Modern Living – © John Neel

Photography does not need to be an elitist activity. Unlike golf or tennis or other activities, there is no predetermined acceptance based on the cost of equipment, membership or social status.

Photography is a democratic tool. Anyone can practice and nearly anyone can develop the skills.

There is no need to keep up with the Joneses’. You don’t need the best equipment. You don’t need the best techniques or the latest technology.

Photography requires the knowledge of the language of photography. That stated, the only other thing required is a camera of sorts.

Any camera can do the job because the job is about seeing. Seeing is the number one thing you need to do. If you can see and the camera you use can bring the seeing to the viewer, you have done your job as an artist.

Photography is not an argument about camera brands or camera types. It is about what you see and what the camera shows of that vision. You might decide to choose digital, but you might decide to use film if you like. In fact, you don’t really need a lens. A pinhole camera can be a powerful choice for some photographers. There are even some who don’t use cameras at all. As an example you might want to see this: Photography in Virtual Space.

Throughout the world, there are millions of image-makers using any and all types of equipment. Most of them use what they like and what they can afford. Just because there is something new, doesn’t mean you need to have it to create great imagery. Great photographs can be made from nearly anything that can capture an image.

For the most part, it doesn’t really matter what you use. It only make sense that what you use and how you use it supports your vision. The camera is simply a tool used to capture light.

To be a photographer, you need to first learn how to see. Anyone can learn the technical skills. Photographic vision is the key to making great images. However, the act of seeing is the hard part. To become visually proficient, you also need to learn the language of photography.

The camera is simply the mechanism to capture what you see in your view. Once you know how to see, most any camera can likely do the trick. The most expensive camera doesn’t make you a good photographer. Vision is the key that will help.

“I am not interested in shooting new things I am interested to see things new.”- Ernst Haas

“The subject matter is so much more important than the photographer.”- Gordon Parks

“Photography is a strong tool, a propaganda device, and a weapon for the defense of the environment…and therefore for the fostering of a healthy human race and even very likely for its survival.” – Eliot Porter

“If I have any ‘message’ worth giving to a beginner it is that there are no short cuts in photography.” – Edward Weston

“Buying a Nikon doesn’t make you a photographer.  It makes you a Nikon owner.” – Author Unknown

“I tried to keep both arts alive, but the camera won. I found that while the camera does not express the soul, perhaps a photograph can!”-  Ansel Adams

“My last word is that it all depends on what you visualize.”- Ansel Adams

“The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box.” – Henri Cartier Bresson

“No photographer is as good as the simplest camera.” – Edward Steichen

“Silence is, after all, the context for the deepest appreciation of art: the only important evaluations are finally, personal, interior ones.” – Robert Adams

You can read about my book “Rethinking Digital Photography” here. Please have a look at some of my other posts here.

NOTICE of Copyright: THIS POSTING AS WELL AS ALL PHOTOGRAPHS, GALLERY IMAGES, AND ILLUSTRATIONS ARE COPYRIGHT © JOHN NEEL AND ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT FROM THE WRITER, THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR lensgarden.com. THE IDEAS EXPRESSED ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND THE AUTHOR.