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01/24/2013 03:21:43 AM · #1 |
The other day I was thinking how it still seems at times that my shots that I took toward the end of 6 years with my old Rebel/300D are better than the ones I am taking now with my 5D2, and then I saw this quote by Edward Weston:
Originally posted by Edward Weston:
The fact is that relatively few photographers ever master their medium. Instead they allow the medium to master them and go on an endless squirrel cage chase from new lens to new paper to new developer to new gadget, never staying with one piece of equipment long enough to learn its full capacities, becoming lost in a maze of technical information that is of little or no use since they don't know what to do with it. |
I don't know that I would say that I don't know what to do with the newer camera but I am certainly guilty of thinking better gear would make me a better photog. |
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01/24/2013 04:45:55 AM · #2 |
| I have regretted selling my 18-270 Tamron. I must have had a superior specimen as it was sharper than I thought it was. And my 15-85 was very good too. I am now on the New Year resolution of "no new gear". So far so good. I just wish I could rediscover the excitement and the fun of being a "newbie" with a Rebel and just one lens. |
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01/24/2013 06:31:46 AM · #3 |
when you hang your success on your equipment, you are at risk of becoming more of an equipment owner than a photographer; you open yourself up to being told (possibly deservedly) that your camera takes nice pictures.
don't just possess your equipment - own your equipment!
give it the love and attention any relationship requires to flourish. some days, leave it all at home. if you really are in love, you'll find yourself looking around, longingly missing what's not at hand. you'll be looking for the light, composing, cropping with your hands, wistfully kicking yourself for what you're not going to be bringing home. and then you'll know.
but the next time you head out, do not rush out the door with everything you own in a blind effort to make it up to all your neglected pieces. no, instead, select one, and one alone. choose one, mount it, and head out. of course, you'll miss the images your gear is incapable of capturing, but move past that and focus on what you can capture. push this singular combination of body and glass to its limits, to your limits. come to know exactly what it and you are capable of. and when you are done, you'll know why it deserves a place in your bag. or, you might find that it's best to part ways. either way, though, it will be a mutual decision, based on shared experience.
repeat this which each piece of equipment you have until you are comfortable in your knowledge and in your relationships with your gear. as painful as it may be, separate yourself from those that don't bring it home. if given the opportunity, they can find a caring, loving home - and that's no reflection on you. not every relationship is meant to be, no matter what brought the two of you together in the first place.
and that is the issue: what brought you together? did you simply rush into the relationship because everyone else was doing the same thing? did you buy into it because of the dizzying language? were you trying to mask some sense of inadequacy? unless you knew going in exactly what problem this tool was meant to solve, and if you were expecting it to do more than what it was intended to do, your relationship was probably doomed from the start. do not take these things lightly. what might work for others isn't necessarily right for you. take your time, research, and then borrow or rent before committing. some relationships work out better if you can get hands on first, getting a feel for what you're getting, rather than waking up surprised and disappointed. |
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01/24/2013 06:48:13 AM · #4 |
| good food for thought there Skip, I was watching Zack Arias talk about this and he said rpughly the same thing you just did, he talked about using one lens exclusively, until you get to the point where you know what the scene will look like before you even get the camera to your eye. |
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01/24/2013 09:37:39 AM · #5 |
Refer to Gearfaggotry in Stages of a photographer..
It's not the love of gear that's really the problem, it's the love of gear without understanding what the gear can do for the quality of your results.
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01/24/2013 09:59:03 AM · #6 |
Important discussion. Skip's comments are very good.
I've had my set of equipment for six years. Still works great. I've taken good care of all. I know the camera body and lenses so well, I can hit switches or buttons accurately in the dark, or at least i don't need to fumble around. I know what the camera and lenses are capable of doing. I know how to use what I have to capture the light I see.
I have a friend in town who has now switched camera bodies three times in the past 6 years. He went from Canon 5D to Canon 5D MkII and just recently to Nikon 800 (something or other), which involved a glass exchange. I've seen his most recent results. Not any evidence of a quantum leap, or even "progress". He's churning through equipment searching for better images, when he may have reached some kind of photographer's "Peter Principle". |
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01/24/2013 10:41:50 AM · #7 |
The similar mode of thinking transcends over to many other things in life.
I see it all the time in the fishing world.
People try to replace equipment and technology with TIME.
Seems the same holds true in photography as well.
We even have our cat & flower people on the fishing side as well.
The 1 trick ponies. They only fish for 1 species of fish all the time.
Don't get me wrong technology does help but it can't replace time. |
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01/24/2013 11:08:13 AM · #8 |
Shooting with a single lens is what I mostly do. I don't even carry my gear in a backpack; I use a Pelican case: 
I'll drive to where I want to shoot, choose a lens, and set off from the car with that. Like Skip says, lots of times I'll see shots I can't accomplish, but on the flip side I'll accomplish shots I'd otherwise not have seen. You get to seeing a different way when you limit your gear. Bit by bit I'm getting to know all of it very well. I'm pretty well set for lenses now, I don't see my lineup changing unless something remarkable (that I can afford) shows up... |
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01/24/2013 11:11:20 AM · #9 |
I think I agree with Weston, with a bit of reserve. Until you reach a certain level of equipment, there is always the frustration of not being able to do things you want to do, or of it being too difficult or uncomfortable to do them. Sometimes you don't know exactly what the problem is, but you know there is a problem. You have to reach a certain comfort / convenience level with your equipment to be able to "settle in".
Each component comes with its own nuances of capability and use - even within the same model. If you keep with the same equipment, you have to experiment and get to know it better if you want to get better results - otherwise, you just keep repeating the same old mistakes over and over again. Could I have gotten better results with my T1i, knowing what I know now? Unquestionably yes. But, at the same time, it took the capability and comfort of the 60D to give me the freedom to explore. |
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01/24/2013 11:56:13 AM · #10 |
Well I don't want to speak directly for Weston, but I think some of what we are implying today is not necessarily what was meant back in the day. I don't think moving from a Rebel to a 5d2 is a big deal, nor the point of his statement. Weston was probably referring more to moving systems: format - 4x5 to 8x10 to 6x6, film type - silver/cyanotype, and implementing different focal lengths before mastering one (could still be applied today). And if I take it in this context I would think he would be against modern day zooms.
However, I think his phrase speaks volumes. It tells us we should examine the equipment we have.
But I don't think it has to do with upgrading equipment per say (at least in the context we use today).
Originally posted by Edward Weston:
The fact is that relatively few photographers ever master their medium. Instead they allow the medium to master them and go on an endless squirrel cage chase from new lens to new paper to new developer to new gadget, never staying with one piece of equipment long enough to learn its full capacities, becoming lost in a maze of technical information that is of little or no use since they don't know what to do with it. |
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01/24/2013 12:39:18 PM · #11 |
Well, crap. I was just going to start a thread about buying a new lens. Now I may just crawl back into my cave. ;)
Screw it. I think I'm gonna start it anyway! |
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01/24/2013 12:44:07 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by MNet:
I just wish I could rediscover the excitement and the fun of being a "newbie" with a Rebel and just one lens. |
That would be hard; I think most Rebels come with a 2 lens kit ;-) |
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01/24/2013 12:54:43 PM · #13 |
"The fact is that relatively few photographers ever master their medium. Instead they allow the medium to master them..."
I think there are some photographers here who have mastered their medium. |
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01/24/2013 01:33:08 PM · #14 |
It is so easy to get caught up in the equipment race without really learning how to use what we have! Years ago, a friend taught me one of the most valuable mantras I've ever heard: need or want.
Technologically speaking, I'm a rather reactive person. I'm usually the last one to jump on a gadget bandwagon because I only get things once I recognize a need in my life/schedule/work. It is the same with my photography equipment. I had my D90 for several years before I even discovered any sort of limitations to it as applied to the evolution in my photography.
It is the same with my lenses - I didn't buy a new lens until I realized that the one I had wasn't achieving the image the way I saw it in my head. These days, as I look at a scene, I'm seeing it the way I want to capture it, and I know exactly which lens I will need to get that. I know how that same scene will look through every lens I have, without ever looking through the viewfinder. I also know the settings which will give me the effect I want.
