Dear HappySad in SoCal,
Thank you for writing me. It is always nice to get fanmail from my fans out there. I read that you feel uninspired and unmotivated. Don't feel so down. There are hundres of photographers that are in the same situation as you, feeling like the glass ceiling holding them back is an equipment barrier. This is in fact a misconception commonly found in people who browse internet forums. I suspect that you post on several of them.
The problem with online "communities" is that they promote the whole idea of analysis paralysis.
Analysis paralysis is an informal phrase applied to when the opportunity cost of decision analysis exceeds the benefits.
In other words, it is more costly for you to spend time deciding whether or not to go with a camera (for instance Canon vs Nikon) than a potential "wrong choice" would cost. The benefits of either choice normally outweigh the opportunity cost. Unfortunately for you, you seem to be a child of these internet forums and have this pixel peeper, measurebating mentality. It isn't your equipment that is holding you back, HappySad in SoCal, it is the idea that you need that equipment to produce stunning images.
Photography is made up of two parts. "Photo" and "graphy". "Graphy" loosely means to record and the prefix "photo" means produced by light. So if photography is an art form of the capture of light, why is it so important that you buy the most expensive equipment when you still don't understand how to capture this light? Will it make you better?
You tell me. Here are random samples from pbase.com of users of the Canon 1D Mark II: pbase gallery of Canon 1D Mark II (click refresh to view more random images)
Today I was browsing an internet forum (yes, I do read them for entertainment!) and I saw a post where somebody was asking the forum if he should keep a lens or sell it! Can you believe that? He was asking a forum who knows nothing about his shooting style if he should keep a lens or not. Ask yourself, HappySad, who takes your photographs. Is it you? You're the one who composes your pictures. You're the one with the camera in your hand. Your equipment is only adequate if your skills are.
Phi Dong, PhD
Professor of Photography
If you would like to submit a letter to Dear PhD, please send it to fanmail@phidong.com
You are so right Phi
You're not a gear collector are you?