Value of Pride of Ownership?

You can't make a universal statement about every photographer in the universe ... everyone is different.

For me, acquiring something for which I had to work hard is a positive. That's because I (now) give a lot of thought to my acquisitions, the purpose. Since those acquisitions are now more project-based, there's a greater chance of my choice being the right tool for the job, thus improving my work.
 
Pickett Wilson said:
Well, that depends. If the person goes through all of that, shoots the camera for a year, then gets convinced by folks on an internet forum that a completely different system is the path to nirvana, then the whole exercise is pointless. Many people here ping-pong among systems endlessly, even after spending a fortune on one or the other. But they rarely actually take photos.
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I think that last sentence of yours is very far from the truth. I am in constant awe/admiration of many of the photographer's work on this site. There is a high level of talent here with many members displaying personal creative vision.

Infact if I had a choice between viewing member's work here and that other place (photo.net) then I would land here everytime.

Just because people like to discuss cameras and lenses doesn't mean they don't use them. Perhaps you should take the time and peruse members portfolios.
 
When one has a love for an endeavor, one generally finds a way to make it work. Simple fascination, or undisciplined desire won't do it. Tools in and of themselves usually only make it easier. However, I think a certain camera, or tool if you will, might give a person added confidence, which might result in better photos.

There have been some good points made about the comfort of a particular camera. But will that really make you a better photographer?

Maybe we really need to define better?
 
oftheherd said:
There have been some good points made about the comfort of a particular camera. But will that really make you a better photographer?
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By and of itself, not necessarily. But the "distraction quotient" of a confusing or unwieldy camera (however one defines that) goes down, and that's always good.

Maybe we really need to define better?
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Yes, but isn't that always the case? :)


- Barrett
 
Framed a different way, a person wrote, "the (RF) viewfinder was so poor that it discouraged me from taking pictures." This seems to suggest that having a pride of ownership camera (whatever it is for the individual) does have some impact on shooting.
 
The brain is plastic, not fixed. Cultural and physical feedback can actually contribute to physical changes in the brain, through the mind. (The mind and brain are not the same.) So if a tool contributes to a positive experience and feedback, one can actually change and improve.
 
You have to face the fact that 99% of the people who devote an enormous amount of time posting on forums are gear fetishists, and almost exclusively male.

They project their egos and aspirations to the gear they buy and use, they debate endlessly minor points of technical matters, and just like Japanese girls who hang cute animals and charms on their cell phones, they personalize their cameras like totems with accessories, paint jobs, straps, etc etc.

Of course, they must pretend that they are interested in shooting pictures, but this is clearly not the reality, even though they may not realize it themselves. Decorated, "legendary" gear is an end to itself. Hoarding mental facts about gear is the same, like the guys who know every baseball statistic and can recite what happened in every game in the last 100 years. Men like to do it. It's wired into your brains.

Why not embrace the fact that you just like owning esoteric cameras because it reinforces who you want to be? Once in a while you'll get lucky and perhaps take an interesting photo, but drop the pretense and admit you're all little boys with toys. You don't have to be photographers. The ownership of certain cameras lets you maintain the mental construct of who you want to be, not who you really are. The maintenance of a sense of self is hard to do. You need props. You needs objects which reinforce what you think you are and want to be. You'd never leave your house in a polyester leisure suit. You'd never be seen in public with a crummy camera, because you want to feel above the herd. You don't want to be one of them, one of those dopes with a Canon XT DSLR and plastic lens, you want to be special. You want something that makes you superior.

In reality, any name brand modern camera will take perfectly adequate, sharp, well-exposed photos.

OK, some will be more expensive, a bit sharper, what have you, but it doesn't matter. You either have the creative eye or you don't.

If the 50 or 60 year old man wants a Porsche, let him have it to drive to the supermarket. If he wants a Leica and it makes him feel superior, let him have it. If he wants to talk about bokeh or straps all day long, why not.

The man who cannot examine himself and perceive the truth is to be pitied. Deep down, you all know what you are and you aren't, but admitting what you are to yourself is what can put you on anti-depressants.
 
There are a small number of extremely good photographers in the galleries here.

The vast majority are decidedly pedestrian. There's nothing wrong with that, but there are some clear distinctions.


Jaans said:
I think that last sentence of yours is very far from the truth. I am in constant awe/admiration of many of the photographer's work on this site. There is a high level of talent here with many members displaying personal creative vision.

Infact if I had a choice between viewing member's work here and that other place (photo.net) then I would land here everytime.

Just because people like to discuss cameras and lenses doesn't mean they don't use them. Perhaps you should take the time and peruse members portfolios.
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Hector Negron, a guy with brains, you've just earned a place on my buddy list.