I have done the "one lens and out the door" excursions, and I have mixed feelings about it. It's an interesting exercise, but I prefer "shooting with purpose". Because I know what I'm going for, and set out to get that specifically, the question of equipment is solved. |
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01/24/2013 01:37:14 PM · #15 |
| We have a saying in golf that says "you can't buy your handicap". Meaning, all the latest greatest fanciest equipment will never replace time and effort. Same can be said with photography, no? |
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01/24/2013 02:42:20 PM · #16 |
I think this is appropriate. It's how I feel anyway. If you can find the original post on his website the comments span the board and are an interesting read. (FYI: people pay me hundreds for pictures taken with my rebel)
--
How to be Creative
Posted by hugh macleod at July 31, 2004 2:36 PM
10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
Meeting a person who wrote a masterpiece on the back of a deli menu would not surprise me. Meeting a person who wrote a masterpiece with a silver Cartier fountain pen on an antique writing table in an airy SoHo loft would SERIOUSLY surprise me.Abraham Lincoln wrote The Gettysberg Address on the back of his paper lunch bag, sitting on a park bench.
James Joyce wrote with a simple pencil and notebook. Somebody else did the typing.
Van Gough never started a painting with more than six colors on his palette.
I draw on the back of wee biz cards. Whatever.
There's no correlation between creativity and equipment ownership. None. Zilch. Nada.
Actually, as the artist gets more into his thing, and as he gets more successful, his number of tools tends to go down. He knows what works for him. Expending mental energy on stuff wastes time. He's a man on a mission. He's got a deadline. He's got some rich client breathing down his neck. The last thing he wants is to spend 3 weeks learning how to use a router drill if he doesn't need to.
A fancy tool just gives the second-rater one more pillar to hide behind.
Which is why there are so many second-rate art directors with state-of-the-art Macintosh computers.
Which is why there are so many hack writers with state-of-the-art laptops.
Which is why there are so many crappy photographers with state-of-the-art digital cameras.
Which is why there are so many unremarkable painters with expensive studios in trendy neighborhoods.
Hiding behind pillars, all of them.
Pillars do not help; they hinder. The more mighty the pillar, the more you end up relying on it psychologically, the more it gets in your way.
And this applies to business, as well.
Which is why there are so many failing businesses with fancy offices.
Which is why there's so many failing businessmen spending a fortune on fancy suits and expensive yacht club memberships.
Again, hiding behind pillars.
Successful people, artists and non-artists alike, are very good at spotting pillars. They're very good at doing without them. Even more importantly, once they've spotted a pillar, they're very good at quickly getting rid of it.
Good pillar management is one of the most valuable talents you can have on the planet. If you have it, I envy you. If you don't, I pity you.
But nobody's perfect. We all have our pillars. We seem to need them. You are never going to live a pillar-free existence. Neither am I.
All we can do is keep asking the question, "Is this a pillar" about every aspect of our business, our craft, our reason for being alive etc and go from there. The more we ask, the better we get at spotting pillars, the more quickly the pillars vanish.
Ask. Keep asking. And then ask again. Stop asking and you're dead.
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01/24/2013 03:09:33 PM · #17 |
WOW that's a long read now I have to put my head on my pillar and take a nap.:P
I do agree. |
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01/24/2013 03:37:52 PM · #18 |
Oh...is the truth of an artist dependent upon the medium?
Threads like this one always confuse me. |
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01/24/2013 03:39:27 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by nygold:
WOW that's a long read now I have to put my head on my pillar and take a nap.:P
I do agree. |
That's going to be a pretty uncomfortable nap!
Another related post: I heard David McAlain speak Tuesday afternoon and it was one of the most inspirational presentations I've ever seen. If you don't know (cause geez I didn't until two days ago)David has worked with some of the big boys including Nat'l Geo, Jockey, Sony. Which means I'm inclined to at least deliberate a moment upon what he says.
He's now involved in a multimedia partnership doing really cool things with DSLR cinematography. I really do have a point here, I swear I'm getting to it. He and his partner go out to shoot these awesome campaigns with as little equipment as possible. Just the two of them and maybe a local or two to assist. He shoots available light. He's got a Red camera and all that jazz ($90k in software to manage that thing!) but one of the coolest videos I've ever seen is "The Calling" shot entirely on the Sony a99. It gave me goosebumps. I teared up. For realz.
He says too much equipment just gets in the way. You end up spending 2 hours setting up lights and shit for a 5 minute shoot. Ok, I don't think he actually said shit.
