel more comfortable using a particular tool rather than another but it’s not like, if you gave jimi hendrix a gibson guitar he would be utterly incapable of playing a note. photography plays by the role of any artform. it’s not the tool but rather how you can use it, what you can do with it.

if you like photography, chime in. my photography can be seen here.