Hello all!

I may as well start off by stirring the pot just a little. When it comes to camera gear there are normally two schools of thought. One group of people will tell you that you must have the latest, greatest camera gear in order to be a successful photographer. The other set of people will say the gear doesn't make the photographer. I happen to fall right in the middle whereas I say good gear definitely helps however, you have to also have "the eye" as most call it.

Camera gear, regardless of the manufacturer, is getting more and more expensive and it seems like as soon as you upgrade to a new system, they turn around and introduce a newer system that has better specs than the new one you just purchased. This can be very frustrating but its the same for computer gear or almost anything in the electronics industry and I wouldn't look for it to change anytime soon.

Does having the latest camera gear help? Yes, if you take the time to understand the settings and how to properly use the camera/lens. Nothing is worse than seeing someone with a brand new camera shooting in basic mode. 

So if I am a ok photographer and I buy a new camera will that make me better? No, more than likely you will remain a ok photographer. You have to be willing to study and learn every aspect of your cameras capabilities. Once you have mastered that, then you can work on specific subject matter such as landscapes, nature, portraits, seascapes or whatever interest you.

I firmly believe that you can't teach someone how to become a good or great photographer. You either have it (The Eye) or you don't. You also can't claim this ability yourself. The people around you, that are exposed to your photography will decide that for you. (Take your friends and family out of that equation, they don't count).

A good way to determine if you indeed have "the eye" is if you find it hard to describe how you composed each photograph. In other words, it just comes natural to you. I myself see the world through a tv screen when I am taking my photographs and it just seems to work itself out. I don't follow the list of photography rules in fact, I couldn't tell you how many there are or what they state. I can only remember two off the top of my head and I don't believe I have ever followed them. I am ramping so.......

My gear: When I first started into what I would call full time photography in the digital era, I bought a Canon T1i in 2012 with a kit lens. I self taught myself digital photography for 1 year with this camera before I made the jump up to a Canon 5D Mark III. Fast forward about 3 years or so and I jumped up to a Canon 5DSr camera. I have always been a Canon shooter, even when I shot film photography.

Then last November or so I made the huge leap from Canon into Fuji and bought the GFX100 medium format camera. I am in love with this camera and will stick with it from this point on, at least that's the plan :)

So my advice, before you start breaking the bank on the latest greatest gear, make sure you have "the eye" to be a good or great photographer. I do believe you can't have 1 without the other. Stay safe! Phil