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Snap Shots: by Harry Flashman
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Equipment?
There is a trend in photographers to become technocrats and want the very latest
DSLR, with all the bits and pieces that goes with it. Whilst all the
paraphernalia might make the budding photographer feel good, it does not
necessarily mean the photographs will be any better.
A couple of years ago I met two professional photographers here in Pattaya. One
was a travel photographer and the other a photo-journalist. Both well
experienced and successful in their own very different fields. They did have one
thing in common, however. They were using battered old cameras and minimal extra
equipment.
There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that pro shooters get used
to a particular camera. They understand it, know any foibles it may have, know
how close to accurate the light metering system is and any other “funny” bits
associated with it. Dr. Marcus Brookes, the travel photographer, even said, “The
camera is an extension of myself, that’s because I know it so thoroughly.” He
used to use medium format cameras, but discarded them many years ago in favor of
the lighter and very versatile 35 mm cameras. Marcus uses flash fill when
necessary, supplied by a venerable Metz 45 CT1 flash gun. I warmed to Marcus
immediately as I also used a venerable 45 CT1 as well!
The photo-journalist, Gerhard Joren from Sweden, does not even use a flash at
all. I had the opportunity to review some of his work - beautiful black and
white prints all taken with a Nikon FM2 camera, another ancient piece of
equipment. Gerard also only uses one lens, a 28 mm f1.4 - a lovely piece of
large glass.
In response to the question “what was the exposure?” the photo-journalists’
reply used to be “f8 and be there!” Gerard is one of those, and the fully manual
Nikon gives him excellent reliable service.
With all the fancy cameras around, you come to the second reason these two pros
use the older and minimal equipment. The fewer the moving parts, the longer it
lasts and the more reliable it is. When you are photographing camels in the Gobi
desert after tracking them for six days, there is no handy photo shop to sell
you new unobtainium batteries for your Yashicanonblad when the power is too low
to drive the diodes necessary to select the correct program for a “Wide angle,
camels against the setting sun” mode.
All the whizzbang electronic trickery in the new and expensive space age cameras
is just that - trickery! It will not select the correct aperture and shutter
speed any better than you can - and what’s more, You don’t need batteries! All
that it does take is practice and understanding of your camera and associated
equipment. And that gets us back to why these professional photographers who
earn their living from taking pictures have their tried and true, trusty old
friendly camera, with minimal equipment in the bag.
So what do you - an enthusiastic photographer, really need? The equipment
required is a manual DSLR camera with a series of good quality interchangeable
lenses. This will be the start of a camera “system” that can be built on and
enlarged over many years. This will be good quality equipment. There will be no
money left over for wine, women or song.
If you want wild life and action sports, then the camera equipment needed here
is almost the same. These pictures are destined for magazines and other
editorial work. Whether you want to take photos of charging rhinos or Valentino
Rossi on his F1 motoGP bike, the needs are the same. You will need a 35 mm DSLR
with very fast shutter speed and capable of carrying a 600 mm telephoto lens.
For this type of photography it is a case of bringing the action close to you -
not taking yourself close to the action! The lens will be more expensive than
the camera. You will need to meet a rich widow if you want any wine, woman or
song. You have just blown a year’s wages on the photogear!
Remember equipment does not make you a photographer. Practice, practice,
practice does. Remember that memory cards are the cheapest thing in photography.
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