well, if you take a look at a portrait of Richard avedon by Annie Leibovitz you can see Him in 2002 with his camera. A 8x10" Sinar maybe 35 years old. Now, i know we can't expect to keep a digital back for so long, neither a medium format body. But when i see that photo I see a man that doesn't care about his camera, he cares about his vision and doing beautiful photographs. he uses a camera like an instrument. Three weeks ago my phaseone 80mm stopped working, i have to wait till september to fix it. When i take in my hand my camera i ask myself: is it going to work or is it going to explode in my hands? Well, i just want to relax and think how to be a better photographer, and having a new camera with a vertical grip is not going to make me a better photographer. I'm going to spend that money working on my portfolio.
well, if you take a look at a portrait of Richard avedon by Annie Leibovitz you can see Him in 2002 with his camera. A 8x10" Sinar maybe 35 years old. Now, i know we can't expect to keep a digital back for so long, neither a medium format body. But when i see that photo I see a man that doesn't care about his camera, he cares about his vision and doing beautiful photographs. he uses a camera like an instrument. Three weeks ago my phaseone 80mm stopped working, i have to wait till september to fix it. When i take in my hand my camera i ask myself: is it going to work or is it going to explode in my hands? Well, i just want to relax and think how to be a better photographer, and having a new camera with a vertical grip is not going to make me a better photographer. I'm going to spend that money working on my portfolio.
richard avedon is a great artist, but hardly a model of a professional commercial photographer. Few of have the ability and luck to reach his level of work, and there really isn't the room in the industry to fit too many people at that level.
anyone who has ever used a 8 x 10 sinar is very much into the technical side, as well as choosing a format that has a very unique look . it was the finest equipment of the time. but a bloody difficult format to use. limited and difficult, it wasn't an "easy" option.
and a vertical grip wont make you a great photographer, but its all part of getting the "technical" side out of the way. it just helps make life easier day to day. try holding a camera for an 18 day shoot thats all vertical without a vertical grip, its hard work.
i started shooting large format, medium format film, but since we have moved to digital- even with all its teething problems, life has been so much less stressful.
no worrying, waiting for clip tests at the lab. being able to know you have the shot on the day of the shoot- and being able to walk into another shoot the next day. digital doesnt have all the unnecessary waste of what film had- sometimes there would two sacks full of wrappers and film junk left after every day (except nowdays its been replaced with water bottles!).
all these things really have made me be able to think about what is important- taking great shots. and may of these shots are actually technically impossible to have shot back in avedons day, all because technology.
i dream of a day where all this technology has its hay-day, and cameras, computers all work together seamlessly to do everything i want, so i really can concentrate on the most important thing, taking a great photo. all these little improvements like the grip are worth it.
paul
