How to start this blog, lets be honest here and say this blog could just be a title and nothing more, do I need to say more, well let me try. I believe 100% the camera is nothing more than a tool, sure the tool will help you, but does it make you a better photographer, of course not. I mean let’s look at a chef, does his cooker make him a better chef. I get so angry when someone looks at one of my photos and says “you must have a good camera” I really can’t put into words how much I get pissed off at this stupid comment, you never go into a restaurant have a nice meal and then turn to chef and say “you must have a good cooker”. Do people not realise just how insulting this comment is, so why do they think a good photograph is all down to the camera, is because they’re stupid, maybe or does it just come down to simple ignorance.
The same question could be asked as to why most photographers (and I use the term photographer loosely) think the better the camera (lens), the better their photographs will be, people really do walk around with their heads up their asses (yes, sorry this is a rant).
My camera is nothing more than a tool, yes I have a bond with my Fujifilm X cameras and the cameras are extension of my arm, but without me they are nothing. The most important tool a photographer has is his or hers eyes and instinct, the camera helps show what the photographer has seen, if you don’t see something interesting how do you expect the camera too. I know too many tits with cameras that call themselves photographers, but each and every time I see them, they have a new camera or lens. If you’re accomplished photographer then I don’t really have a problem with this, but if you have no idea what you’re doing and you have it in your head that having the latest greatest gear will make you better, then yes this bothers me. Accomplished photographers won’t walk around flashing their newest gear in your face showing off, the difference is tits will show off and make excuses and try to justify why they bought it without noticing how bloody stupid they sound when doing so. I can’t make this clear enough, I couldn’t give a rats ass what camera you have, all I care about is the photos. You know how many times I get shown a bad photo and the person showing it to me zooms in and says look how sharp it is, if the photo is shit I couldn’t give a crap how sharp it is, street photography isn’t about how sharp and clean a photo looks, it’s about capturing a moment, thats what’s important.
If you want proof of this, I suggest you look at the work of photographers like Christian Cross, he shots with a Ricoh GRII a nice camera, that doesn’t cost arm and leg. Most wouldn’t give this camera a second look or for that matter take Christian serious, however the photos Christian produces are beautiful, but this isn’t down to the camera he uses, the photos are all about his vision. The same could be said of Matt (the13thsecond), he uses a battered Fujifilm X-T1, again his photos are amazing, proof that he doesn’t need the latest Fujifilm camera. These 2 photographers are only interested in being on the streets taking photos, the cameras they have are nothing more than a tool and this is the way it should be.
I know a few photographers that shoot with a Leica, one of these is my good friend Dan Baker. His main camera is a Leica M10, when I first met Dan it was in Cambridge and he stopped because he saw me shooting street and we got talking, but we didn’t start talking because of each others cameras. I did have a quick look at his M10, but all I wanted to see was his work. Dan is the perfect example of a photographer that lets his photos do the talking, he uses the Leica because of the colours it produces and more importantly than that is that he is very comfortable with the camera. He didn’t buy it because it said Leica, he bought it because it was the best tool for the job. Something Dan said to while I was writing this blog; “I do think that the older I get that it’s all about the photos and the process of capturing them. It’s more important to find out what a photographer is producing and why, also what their thought process is rather than the setting / camera used to capture it” and I couldn’t agree with him more.
In most cases the photographer showing off is a tool, let me make this crystal clear, the only tool should be the camera.
A few photos by Christian Cross:
