The article essentially runs through the feelings that I am sure are very common, of bringing a new SLR or lens home, running to the backyard and taking some photos, and quickly seeing they look no better than what you used to take on an old point and shoot, or even your camera phone!
Below is a great extract from the article, but I suggest anyone interested reads it in full:
The point? Well sometimes we focus too much on the gear – the latest bodies, lenses, accessories, but the reality is that often it doesn’t actually improve our photographs. Our camera isn’t a superhero – it is simply a box that records light.
It is us that determines what that light looks like and ultimately that is what makes great images. So next time you find yourself in a camera shop looking at new equipment ask yourself realistically ‘how specifically will this help me to create better images?’ If you can pragmatically answer then go ahead and knock yourself out, bu t if you can’t then perhaps it’s time to practice more with what you have instead of buying something new.Learn and practice the basic principles of photography because they will serve you well no matter what equipment you have. Remember many of the great photographers shot fantastic images with cameras most of us wouldn’t even look at today. Make yourself the superhero, not the camera.
Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/why-your-camera-isnt-a-superhero#ixzz2PIqdySg8
Reading the above got me thinking about how recently, although I have an SLR, I have been taking a lot more pictures using my phone, and have been remarkably satisfied with the results. It is not that I do not prefer using my SLR, but it is that my phone is always with me so I have it with me at opportunities when sometimes an SLR is not possible.
At the end of the day, a good camera will help, making it easier to capture fast moving object or low light scenes, but composition will always be the key to a great shot, and that can 100% be achieved by a camera phone. Chuck in handful of great apps for digital editing on the fly (my favourite being Snapseed) and you really have no reason not to be able to create great shots with or without your SLR.
A few recent example of my phone photography are below. The top photo is taken in Canberra, Australia with the remaining pics taken on a recent holiday to the USA.
Wow, where was the Canberra shot taken? The problem with my SLR is that 99% of the time I don't have it on me, but I always have my phone. To use the SLR it has to either be a special event like a birthday, or I need to purposely go out at sunrise/sunset/after rain etc.
ReplyDeleteThe canberra shot was taken on a ride around the lake - near the damn wall on lake BG. A local yourself?
DeleteAhh, there's the tower in the background. I think it's a "dam" wall :) Yep, I'm from Canberra too.
Deletedamn... i got that wrong.
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