Your camera is better than Ansel Adams'

[The_Traveler]

Why does the "perfect image" require post processing?

Because Mother Nature's offering does not always match the finished image I want.
That is the ART part.

then be a painter, the painting isn't supposed to be realistic.

But if the say, sunset in front of you doesn't meet your ideals of a sunset, why waste time taking photos of it that youll need to doctor up to meet those standards you have..

You aren't even a good troll.

 

[Original katomi]

I spent the better part of a decade chasing better and better gear. I started with a used Nikon D40 and kit lens, and progressed all the way to a D810+D500 combo with a full complement of professional grade lenses.. and I owned almost every Nikon produced in between along the way.

Only once I reached the “pinnacle” did I realize how much money I had blown and how much it didn’t matter. I was chasing pixels and full frame sensors because I was told its what I had to do. I just had to have that holy trinity of lenses and have every focal length covered with no gaps.

I sold off my entire Nikon kit for the Fuji X system a while back because it’s smaller, lighter, and more pleasurable to use. I’ve been entirely happy, and other than wanting some different lenses along the way, I’ve not thought about the quality of my camera once. I would have turned my nose up at a crop sensor mirrorless camera 5 years ago, but nobody cares what my photos are shot on... including me.

Shoot with what puts a smile on your face while allowing you to get the images you want.

The first sentence sums up a lot of photographers, they chase the kit.

Upgrade one thing the you will notice something else is suddenly lacking.
I have changed my kit at the point where I wanted to do more than I t would allow and I was unable to find a workaround.
I am at that stage where the camera, lens(s) laptop, printer and my skill level are all on a balance.
All the time I can do what I want to do and am pleased with the results what does it matter that I have a printer canon Pixma ix 6550 that is so old it’s no longer in the reviews, most of my lenses are EF from film days, the cameras are canon 600d,60d,7d. And me the fossil who,s ability to even walk is limited.
Yes you can chase the kit, but if it’s sat in the drawer at home not being used.... what good is it

 

[Original katomi]

Re post 43.
Added to all that was said there, we all see things different. Colour blindness, how our minds sees things, even down to our history and upbringing.
I am here in the UK, and I have seen images on the site that members have raved about, but because the image has captured something that is local/reagonal or relevant to the country of the OP it has not had th e same wow factor for me because I don’t know or have the same connection
I knew a chap who had canon 5dmk3 and only shot B+W why he was colour blind and got fed up of comments that his colour pics were not true to life.

 

[pocketshaver]

I spent the better part of a decade chasing better and better gear. I started with a used Nikon D40 and kit lens, and progressed all the way to a D810+D500 combo with a full complement of professional grade lenses.. and I owned almost every Nikon produced in between along the way.

Only once I reached the “pinnacle” did I realize how much money I had blown and how much it didn’t matter. I was chasing pixels and full frame sensors because I was told its what I had to do. I just had to have that holy trinity of lenses and have every focal length covered with no gaps.

I sold off my entire Nikon kit for the Fuji X system a while back because it’s smaller, lighter, and more pleasurable to use. I’ve been entirely happy, and other than wanting some different lenses along the way, I’ve not thought about the quality of my camera once. I would have turned my nose up at a crop sensor mirrorless camera 5 years ago, but nobody cares what my photos are shot on... including me.

Shoot with what puts a smile on your face while allowing you to get the images you want.

The first sentence sums up a lot of photographers, they chase the kit.

Upgrade one thing the you will notice something else is suddenly lacking.
I have changed my kit at the point where I wanted to do more than I t would allow and I was unable to find a workaround.
I am at that stage where the camera, lens(s) laptop, printer and my skill level are all on a balance.
All the time I can do what I want to do and am pleased with the results what does it matter that I have a printer canon Pixma ix 6550 that is so old it’s no longer in the reviews, most of my lenses are EF from film days, the cameras are canon 600d,60d,7d. And me the fossil who,s ability to even walk is limited.
Yes you can chase the kit, but if it’s sat in the drawer at home not being used.... what good is it

If you take 100 photos in the field to get 1 photo that's worthy of being put into photo shop, are you really doing something worth while?

Are you learning anything when you toss those 99 photos into the delete bin?

 

[Grandpa Ron]

If you take 100 shots and throw 99 away you have learned an awful lot. You have expanded your horizons to try an unusual shooting position, or angle, or you have manage to capture the exact moment you were looking for; not the second before or the second after. You have taken those chances that you would never take with film. You can also chuckle at what a stupid idea it was. There is no remorse.

