Photography | Mount Kinabalu | A Camera is Just a Tool

© 2005 Wazari Wazir | Mount Kinabalu | Nikon D70s | Lens 18-70mm | 1/160 | ISO 200 | f7.1

© 2005 Wazari Wazir | Mount Kinabalu | Nikon D70s | Lens 18-70mm | 1/250 | ISO 200 | f/8

© 2005 Wazari Wazir | Mount Kinabalu | Nikon D70s | Lens 18-70mm | 1/160 | ISO 200 | f/7.1

Some people really doesn’t get it, that a camera is just a tool. It doesn’t have brain on its own. I know that they have been programed for certain functions like how to calculate a meter reading depending on the lighting situation, how to determine wether the focus is sharp or not and some other basic technical stuff.

Whenever I was on Facebook and join any photography group in Facebook, most newbie will spent quite a bit of time discussing about a camera, sometimes more than hundreds commenting on that subject.

Some of them does have excellent technical know how, they know about camera inside out, you really can’t argue with them but when I try to visit that particular person website or blog, I just shake my head in disbelief. I guess you know why, they are so damn good about camera technology than about taking a great picture with their camera.

To all the newbie out there, whether you are seven years old or forty years old newbie, just don’t wasted your precious times discussing about a camera, just do few research on your own and just buy a camera. Now is an interesting time to get involved in photography.

The camera technology nowadays is so much better then when I got my first DSLR way back in 2005, before that I’m  using a film camera which I bought in 1993, which is Nikon FM2 Black Body. Those two pictures above which I took on top of Mount Kinabalu is taken with Nikon D70s which only have 6 Megapixel back then and I was only using a Kit Lens, which comes with the camera when I bought it.

Nowadays most entry level digital camera comes with more than 10 Megapixel and some entry level have more than that and I think for anybody who just starting out, it is more that good enough for general purpose photography. Most of the camera also have low noise when shooting at Higher ISO compared to what my D70s can do back then. You can use ISO 1000 to 2000 with confident with todays camera, if you have to use that High ISO for some reason.

Two most popular camera on the market for photographers is Canon and Nikon, whichever you choose is base on your own preference, you won’t make a wrong decision choosing either one of them. Undeniably some camera has its own characteristic, some camera are very good at metering, near perfect when calculating between the highlight and shadows area, some camera are a lot faster at focusing, some camera perform better at High ISO than the other even though we can hardly see the difference unless we make a very close “inspection” or make a very big enlargement. Those are really a technical things which does help a little but not much in producing great photograph.

Why am I using those two picture of Mount Kinabalu there for this article? Very simple, I though you never ask. The reason is this, no matter how great your camera is, you still need to climb those mountain to get the picture, even if you have super expensive camera in your hand, the camera can’t fly you there, you still need to climb the mountain on your own to get there, to get the picture.

A camera is just a tool here, I start climbing to the top of Mount Kinabalu from Panar Laban at 02:30 A.M in the morning, it was so damn cold up there and it was dark also. The top picture where the sun is rising were taken at 06:06 A.M from the Summit, the Lows Peak at the height of 4095 meters above sea level.

You still need to decide where to compose your picture, you still need to decide about the metering, the camera itself doesn’t know which part is important, whether we want the sky to be properly exposed or we want the rock to be properly exposed. The camera can’t make a decision, we must make a decision, what to include in the frame and what not to include in the frame.

The creativity using the camera is solely upon us not the camera, it is just a tool for taking picture in our hand but back then I “wish” my camera can record a video. Now most entry level DSLR can record a video and it’s another great advantage where we can record sights and sound as well in motion.

The only disadvantage about the Low Megapixel of D70s is when I need to print it large like poster size, 27 x 40 inches (approximately), but I don’t need to print it that large, I take the picture just for fun, I’ve no intention to sell the picture back then, I just want to try and wanted to know how Digital camera perform there on the top of Mount Kinabalu. I’ve also taken that camera to the National Park in Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia and it perform well also.

The point of this article is that, it take more than just a camera to make a photographs, I mean a great photograph, just don’t waste our precious times discussing about tiny details of the camera technology, just take my words, todays entry level camera are better than ever, you really can’t make a wrong decision buying any entry level camera nowadays.

Just get the camera, and spent more time shooting instead of busy wasting your time arguing or debating about camera in various photography forum. Have you ever noticed that most experience photographer rarely get involved discussing about camera? They are busy taking picture out there, they don’t want to waste their precious times on the topic.

I think I’ve wasted my time here writing this stuff, but hopefully, some people will get the benefit of it. This article is meant for someone who just don’t know where to start, which camera to buy, we need to start somewhere and when the time is right and when your knowledges and experience in photography grows with you, you can always upgrade your camera, maybe buy a new high quality lens or spend your money by attending photography workshops, buy photography books and spend your money on traveling.

A camera is just a tool after all, even though some are better than the other, just make full use of what your camera can do. Make full use of it, push your camera to the limit and if that is not possible, push your creativity to the limit even though there is no limit to creativity.

Don’t simply blame your camera when you can’t produce a great photograph when the right person to be blamed is ourself for the lack of knowledge or understanding about the camera and its functions, its limit and capability. Just be creative with what you have, a camera is just a tool and the only thing that will separate a photographer with the same camera equipment is their knowledge.

Do you think if Steve McCurry loan it to you (newbie) his professional camera for one week and suddenly your picture will be published on the front cover of National Geographic? It took years of experience to achieved that level. Just be creative with your tools. Photography is more than just about a camera, it is about you, your personality, your character and it shows through photograph.

Related Post : How To Choose a DSLR Camera

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