When I found out I was getting my first DSLR, I told all of my friends that as soon as it was in my hands we were going to go out and get awesome photos of us longboarding. Every moment I was conscious, I imagined myself effortlessly churning out amazing photographs with my shiny new camera. I knew for a fact that I would be able to create photos with a DSLR not possible with point-and-shoot digital cameras. 

Reality shoved those notions aside once I actually had my DSLR. The photos I was creating with it were horrid abominations, and continued to be so for months. None of my photographs were coming out how I had envisioned them. The photos I was creating certainly weren't the epic masterpieces  I had thought would come so easily before I had my DSLR. I assumed I wasn't getting the results I wanted because I didn't have the best DSLR or the best glass. I bought slightly better lenses, and my photos slowly became more and more acceptable. 

Years later, I know how foolish it was thinking more expensive equipment would make me a better photographer. It wasn't the lenses that I purchased that made me better; it was just me growing as a photographer and learning more about the art. Better equipment makes things easier, but it's not the equipment that makes the photographer. It's skills and experience that make the photographer, and neither one of those can be bought. When I received my first DSLR and I wasn't getting the results I had hoped for, putting the most expensive DSLR and lens in my hands wouldn't have made any difference. I can almost promise my photos would have come out almost exactly the same. 

Some of the comments I hear most are how beautiful the pictures my camera take are, or how easy photography must be with an "expensive" camera. If that were the case, then I should be able to hand my camera to anyone, and they should be able to create the exact same photo as me without any trouble. If Ansel Adams or Henri Cartier-Bresson handed me their camera, I can say without a doubt that my photos would look nothing like theirs. 

When I worked at the Royal Purple, one of the editors wanted me to get a photo, but I didn't have time. They said something along the lines of "I can do it, just give me your camera." They didn't want my camera because there wasn't one available (there was an office DSLR). They wanted my camera because they thought it was a magic combination of plastics, magnesium-alloy, and skill. 

If you aren't sure what I'm trying to say, I've come up with a few analogies:

Saying a photographer's camera makes good photos is like saying an author's computer writes good books.

Saying a photographer's camera makes good photos is like saying an artist's paintbrush paints good paintings.

Saying a photographer's camera makes good photos is like saying an athlete's equipment makes them good at their sport. 

So please stop giving my camera all of the credit. Cameras are nothing more than hammers (or paintbrushes, depending on who we're talking about). I'm sure anyone who has run out and bought a DSLR can relate to this post, but for those of you who haven't had this experience, you now have no excuses. Better lenses and cameras make things easier, but until I pull my camera out of the bag, compose the photograph, and push the shutter button, my camera just sits there. It's the photographer who creates the photograph, not that credit-stealing prima donna. 

www.danpomykalski.com

I feel it's important that I admit that I'm a huge gear-snob, though. I don't like using any other equipment other than my own. I could say I only like using my own stuff because of the familiarity aspect, but I also feel my stuff is better than anything else out there. My stuff isn't better than anything else out there, but I can't help feel that way. There are reasons why I have what I have in my camera bag, and it's not the same using other equipment.