There was a time when I would have answered that question with an unqualified yes. But that was back in the 1980s when I was shooting with an Olympus SLR, the first and probably best camera I’ve ever owned. Sadly it bit the dust when I dropped it on the sidewalk at UCLA. But getting back to whether or not I love photography, let’s look at the facts. I’ve never actually owned a professional camera, or even a semi-professional camera. Wouldn’t someone with an undying passion for snapping pix have a decent SLR? You’d think so, right? Turns out the only thing I have to take pictures with right now is my cellphone. That’s it. Pretty sad. But it’s a fact.
But here’s a dirty little secret: it doesn’t matter what you use. All you need is a good eye for an interesting shot. Nothing more. A good photographer can find a great shot even with the cheapest camera in the world. The above cellphone picture is an example of something that comes close to being eye-catching. I was shopping in Rancho this afternoon and noticed all the snow up in the mountains. I held my cellphone up, careful to frame part of the Borders store, and snap! It looks as if the Borders store is sailing toward the mountains.
A few changes to the site:
- I’ve added a Flickr widget to the sidebar
- I’ve changed the background to a dark pattern
6 responses so far ↓
1 John
// Jan 26, 2008 at 1:31 am
AWESOME example!! It isn’t always the tools; rather how we use them.
2 Lambda_drive
// Feb 4, 2008 at 12:28 am
That’s very true, you can make decent shots with just about anything. The only difference between a simple point and shoot and a high-end SLR, is that the SLR gives you more freedom, than a simple point and shoot. With an SLR you can adjust your settings how ever you want, you can adjust the focus, saturation, sharpness, color balance, etc.
Here’s an article by a great photographer, ken Rockwell. It states that a $150 camera is just as good as a $5000 camera.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/150-vs-5000-dollar-camera.htm
3 Anonymous_t12345
// Feb 12, 2008 at 2:09 am
I really like photography too and i agree with you it doesnt matter what you use to take a good picture. I think sometimes you just have to be at the right place at the right time. And other times you have to know how to capture an interesting shot like what you did in the picture above; you notice the beautiful mountains and you noticed the random borders store and you knew what to do with both of them together. You also have to, like you said have “a good eye for an interesting shot” and notice things that are worth capturing even if it might seem pointless to others. I think sometimes the most randomest things you might come across can be so interesting and beautiful you know its worth taking a picture of; from a borders store sailing towards the mountains, to never ending clouds, to stop signs, to a lonely flower in the grass, or other pointless eye catching things. :] i enjoyed commenting this
4 Zac Efron
// Mar 14, 2008 at 7:39 pm
THERE IS NO PICTURE OF ME, ZAC EFRON, or ANY OF THE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL cast…wat is up with that fasano????? i saw nicole…..HMMPH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5 Mr. Fasano
// Mar 15, 2008 at 11:33 am
I currently have no camera. If I did, I would update my Flickr page.
6 Jarome Hollingsworth
// Sep 2, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Yeah I have been doing photography for quite sometime, about 3 years, and I have always had a perfect eye for what camera I wanted, though I have never recieved the one I wanted, I dealt with what I had and went for it. But mines broke as well, and now I use my cell phone camera. It’s a bad quality camera, and I am barely satified with it. But I don’t complain.
Leave a Comment