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Buy something

Wagon wheel in Normandy, France.

Regular readers of my blog know that I'm generally against buying equipment unless it is absolutely essential. There's a lot to be said for keeping things simple and focusing your attention on creativity rather than lugging equipment around and fiddling with it.

Give me any camera, with any lens and I'll come up with a shot that's interesting. It's a bold claim but I have every confidence in following the creative process. Each photographic opportunity can be approached in a million different ways. It's up to the photographer to find their own artistic interpretation with the equipment at their disposal. If my image is not all that it should be then I certainly will not blame the equipment.

Now having said that; buying a new piece of kit can unlock a new creative experience. A good macro lens can open a whole new world to you as a photographer or a reflector panel can inspire you to explore doing different things with light.

So yes. Buy something new. But buy it for the right reasons. Not because it is the latest piece of kit to receive a rave review, or because it's this year's must have accessory. Buy it to stimulate your creative vision, to play with, experiment and learn until you master it and it becomes just another old friend in your camera bag that you can pull out when the time is right.

A new piece of kit can be that fresh ingredient that does far more than just adding something new to a tried and tested formula. It can lead us to come up with a completely new vision. Happy shopping.

Till soon,
Paul

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Ryan said…
"Give me any camera, with any lens"

K, I choose a Horseman 4x5 Woodman Wood Field Camera and a Leica 73mm F1.9 Hektor uncoated lens.

DO IT!
17:22
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