MikeT9

Why all this prattle about equipment and people’s abilities. Why not worry about what you have and what you can do rather than other people’s equipment and abilities. For most people it’s a hobby they enjoy and no different from other hobbies, for some it’s a profession. It’s their money and their decision how they spend it and I certainly don’t need anybody telling me whether I’ve made, in their opinion, the right decision on what I’ve bought.

markmmmm

Wonderful Quote! I have been guilty but recently broke the habit. (I think)

jwest Loc: South Dakota

I agree with all of the comments in this thread. Unusual, but they are spot on. I was in the technology world and there we found that most users master about 10-30% of the capabilities of their hardware and software. Super users about 50-60%. The rare individual learned, retained, and used 70-90% over a long period of time. No one ever used everything available to them. Unless something newly available was absolutely necessary people did not like to upgrade once they were comfortable because of the learning curve. The percentages may be different for photography but the basic concept applies.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's part of the fun of photography, or any hobby. Look at the thousands of posts on UHH. This is fun!

abscess Loc: Marblehead, Ma. And winter in Naples, Fl

7 years ago I bought a t2i Canon and now I have a 5d mark IV. My 73 year old eyes, like my 73 year old ears, can't see or hear the advances in technology as well as they could have when I was 20...
Unlike my wife, I am not a minimalist. My heart pounds(probably not a good thing at this stage)when I see new technology. So the short answer is I totally agree that it is the eyes and mind of the photographic artist that produces the piece of work. The pleasures of reading, pricing and buying a new, shiny gadget hits my pleasure center the same as when I ,by mistake, produce a picture that captures a moment of time as I saw and photographed it in all it's wondrous subtleties. So sometimes I "think' I am better because of the melding of mind and equipment.
An evasive answer for sure. I'm watching way too many Senate Confirmation Hearings.
This is the best forum anywhere that I read regularly and once in a while contribute(?) a few thoughts too.
BTW I just walked past a photo I have on the wall. I think it is one of the best I have ever produced..It was produced 7 years ago. Enjoying life to the fullest. Wish you all the best, Jim.

BebuLamar

The fact that Edward Weston would be lost with new equipment. He needed time to get the feel of his equipment.
I quote from Wikipedia about what Nancy Newhall said about Edward Weston.

"During the first 20 years of his photography Weston determined all of his exposure settings by estimation based on his previous experiences and the relatively narrow tolerances of the film at that time. He said, "I dislike to figure out time, and find my exposures more accurate when only "felt"."[63] In the late 1930s he acquired a Weston exposure meter and continued to use it as an aid to determine exposures throughout his career.[note 1] Photo historian Nancy Newhall wrote that "Young photographers are confused and amazed when they behold him measuring with his meter every value in the sphere where he intends to work, from the sky to the ground under his feet. He is "feeling the light" and checking his own observations. After which he puts the meter away and does what he thinks. Often he adds up everything ‒ filters, extension, film, speed, and so on ‒ and doubles the computation."[64] Weston, Newhall noted, believed in "massive exposure", which he then compensated for by hand-processing the film in a weak developer solution and individually inspecting each negative as it continued to develop to get the right balance of highlights and shadows.[64]"

With such a fine technique there is no need for new equipment.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Yes, and many decades ago, around six or more.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Nice contribution.

davyboy Loc: Anoka Mn.

I think that’s half the fun of a hobby looking at touching feeling the new camera. Do you need it probably not just fun to play with the new toys

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

"Edward Weston didn't have to worry about technical information on developing, etc.,--
he just asked Adams."

Do be aware that Weston was considerably older than Adams. And did not live to be rather old like Cunningham (93). Weston died in 1958 (age 71). Ansel was only 56 then. He lived to be 82. Yes, Ansel was the "techo-" photographer! Adams and Weston are two of my favorites!

dkguill Loc: Elkhart, IN

Coincidently, this is as true for almost any skill. Being a lifelong professional musician, I can tell you that saxophone players are always biting on the latest mouthpiece, ligature, reed, or saxophone model instead of learning to play what they have well. Change that to any other instrument and it applies. Clarinet mouthpieces, barrels, and bells, trumpet lead pipes, mouthpieces, bore sizes and mutes, etc. The curious fact is that they are searching for greater ease or tone quality or range, you name it. They marvel about how much better, brighter, darker, or responsive their instrument sounds or is with the addition of new equipment. Give them a few hours (if that long) playing the new equipment, and they revert back to the sound they had before because it is their "concept" of sound that leads them to sound in a certain way. Now, return to photography and you are likely to find similar parallels. We have a concept of what a photo should look like and we tend to try to realize that concept with whatever equipment we may have at the time. The one difference in both examples is that new equipment may make it easier to achieve the concept we have, and for that reason it may make sense to try new equipment. It's not that, in most cases, you couldn't achieve the result with your older models, but it may be easier to get there with more capable, faster, higher resolution equipment. Some people just struggle to get the results they want with practice while others prefer to reach for the golden ring to achieve their goals....enter GAS attack!

AlfredU Loc: Mooresville, NC

I sure wish I could have been there. Nice job.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

And how many posting on here have purchased a new piece of equipment within the last year? I know I have, and have really enjoyed most of it. Has it made me a better photographer? In some cases yes and in others no. It is all tools, and tools are designed to help us accomplish a task. They are not what makes us proficient at performing the task. That is where skill learned through experience comes into play. I also do woodworking as a hobby. Talk about GAS! Photography will have a hard time keeping up with the GAS that this hobby creates. After a while you learn to distinguish between the latest and greatest and whether it will help you become better at doing what you are trying to do. Same with photography. With all that said, GAS is a gas! It's fun to have and try new things and see what you can do with them and what they may help you do. So, if your not taking food off the table and can afford that new thing you've had your eye on, I say go for it!

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA