"Aaron" wrote in message
...
And lo, emerged from the
ether
and spake thus:

snip

"Ask you favorite musician if he's as good as he is because of the brand
of
instrument he plays, or ask your favorite author if he writes as well as
he
does because of the typewriter he uses. Good tools just make it easier
for
people who do it all the time."

big snip

In the blues genre, some of the most influential musicians in history
were impoverished, southern guitar players, self-taught, using any old
junker guitar they could lay hands on. These are the guys who formed
the genre, who influenced the world. Unfortunately, like many artists,
most of them died before they were truly appreciated.

Granted, there will always be *some* technical argument for having
better equipment, but you have to crawl before you can walk.

--
Aaron
http://www.fisheyegallery.com
http://www.singleservingphoto.com

One needs to evaluate Rockwell's statement within its proper context. He
was not suggesting that better equipment was of no consequence. He was
pointing out that there are lots of mediocre photographers that blame their
inability to take engaging images on the limitations of their equipment. If
they could only get their hands on that latest advanced toy, they too could
be great photographers . . .

Unfortunately, that argument has been advanced so often that many
photographers today accept it as a truism. Rockwell was simply saying that
it "ain't necessarily so." Every camera, no matter how unsophisticated, has
a range where it can produce credible images. Work within that range,
create good images, and feel free to upgrade as finances warrant. But stop
insisting that your deficiencies as a photographer are solely the result of
having less-than-the-best equipment.

Frankly, I see nothing that should raise any eyebrows in that.

Rockwell mentions an incident involving master photographer Ernst Haas, who
was giving a workshop where a couple of the students were praising Leica
gear (which Haas used). "Leica schmeika!" Haas said. "Leica is only a
camera. It is up to you to SEE!" That sentiment seems perfectly logical to
me. Why all the fuss?