THE CAMERA YOU HAVE WITH YOU
THE CAMERA YOU HAVE WITH YOU

THE CAMERA YOU HAVE WITH YOU

Are you one of those photographers who takes a camera with you almost every time you leave the house? Many of us carry a cell phone which includes a camera that could arguably be more powerful than our first camera. Certainly modern digital photo “developing” tools can permit the editing and enhancing of a cell phone image into a very high quality photograph. But that is not necessarily the point of my initial question.

Do you carry an actual single purpose camera out into the wider world regularly? Whether you bring a simple point-and-shoot, a bridge camera, or a full-featured interchangeable lens camera you can shoot excellent images that are even more high quality (and usually easier to fully edit) than those cell phone photos. I know that there are some professional photographers who only use a cell phone but they completely understand how to work within the limitations that a cell phone camera imposes. Most of us are better served taking our photographs with that single purpose camera.

This shot was only possible because I had a camera with me.

I’m going to guess that every photographer has said at one time or another, “Oh, I wish I had my camera”. That image you saw and envisioned has been lost and held only in your memory because you did not have a camera handy. And I know that there have been photographs I have “lost”, even when I do have a camera, because I cannot stop what I an already doing to take the shot. Most commonly it is because my attention is taken up with driving a vehicle and it is impossible to stop to get that photo. But sometimes I am pushed by time constraints or I can see that the potential image is so fleeting that there just isn’t time to make the shot happen. Photography is a record of a moment in time and that moment is sometimes very fleeting.

Photographers often spend hours to set up a perfect specific shot. Sometimes that is the best way and sometimes serendipity produces a great photo. Of course, a combination of timing and luck will almost always produce a memorable image. One way to be ready to take advantage of the opportunities and inspirations we are presented with as photographers is to have a camera at hand more often than not.

The art of photography is rarely easy. Usually it takes some work, either in shooting the image or in post-production. Often that effort is needed on both sides of that time equation. As a photographer, I will encourage you to be prepared to take a great photo by having a camera with you. Yes, it takes some planning to have and choose a camera to accompany you but getting that image is a reward that can pay long-term dividends as you grow and develop as a photographer.