The Biggest and Baddest Don’t Always Win
March 16th, 2009 by Rob N
Photographers are gear freaks. They have an inexhaustible curiousity and appetite for the newest technology, the unreleased camera, the fastest lens and the biggest chip. They can spend hours feeding upon specifications, pondering incomprehensible histograms and exposure logarithms, and arguing with whomever will listen about just when a red is in fact orange. Be assure that when the new camera is finally released, every pro and con will be discussed ad nauseum in the forums. The forums serve a purpose. If there is a problem, the forums will root it out and put it on display for all to see.
In the din of excitement and information, we sometimes lose track of what makes a good picture. A few years ago a colleague of ours – Brian Lackey – was in a fishing event that included a photo contest. He is an enthusiastic fisherman, but at that time he was at best a novice photographer. He had an inexpensive point and shoot digital camera. He was a David amongst the Goliaths of SLRs and pro lenses. He submitted a single photo of an eagle just as it had scooped a fish from the river. It is a great shot. He was in the right place at the right time. No doubt the judges reviewed hundreds of technically superior images of men and woman dangling trophy fish, but Brian captured the very essence of what the event was celebrating. He won the first prize.
The moral of this story is that the best and most sophisticated equipment does not necessarily translate into great photos. Brian’s shot was the result of serendipity and good fortune. For the rest of us great photos are the result of patience, composition , imagination
March 28th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
I agree much.
I’ve a son-in-law, with a 4 year old Sony 4MP P72 (?), 3x zoom that he carries everywhere. And he is an avid hunter/fisher/boater/camper-Out of Doors Man.
He’s shown me many, including several 8x10s, that I’d be proud to take credit for- with my $4000+ DSLR and lenses. Two are hanging from my wall.
The only “Trick” is to Be There, With Camera.