Some really good thoughts here.
So on one hand, “IATG”,
It Ain’t The Gear, since the best of cameras are no more than paper weights in the hands of an uninspired photog. And “even a Brownie can be Hasselblad” when wielded with confidence and passion and knowing you’re going to love whatever comes out.
Performance / reliability breeds confidence. And at the same time, like many, I have taken pleasing photos with cameras and accessories that were broken or ill-fitted for the subject (though I prefer not to.)
🙁 “This meter is all over the place - oh well, Sunny16.” – “The RF won’t line up… hmmm, have to guesstimate.” – “Crap, flash batteries are dead/low light/wrong film/cousin’s wedding. Soooo, slow it down, crank it open and lean against the wall to keep it steady.”
But in another way, It IS the Gear… at least to some extent.
THE LOOK seems to inspire us, though “pretty” has nothing to do with it… “it’s in the eye of the beholder.” Brand new and mint works for some. For others, like me, brass can be worn through, leather cracked (and even smelly!) and glass shining hazy. And we STILL just can’t wait ‘til the weekend so we can assault the streets, cafes, farmlands and birthday parties, Bad Boy in hand, like a National Geographic photog on safari.
As Doug stated above, as Gordon Coale has expressed before and MelanieC shared perfectly and as I’ve found out by recently “re-discovering” my dad’s Kodak, there’s also, at times, a certain sentimentality that inspires a zeal that has total disregard for the name, model and serial number engraved on the tools.
“It feels right in my hands.” – We all know that “feel.” We look for heavy… or light… big or compact … knurled, embossed or smoooooth. That’s a personal thing too... “in the hands of the beholder.” Fat brush/skinny brush. But when it feels right, “Now THAT’s a camera! And I AM ready!”
There must be at least some mental assumed oomph that comes with a name. We’ve read/heard/been told that
“the Greats used badda-this and badda-that. So now that I have one, I’m like the Greats.” [English] “Zorki” is waaaay too close to [slang] “Dorky” in my mind and really gave me an early subconscious bias as to it’s possible merits. But in a short time, that inference was dismissed when I decided for myself that I was actually enjoying and growing fond of the little beasts.
Yeah, 99.9% of my pictures suck. But finding that special "Three-Friends-type" gear that has a look, performance, feel and history that matches my personal individual look- performance- feel taste AND history brings about a confidence, enthusiasm, pleasure and fulfillment that leads me time and time again on a creative excursion, brings out the best in me, and delivers me home again as nomade put it, “On top of the world.”
Fun, ain’t it!
Thanks folks!!