Any old fool can spend money on expensive gear. Nothing to be proud about.

edit: I looked it up, Pride is a deadly sin.)
 
Hector - Your entitled to your opinion. Everybody has one, no?

My responses -

* You'd never leave your house in a polyester leisure suit: TRUE

* You'd never be seen in public with a crummy camera: TRUE

* You don't want to be one of those dopes with an evil DSLR and plastic lens: TRUE

* You want to be special: TRUE

* The 50 year old man wants a Porsche: FALSE [Make mine a black paint Ferrari]

* You must always be seen with a gorgeous spice chic hanging off you: TRUE

I dont make excuses for being a real man.
 
Hector Negron said:
They project their egos and aspirations to the gear they buy and use, they debate endlessly minor points of technical matters
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Nah, I think there is some deeper reason for GAS. For a while I collected slide rules. Let me tell you, there's the same attention to minutae that you would find in photography. And slide rules are not a conduit to project my ego! (How could they be? think of it.)

I actually virtualized a bunch if them, you can see them here:
http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/sim/

I bet that GAS is an evolutionary trait. Back in the prehistoric days, there were these guys sitting around with flint arrowheads, discussing the optimal leather with which to knap them, how far an arrowhead from the quarry across the river would fly, the proper diameter of an arrow shaft, etc, etc.

That attention to detail probably was an important survival trait. But now that survival isn't a priority, we can project our GAS onto other things, like cameras, slide rules, etc, etc.
 
That's what I said. It's hard wired.

But the "camera as tool" crowd is NOT the forum crowd, even if they fervently profess that their cameras ARE just tools.

(I like your slide rule site. But that's a bit different from the camera forum psyche)
 
I stil have my Pickett Vector Hyperbolic Dual Exponential Log Log slide rule! Bright yellow painted aluminum in it's wonderful leather case. Damn integrated circuits. Ruined everything.
 
Pickett Wilson said:
I stil have my Pickett Vector Hyperbolic Dual Exponential Log Log slide rule! Bright yellow painted aluminum in it's wonderful leather case. Damn integrated circuits. Ruined everything.
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Did you know that the yellow rule was known as the ES (Eye-Saver) version? The color was designed to optimize readability of the slide rule scales. Here's a diagram explaining the reflectance of the wavelengths of light:

http://sliderule.mraiow.com/wiki/Image:Pickett_N1011_T_eyesaver_ad.jpg
Pickett_N1011_T_eyesaver_ad.jpg


Truly pointless information now that we have calculators... but why did I bother learning it? Like Hector Negron said, it must be hard-wired!
 
Hector Negron said:
You have to face the fact that 99% of the people who devote an enormous amount of time posting on forums are gear fetishists, and almost exclusively male.

They project their egos and aspirations to the gear they buy and use, they debate endlessly minor points of technical matters, and just like Japanese girls who hang cute animals and charms on their cell phones, they personalize their cameras like totems with accessories, paint jobs, straps, etc etc.

Of course, they must pretend that they are interested in shooting pictures, but this is clearly not the reality, even though they may not realize it themselves. Decorated, "legendary" gear is an end to itself. Hoarding mental facts about gear is the same, like the guys who know every baseball statistic and can recite what happened in every game in the last 100 years. Men like to do it. It's wired into your brains.

Why not embrace the fact that you just like owning esoteric cameras because it reinforces who you want to be? Once in a while you'll get lucky and perhaps take an interesting photo, but drop the pretense and admit you're all little boys with toys. You don't have to be photographers. The ownership of certain cameras lets you maintain the mental construct of who you want to be, not who you really are. The maintenance of a sense of self is hard to do. You need props. You needs objects which reinforce what you think you are and want to be. You'd never leave your house in a polyester leisure suit. You'd never be seen in public with a crummy camera, because you want to feel above the herd. You don't want to be one of them, one of those dopes with a Canon XT DSLR and plastic lens, you want to be special. You want something that makes you superior.

In reality, any name brand modern camera will take perfectly adequate, sharp, well-exposed photos.

OK, some will be more expensive, a bit sharper, what have you, but it doesn't matter. You either have the creative eye or you don't.

If the 50 or 60 year old man wants a Porsche, let him have it to drive to the supermarket. If he wants a Leica and it makes him feel superior, let him have it. If he wants to talk about bokeh or straps all day long, why not.

The man who cannot examine himself and perceive the truth is to be pitied. Deep down, you all know what you are and you aren't, but admitting what you are to yourself is what can put you on anti-depressants.
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what a load of crap, jeff.
 
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