I know I treat my digital SLR very differently from my 4x5 and I treat the images I make very differently as well. 4x5's get scanned and stored in a laborious process so I don't make very many images with the 4x5. I have to have the presence of mind and some foresight to even bring it along on a trip with me. My SLR I throw around like like a yo-yo often not even looking through the viewfinder. It often becomes an extension of my body and I experiment constantly with it. In some ways it is my sketch book for projects I intend to work on in a serious manner. It is also often a light meter, yes I said a light meter, for my 4x5 work. You would be surprised at how close the digital capture is at matching 4x5 slide film.
I also know of people who often go out looking for things to shoot relative to the equipment they are using. Take the Lens Baby phenomenon for instance. While I find it mind blowing that people spend thousands of dollars on a digital SLR and then slap a $2 plastic lens on it, many people enjoy the nostalgia and organic feel it brings to the photographs. It is a mere reaction to the perfection of the digital world and will undoubtedly continue. Although I would hope with less expensive cameras. Seriously, a Holga is only like twenty bucks.
So how much of your photography is determined by vision and how much by equipment? Does the equipment take over at some point?
[ view entry ] ( 537 views )
Calendar
