I've heard the equivalent a few times...

[andrewducker]

Comments

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Hm.

No, sometimes that is true, though, in practice.

[andrewducker]

The photos of a good photographer, armed with a mediocre camera are, in my experience, generally better the photos of a mediocre photographer armed with a good camera.

(I say this as a mediocre photographer, no matter what I'm holding)

[marrog.livejournal.com]

That is true. However, I can think of at least two mediocre photographers who through taking very, very many pictures with very, very good cameras do eventually get a few good photos out of them.

[andrewducker]

Very true - Even I've managed to take a couple of lovely ones through being in the right place at the right time and managing to hold the camera the right way up.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

I think photography is definitely one of those arts where the quality of your tools can give a disproportionate report of your talent.

[drainboy.livejournal.com]

Though even then isn't it fairer to say "Your camera, mixed with your grit, determination and willness to endlessly edit down swathes of photos, takes good pictures"?

There's a lot to be said for natural talent (almost always achieved with hard work), but there's also a lot to be said for working hard at something you're only mediocre at to get a decent result.

Though I'd say this doesn't count if they themselves couldn't tell that the good photos were better than the bad ones :)

[marrog.livejournal.com]

That is true, there is a certain elitism in judging one type of effort to be more 'worthy' or more indicative of 'talent' than another.

It does still piss me off to see the 'meh' things some people do with their stupidly expensive cameras though and think longingly of what I (or even moreso Erin) could do with kit like that.

[drainboy.livejournal.com]

I appreciate your frustration and will do my best to alleviate it with a kleptomaniacal rampage against the slavishly overpaid, unapreciative, aperture mediocrites.

For the record I think that the sort of talent where someone can achieve a result through hard gained knowledge, rather than sheer bloody mindedness, is the greater ability. However I almost respect the people that run a Marathon in 7 hours more than I respect those that can run one in just over 2. Probably because being rubbish and unrelenting is more admirable than starting off great and becoming greater.

[channelpenguin.livejournal.com]

it's the taking many pictures bit that does the trick, though. The nice camera no doubt makes it a more pleasant experience.

My BF is a good photographer, and he always has at least an internal giggle when asked "what camera do you have", or when that question is the first thing asked in a comment thread on any good picture on the web.

[chuma.livejournal.com]

I doubt I would ever say that to anyone. Usually the problem is that the camera CAN take very nice photographs but the user cannot.

I see an awful lot of photographers who would benefit from a less complicated camera that doesn't allow them to fuck with shutter speeds. Also a few who if they can't keep their hands from shaking should really invest in a tripod.