... any number of photography blogs will tell you to not focus on the gear and that it’s the photographer that makes the difference. Yes, that’s strictly true, but that’s where it stops. Here’s another way of looking at it: how often do you go on a foodie website thinking about pots and pans? What you do think about is meal planning. Is it for a dinner party? Is it for a romantic dinner for two? Is it for a family dinner on a weekday? Do you go with a 5 course French meal for your guests? Do you want to impress your date with paella, with an bottle of tempranillo? Or is it a shellfish fra diavolo to add a little kick to a quiet night in with the spouse, after dropping off the kids at their grandparents? Are you interested in smoking some ribs?
The purpose of the meal is determined first, followed by finding the recipe, ingredients, and tools. This goes without saying for other crafts. In photography, it still seems to be driven by technology as a primary consideration; we usually don’t think in terms of aligning our tools to the effect we want.Dr. Man Ching Cheung
