Thematic Interruption: Photo Gear–Important, But Greatly Overrated

 “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.”  —  Ansel Adams

On a couple of photo forums that I check with some degree of regularity, there are discussions currently taking place about particular gear upgrades (specifically whether action–sports, wildlife, etc.–photographers should upgrade to the new Nikon D500 or stick with the less expensive D7200).  I’m not an action photographer, so the discussion really doesn’t apply to me, but the prevalence of the should-I-upgrade question reminded me of a general principle that applies to many–though not all–styles of photography regardless of specifics:  gear is grossly overrated in terms of its role in producing satisfying photographs.

South Beach Sunset, Curry County, Oregon

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Any baseball fans here?  (Besides me, I mean.)  For years and years, I told anyone who would listen that Derek Jeter was one of the most overrated baseball players of my lifetime.  This statement annoyed a lot of people, particularly fans of the New York Yankees, the team for which Jeter played for his entire long career.

“How can you say that Derek Jeter isn’t (wasn’t) a good player?” these folks would insist.

My response would be something along the lines of:  “I didn’t say he wasn’t a good player.  He was a very good player.  If I had a vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame, I’d select Jeter on the first ballot.”

This would ordinarily be met by several seconds of silence and a confused look.  And then I would say “Jeter is a good player.  He’s just not nearly as good as many people credit him with being.”

It’s true, at least in my opinion.  There are a lot of Yankees fans who think Jeter is one of the five best players of all-time.  A few have told me, with a straight face, that he’s clearly the best player ever to play the game.  Both claims are, in my view, utterly absurd.  And that’s why I say he’s overrated:  he’s not as good as a lot of people seem to think.

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What am I talking about?  What does any of this have to do with photography?  I’m coming to that.

Just as Jeter was a very good–but overrated–baseball player, photo gear is a very important–but overrated–part of photography.  The broad lesson is, “overrated” doesn’t necessarily mean bad or irrelevant.  It simply means that something isn’t as good (or important) as it’s often viewed.

Lufty Baptist Church, Smokemont, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina

When it comes to landscape photography, I’ve never run across a camera that has made me a better photographer.  Never.  I’ve upgraded cameras because they’ve enabled me to make better (and larger) prints (due to better resolution, better dynamic range and so forth), but that’s hardly the same thing.

When it comes to lenses, I have to admit that, at one point, adding a lens that allowed me to do something I couldn’t do before–a wider angle, for instance, or a longer telephoto–might arguably have made my photography better…but I’m still not sure that this is really the same thing as making me an inherently better photographer.  The vision and the technical knowledge and experience needed to produce the photograph are effectively independent of the equipment used.

Pre-Sunrise, Bear Rocks Preserve, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Monongahla National Forest, West Virginia

Gear is important.  We need it to make photographs.  Occasionally a camera feature (auto bracketing, for instance), can make it easier to accomplish a specific task needed to produce images than would be the case otherwise.  But it’s not nearly as important as many people seem to think.  Particularly when it comes to landscape photography, a new, “better” camera isn’t going to make you a better photographer.  It may–may–allow you to produce images of a higher technical quality.  But aesthetic quality?

Lone Pine, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

The question people pondering a gear upgrade should be asking themselves is why am I considering buying this camera (or lens or accessory)?  If the answer, at least for landscape photographers, is “because it’s going to allow me to make more compelling images,” it’s time to rethink that potential purchase.

You need gear to execute your vision.  But first and foremost you need a vision to execute, and all the latest and greatest expensive gear in the world isn’t going to help with that.

Earthshadow, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico