Nature's Pencil: Equipment
"The camera is for us a tool, not a pretty mechanical toy. In the precise functioning of the mechanical object perhaps there is an unconscious compensation for the anxieties and uncertainties of daily endeavor. In any case people think far too much about techniques and not enough about seeing. It is enough if a photographer feels at ease with his camera, and if it is appropriate to the job which he wants it to do." [Cartier-Bresson. The Decisive Moment, 1952]
It is not the camera that counts, it is the photographer!
Better photographers than I have said it, but there is no harm in repeating it:
Cameras do not make great photographs - photographers do.
Of course you can buy and use whatever makes you happy. There is nothing wrong with using top-of-the-range equipment. Well designed equipment is a joy to use, well made equipment is reliable and long-lasting, and specialised equipment makes some shots possible that you could not get without it. Just don't think that any of it will automatically make you a better photographer. Only a passion for your subject and dedication to the art will do that.
What really matters
More important than the equipment we use is knowing enough about our subjects to be able show them in a way that interests others, then being objectively critical about the results we get. Of course when we compare our own results with those of our heroes it is easy to get discouraged, but it is an unfair comparison. We are aware of every photograph that we ourselves make, but see only the best work of the big names. I am lucky if I get more than one good shot per roll of film, and I suspect that many very famous photographers do no better.
How to develop a great body of work
So one obvious way to improve your body of work (and enhance your reputation!) is to be ruthlessly selective in what you let other people see. You may not be able to bring yourself to actually throw away your less-than-stunning images. In any case that might not be wise. By the time they are 50 years old they could be valuable historical records. So label them with date and place, stash them away, and review them every 10 years or so. But only let others see the really good stuff, that you can feel proud of. As you improve some of the "good stuff" will get relegated to "historical interest only", but your overall body of quality work ought to improve.
Here is how:
- On your next outing or holiday make hundreds of shots, the best you know how (this may be psychologically easier with digital capture than with film)
- Discard anything blurred, with blocked-up shadows, or burnt-out highlights
- Discard anything with clutter or distracting elements that you didn't notice at the time
- Discard weak images - anything completely lacking the "Wow Factor"
- Pick out the 40 strongest shots from what is left
- Fine tune the brightness, and contrast, and sharpen slightly if necessary, using your favourite photo-editing package
- Write them to CD as highest quality jpegs
- Drop the CD off at your local dev/print shop and get them printed up to 6"x4" or 5"x7"
- Next time you have visitors casually pass the prints round as your "holiday snaps" and Enjoy watching the jaws drop!