Everyone, with a very few exceptions, has this problem. I never had the right gear. I constantly feel that I am missing the opportunity to create great photographs because I do not have the right gear. Frustrating!
1-I do not have a 600mm lens with teleconverters, so I missed many excellent bird photographs.
2-I do not have a sturdy tripod with Gimbal head, so my shots were not tack sharp.
3-I do not have a D3, so I could not take a decent shot in low light.
4-I do not have a SB900 with Better Beamer, so my backlit birds are dark. I do not have enough lights, so I could not take a beautiful picture in outdoor locations.
5-I do not have a PcketWizard, so I could not light the outdoor shots the way I wanted.
6-I do not have a good Graduated ND filter, so my landscapes are not good.
And I am not making enough money to buy all I need. The list is endless. The more I read about all the photographic gear out there and the more I see the images of the top class photographers, the more frustrated I become. With all these limitations, how am I going to realize my true potential? Sounds familiar with this testimonial?
Until, I discovered that I am not realizing my potential anyway, with the right gear or not. Am I realizing my potential with whatever I already have? It was difficult to accept, but the answer was a big no. Also, I will not be able to buy all those missing things in the near future. THE DAY WILL COME. Till then, I am have to create my best photographs with what I have. Now, the question is how I am going to make it happen.
I decided to begin with my limitations. When I looked hard, it stuck me that most of my learnings were more gear centric and less on techniques.So I decided to focus more on the technique. As a first step, I stopped reading anything about the gear which I do not have. What is the point? I don’t have them anyway. I started reading more about the techniques and started practicing them. I soon realized that lack of gear can be compensated with right technique in most of the situations. Of course, not all, but most.
I do believe that you gear will take you some of the way, and better equipment will carry you a little further along the road, but ultimately you ( and I ) have to make up the rest of the requirements that make a shot great, or good or even acceptable.
Great gear does not mean a great shot, it simple means a better tool to do the job. In Simple terms a high class hammer and a cheap hammer both hit the nail, the high class hammer will probably just last longer and make sinking the nail a little easier, but ultimately I have to know how to hit the nail and the more nails I hit the better I get.
A good photographer never blames his gear. Just as a good mechanic never blames his tools.Often is not about the photography equipment’s..its about the passion for photography.
Same old me..Sistem P.A.Y.A ( PAKAI APA YANG ADA ) Have fun with what you already have dude!!
