Photography – it’s not all about equipment
Peter Phunn (Pixel Pete) is a photographer that I have a lot of time for. The guy is not a photographic snob, and, like all good teachers, genuinely seeks to encourage people new to the hobby. This encouragement is genuine, unlike others who appear to encourage but in reality are just trying to flog their latest ‘how to’ book or sell more expensive camera equipment for the company that they are contracted to.
The not so genuine ones are easy to spot, they will try to give the impression that it is not possible to take good pictures without laying out well over $1000 and that is without the extra faster lenses and and off camera lighting that you have to get before you even consider pushing the shutter.
Peter’s latest piece is a great read, thoroughly recommended for anyone thinking about going into photography and as a reality check for those of us who have been in it for a bit longer and maybe have lost sight of what it is really all about: Clue that 2.8 300mm multi $1,000 lens is not and never has what it’s all about.
The piece talks about eleven common mistakes, I have focused on the one that bugs me the most – the other ten are well worth the read. The take home message is practice, practice, practice then practice some more.
[...] A post about a Pixel Pete post Iphone photography [...]
Pete,
Really enjoy your blog – it’s a breath of fresh air. I’ve done a lot of teaching, mainly art, and can really relate to your outlook on things and really enjoy your inclusive approach.
Remembered reading about the Canon beast some time ago, the only thing that stuck was the image and the price tag. The longest lens I’ve worked with was a 400mm currently nothing above a 300mm and that is more than enough for my uses. I find that the longer efl I use the less walking I do – strange how that works! My wife laughs at my porch photography, i.e. stay where I am an rack up the zoom.
Thanks for taking the time out to respond – your blog and the Strobist are my first two stops re photography.
S.
[...] the important thing in photography being the photographer and not the equipment. This ties in with this post from this morning linking to an excellent article by Pixel Pete about common mistakes by people [...]
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the plug on my blog. I am very touched.
$120,000 for a lens is nuts. I’ve never used one of those. The longest lens I’ve ever used is a 600 mm f4. I foolishly took it to a football game one time when I was rookie.
Vanity, ego and youthful foolishness quickly evaporated after 1 quarter. Lugging that monster became my major preoccupation instead of covering the game. Needless to say, by the 2nd half, that lens was stowed in the trunk. I started the 2nd half with a 300 2.8 with an teleconverter.
Great choice of picture to illustrate your point by the way! That 1200mm f5.6 in the picture is worth more than my house! I wonder how many photographers were eyeing the lens and how many were eyeing the model in the red top!