Why you shouldn't worry about buying the latest gear.

You’ve heard the advertisements before:

“Come get the latest and greatest smartphone/computer/camera/etc.!”

It’s tempting to want the latest things. These companies offer more and more each time, promising better results and more success, especially in the world of photography. And of course, I’m not picking on these companies because they allow us to continue doing what we love.

Don’t get me wrong, nicer gear allows great photographers to achieve more, but my point is that you don’t need the most expensive or latest gear to be a good or even great photographer.

This doesn’t even apply to just photography, it applies to any form of art.

If you are focused (haha photography pun) on the craft and improving yourself, it doesn’t matter what gear you have, so long as you have the ability to create. You can always get better gear later.

Anybody can go out and buy the best instrument, paint brushes, clay, dance shoes, etc. but they will not automatically make somebody a great artist. The artist comes from within.

∆ Abbi

I dropped my lens into my dog's water bowl.

Well, actually, I didn’t see it happen.

Several nights ago, I ran upstairs to my room to get my camera out because the moon looked really cool and I wanted to capture it.

Fast forward to a couple nights ago. I went up to my room to tidy up a bit. I glanced at my dog’s water bowl and one of my lenses was just having a little swim.

So of course I was like, “What the heck??” I’m guessing that in my shuffle to grab my camera, the lens just fell out and I didn’t see it.

Naturally, I was pretty upset because camera gear isn’t cheap, but I did learn a valuable lesson not to store my camera gear near any kind of liquid.

In the end, I decided to laugh about it, because there’s nothing I can do to change the situation! Two good things did come of it, though. First, I ended up getting a different lens and I fell in love with it instantly! I should’ve dropped that other lens in the water sooner! Second, my brother is a mechanical nerd, so I figured he would have a good time disassembling it to see how it works!

The moral of the story: You can gain just as much from a bad situation as you can from a good one. Focus on positivity and you’ll see positivity.

∆ Abbi