I started this blog with the intention of not discussing gear too much and concentrate more on the concepts and philosophy of photographic. However sometimes its hard to separate the process from the equipment. I have come to a recognition that the gear influences the photograph. Not so much by its specification, but on the influence it has on the photographer.
My first digital camera was a Canon Powershot A75. It was a 4 megapixel point and shoot with a viewfinder. I remember buying it in order to take more pictures of the kids. It performed this task admirably. Until yesterday it was still working fine, and was used regularly by my 8yr old son to make movies of his toys and photograph the cat. The sensor has gone and now every picture is blown out or comes out in weird magenta.
It performed admirably, but as my photography progressed its limitations became problematic. I purchased a Nikon D80 digital slr camera. It allowed me to take pictures with out of focus backgrounds and make enlargements without pixelation. I learned more about photography: by practice, joining a camera club and reading up on theory. I took technically better pictures. However something unexpected happened, I took less and less pictures of the kids.
This trajectory continued, with different cameras and lenses in between. The most significant being a Leica M6 film camera. Recently I took a step back and re-evaluated what I am looking for in photography, which led me to sell my Nikon D700 and lenses and to buy a Leica M8.
Since acquiring the camera it has come along everywhere in my jacket pocket. Over the weekend I found myself taking lots of pictures, especially of the kids.
I think with the dSLR photographing turned into a planned concious activity. I would go out, rucksack on back, to photograph. With the Leica, I just put the camera in my pocket, just in case I see something I would like to photograph. It sounds insignificant, but in practice it's a world of difference.
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