But go look up that video, Merge Group is his company. Pretty cool stuff. |
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01/24/2013 05:24:41 PM · #20 |
| In the old days, the guy with the most brassed up heavily used F body was likely to be the best shooter. Mostly because he knew his tool so well. However digital cameras are changing so fast, the technology is getting so much better every iteration, that it is worth chasing the new wave. If I can go from 1600 to 102400 iso I will be willing to give up the familiarity I have worked years to attain. |
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01/24/2013 05:54:47 PM · #21 |
I've been thinking about this ... as a lifelong cheapskate frugal person Luddlite� I really only "upgrade" when something essential stops working completely. Trying to enter every challenge here has gotten me to explore the limits of my equipment in many aspects.
When I joined I was using the Olympus D490Z P&S I'd gotten to take family pictures, and a tripod.     
Once I decided to move on to some kind of manual control, I got what seemed the most versatile camera available (Canon S1 IS, replaced with the S3 IS when the first was stolen): FL 36-432mm, minimum focus distance 0" in SuperMacro mode; flip-tilt LCD, etc. The biggest trade-offs are poor high-ISO performance, maximum 15 second exposure, no hot-shoe, no RAW without a firmware hack.
I got the optional lens hood/filter adapter, and over several years have acquired a close-up lens, a graduated ND filter, and a couple of polarizers. I recently picked up a set of stackable close-up lenses at a thrift store, and I have a couple of ultra cheap lenses (Wide-Angle and 2x tele extender) which came along with another used camera I got a few years ago.
I was even able to take advantage of a well-timed vacation trip to capture this time-lapse video of a rare, one-night blooming event, made using the built-in Intervalometer to capture 100 frames, converted to a movie in Premiere.
Pushing the limits:
Thin piece of black foam stretched over (in contact with) the lens, pointed at the sky: 
Federal Mint (downtown San Francisco) shot handheld from Twin Peaks, effective focal length 864mm: 
Taken with the older Canon (S1 IS) camera: 
Variety-Pak (in no particular order):
     
     
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01/24/2013 06:51:35 PM · #22 |
| My artistic vision hasn't really changed much since I won my first ribbon with my D70. But I spend a lot less time cleaning up noise and dust spots. |
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01/24/2013 08:15:28 PM · #23 |
Unfortunately, with me it's the equipment. I can't take a decent picture with a point and shoot. But I think in long lenses, wide open, and the DOF it gives me. When I walk around with the 28-105, I want to cry because of what I've left behind. I can't even figure out how to do street photography with it.
I use my other lenses, but I think in a 100-400 brain. |
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01/24/2013 09:29:30 PM · #24 |
Different for everyone. Tangy's contribution was my ideal. Mostly I have greater affection for than knowledge of my ill assorted equipment, all of which continues to amaze and frustrate me: I haven't learned every last bit. In contrast to Tangy though, I do not work in studio/set up setting, and I am beginning to think that doing so would be a valuable learning experience.
vawendy, you know yourself and your equipment and what it is you do. that is something. |
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01/25/2013 10:59:37 AM · #25 |
Everything in extremes.
I started shooting because there were certain things i thought looked interesting and I felt the need to share, if not the experience, then a glimpse. I've used disposables, polaroids, my "not so smart" phone's less than a megapixel camera, point and shoots, and more recently some dslr gear. My goals have changes since day one, and i go out of my way to look for interesting things to capture.
You can't get around the fact that each bit of equipment has certain things it can do well compared to others. Cell phones are most available but crappiest in terms of quality (this is specific to my current phone camera-hopefully a future smart phone will remedy this) , point and shoots are better and still compact, disposables had their day, polaroids were nice quick shots with a specific feel to them, dslrs are excellent cameras but heavy and make you a more likely crime target.
Your skills don't leave you when you use better equipment. Rather, the equipment sometimes allows you to realize your vision with greater ease. I'd go as far as to say that without specific equipment, you can't realistically take certain types of shots. When you throw profession into the mix, you need your equipment to be your friend, and the better you have given a budget, the more time and attention real estate can be allocated to getting those shots to look like you (and of course the client) want them to...
All that said, the more time you spend with a piece of equipment, the more likely you are to be comfortable with its abilities. I wouldn't be stuck on the idea of using the same equipment to "master" it unless mastering that specific piece of equipment was my goal. Frankly, it takes me about 6 months to a year to use any new gear like an extension. For some people this time is shorter, for others its longer. Maybe the idea of mastery still illudes me, but i imagine that if i need to be able to do something with my camera, I'll either figure out how to do it with my current stuff, or look into what i need to get it done.
Message edited by author 2013-01-25 11:00:25. |
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