Why? Because digital pictures are practically free. How many shots do you think it took my grandson to catch this "shot"?

 

[Original katomi]

That is the advantage with digital. I can try out ideas knowing that if it does not work I will not have to spend ages in a darkroom or spend huge amounts on developing .

 

[Grandpa Ron]

katomi,

You are absolutely correct. Digital provides a lot of freedom.

As much as I like "as shot" with minimal Post Processing, others are equally fascinated by the ability of post processing to capture the moment as they remember it. Still other find the beauty that was captured in the photo and extract it or enhance it in post processing. There is no right or wrong way to process a photo, only personal taste and opinion.

These days film is a niche market. It is use mostly by those folks who enjoy dabbling in the dark room and like the technology of old, or those folks who are seeking a certain "look" or other nuance, that cannot be delivered by digital methods.

I am not going to give up my digital camera anytime soon. Nor am I going to stop using my muzzle loading rifles, wood and canvas canoe or my film camera. Each was it time and place.

 

[SquarePeg]

If you don’t like a thread, there’s no need to respond. If you don’t care for a certain member you can use the ignore button. If you find a troll, don’t feed it and it will starve and fade away.

Personal attacks are not allowed.

 

[Original katomi]

Er what... if my post has been taken as a personal attack then I am most sorry.

 

[limr]

Er what... if my post has been taken as a personal attack then I am most sorry.

No worries, that wasn't directed at you but rather at a post that has already been deleted.

 

[Derrel]

 

[RVT1K]

I spent the better part of a decade chasing better and better gear. I started with a used Nikon D40 and kit lens, and progressed all the way to a D810+D500 combo with a full complement of professional grade lenses.. and I owned almost every Nikon produced in between along the way.

Only once I reached the “pinnacle” did I realize how much money I had blown and how much it didn’t matter. I was chasing pixels and full frame sensors because I was told its what I had to do. I just had to have that holy trinity of lenses and have every focal length covered with no gaps.

I sold off my entire Nikon kit for the Fuji X system a while back because it’s smaller, lighter, and more pleasurable to use. I’ve been entirely happy, and other than wanting some different lenses along the way, I’ve not thought about the quality of my camera once. I would have turned my nose up at a crop sensor mirrorless camera 5 years ago, but nobody cares what my photos are shot on... including me.

Shoot with what puts a smile on your face while allowing you to get the images you want.

The first sentence sums up a lot of photographers, they chase the kit.

Upgrade one thing the you will notice something else is suddenly lacking.
I have changed my kit at the point where I wanted to do more than I t would allow and I was unable to find a workaround.
I am at that stage where the camera, lens(s) laptop, printer and my skill level are all on a balance.
All the time I can do what I want to do and am pleased with the results what does it matter that I have a printer canon Pixma ix 6550 that is so old it’s no longer in the reviews, most of my lenses are EF from film days, the cameras are canon 600d,60d,7d. And me the fossil who,s ability to even walk is limited.
Yes you can chase the kit, but if it’s sat in the drawer at home not being used.... what good is it

If you take 100 photos in the field to get 1 photo that's worthy of being put into photo shop, are you really doing something worth while?

Are you learning anything when you toss those 99 photos into the delete bin?

I think its called learning from your mistakes. Its what intelligent people do.

 

[Tinstafl]

A friend of mine started a project to shoot 72 or so images that Adams shot on the same day, time and location. He us using an 8x10 view camera and his pentex 645z as well. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this project and it will answer the OP question

 

[petrochemist]

View attachment 183177

I was thinking some of my cameras are worse than Ansel's in every photographic way, but it seems one of those I was initially thinking of is actually the same model he started with.
It seems it's only the miniature 110 model (camera only the size of a 35mm film till you add the film cartridge) is my only chance of being sure of the claim. No variation of shutter speed or focal length or aperture, a very poor quality lens (plastic monocle) & far too small 'sensor' area. Both are of course far more portable than Ansel's field camera.

 

[patrickt]

After years of buying equipment and then having to tote it I switched and started shooting with a cell phone camera. It works for me and now I'm having a ball with a Huawei P30 Pro. My cameras and lens are in a closet and the next time one of my children visit the equipment will go back to the U.S.