You should care less about your camera? Try using out-dated technology. Try needing 6.3 MP files, but your 2002 SONY camera has only 5 MP. And besides that, your SONY 's battery charger is putting out 2.0 Volts, not the 4.2 Volts needed to charge the battery. So you need a new charger, and your old SONY is dead until then. Then, like me, you try to use a dinosaur Canon EOS 620, film, and you are aware that you have wasted a LOT of film, making obvious mistakes, and all of the sudden you have 5 rolls of film needing to be developed, and it really isn't worthwhile to spend the money.

You should care less about your camera? Try using out-dated technology. Try needing 6.3 MP files, but your 2002 SONY camera has only 5 MP. And besides that, your SONY 's battery charger is putting out 2.0 Volts, not the 4.2 Volts needed to charge the battery. So you need a new charger, and your old SONY is dead until then. Then, like me, you try to use a dinosaur Canon EOS 620, film, and you are aware that you have wasted a LOT of film, making obvious mistakes, and all of the sudden you have 5 rolls of film needing to be developed, and it really isn't worthwhile to spend the money.

I play the piano. A hand-made concert grand won’t allow me to play Chopin, Bach, or Beethoven pieces if I haven’t put in the hours and hours of practice required to memorize and play those pieces. Also, I really hate practicing on a poorly regulated out of tune junky old upright. I purchased a piano years ago that is a pleasure to play and I will not outgrow and need to upgrade. I can certainly learn photography with my old Rebel XT. Heck, photographers have taken award winning photographs with toy cameras! I won’t learn photography and dramatically improve by buying a Hasselblad that costs 100,000+, but I want a camera that I can really enjoy learning with and taking thousands and thousands of photographs with. Buying a Porsche doesn’t make me a better driver (darn it) but I’m sure glad I’m not still stuck driving my old crappy ‘78 Chevy strippo truck with no AC on its last legs.

The following is off an email from Chris O'Donnell at Creative Raw titled Why you should care less about your camera, not so sure the title is accurate as I believe the equipment we use is a very important part of our process but it kind of puts our craft into perspective I think. What are your thoughts.

When it comes to choosing your photography gear for landscapes, many photographers are presented with a huge question:

Does it REALLY matter what kind of equipment I use?

...or can a true photographer create beautiful landscapes without pro-quality cameras and thousand dollar lenses?

Here's the problem: Some photographers believe that you need high-end gear to create outstanding landscape images.

And others think the opposite: that gear doesn’t matter, and only raw talent will give you those highly coveted photos…and with that, more attention directed to your work.

…and the rest know that there’s a delicate balance between the two.

This balance is what I want to focus on...because this is the right mindset to have.

For example....if you take an award-winning photo with $8,000 worth of gear…many will just give the expensive gear all of the credit and dismiss the talent that you, the photographer, invested.

In actuality, the high-end camera didn’t capture your photo....you did. There's an overlooked link between your gear and your photo.....and that is your creativity and your ideas.

It’s a simple concept – acknowledging that the photographer is responsible for the photo he creates – but so many ignore it and begin to over-analyze their own work.

Photographers will sometimes not give themselves enough credit where credit is due; that they are the talent and creative force behind each photo....which is worth much more than any camera or lens.

Yes, you do need to have specific gear to take a certain type of landscape, but that doesn’t guarantee that it will be an outstanding photo. There needs to be both creative talent and technical knowledge to get the photo you want.

You can’t skip this step and buy a truckload of equipment and expect outstanding images….and then get frustrated when your photos look no different than the ones you took with your iPhone.

The missing piece – the fuel behind all of your photographs – is your talent. Without that, your camera is absolutely useless, no matter what the price tag is.

So let’s get back to the main issue here: how do I strengthen my talent and develop my skills so I can easily create outstanding photographs?

Camera, lenses and photo gear are simply tools. There still needs to be a creative force (you) behind the camera to produce the images you want.

It’s the most important symbiotic relationship in landscape photography: the tools and the photographer.

And creative knowledge through expert education is the driving force behind this relationship.

In order to improve your talent and strengthen your creativity, you need to flex those muscles often through education. Otherwise, your craft will become stagnant and unfulfilling....churning out repetative images that fail to excite and inspire you as they once did.
I consume photography education like candy. I LOVE to learn new techniques, and it's GREAT to never get that "plateau" feeling where you don't know what to do next.

Instead, I'm constantly inspired to get out and try something new in the field or with my processing....with the goal to create an image even BETTER than my last.

It's the best feeling, and I never lose it.