Dan
Let's Sway
Normally around this time of year I get a mild case of GAS, no doubt due to the rampant consumerism of the holiday season and the fact I can write off my purchases for the year. Looks like I beat the lure of an upgrade in a camera body for now, but it made me think of a sentiment we've all probably been exposed to in the past, especially those of us coming from a film background.
It used to be many of us would chase some silver bullet in the form of a 'new, better' film or paper developer that supposedly offered an amazing combination of just what we thought our then current process lacked. I know I did. And that was a valid way to expand our technique, utilize new knowledge, experiment, and perhaps actually find something unfamiliar that indeed provided further refinement of tonality, scale, grain, whatever.
But the common wisdom always reminded us to stick with one film+developer combination and one (or two) papers+developer combo to really learn their limits and possibilities. That was one way to increase your level of craftsmanship, as working with familiar materials let you move beyond the mechanical aspect of the medium into a more controlled and purposeful manipulation of those materials toward a personal expression. You were chasing the idea of having complete control over the materials.
So I began to think about whether a new, better camera body (D800) would be the best method of increasing the quality of my imagery and it occurred to me that I'd be better off learning how to increase my proficiency inside LR instead. Kind of like sticking with Polycontrast and Dektol: no need for boutique chemicals, just get really, really good with what you have.
Most all of us feel the constant pressure to upgrade because technology gives us better materials in rapid succession, but I'm thinking: enough with the new hardware! It's about growing as a digital processor of my files because that's where I can make (and see) the biggest gains.
Just a thought; what do you think?
It used to be many of us would chase some silver bullet in the form of a 'new, better' film or paper developer that supposedly offered an amazing combination of just what we thought our then current process lacked. I know I did. And that was a valid way to expand our technique, utilize new knowledge, experiment, and perhaps actually find something unfamiliar that indeed provided further refinement of tonality, scale, grain, whatever.
But the common wisdom always reminded us to stick with one film+developer combination and one (or two) papers+developer combo to really learn their limits and possibilities. That was one way to increase your level of craftsmanship, as working with familiar materials let you move beyond the mechanical aspect of the medium into a more controlled and purposeful manipulation of those materials toward a personal expression. You were chasing the idea of having complete control over the materials.
So I began to think about whether a new, better camera body (D800) would be the best method of increasing the quality of my imagery and it occurred to me that I'd be better off learning how to increase my proficiency inside LR instead. Kind of like sticking with Polycontrast and Dektol: no need for boutique chemicals, just get really, really good with what you have.
Most all of us feel the constant pressure to upgrade because technology gives us better materials in rapid succession, but I'm thinking: enough with the new hardware! It's about growing as a digital processor of my files because that's where I can make (and see) the biggest gains.
Just a thought; what do you think?
