Does it Really Matter?

Aspen Grove, Grand Teton National Park; Nikon D800E, 70-200mm F/2.8
 G AF-S VRII Nikkor lens @ 175mm, 1/125th @ F/8, VR turned off,
Induro CT414 tripod, RRS BH-55 Ball Head, Lexar 1000X CF card,
Upstrap camera strap, facing approximately due east,
wearing Wrangler khaki cargo pants,
a black Jos A. Banks collared pullover shirt with no pocket, white
Hanes calf-length socks & Ecco leather boots, taken on September 12,
2012 at 1433 hours.  Edited in Lightroom 4 on a Dell computer
with an Intel i7 Sandy Bridge chip and a Dell 2410 Ultra Sharp
monitor which is calibrated with a Colormunki.  Do you get the point
that all this stuff listed is nonsense?

www.dennismook.com

Have you noticed that the trend when publishing photographs is to list not only the camera and lens used, but the shutter speed, aperture, tripod, ball head, mounting plate, etc., etc., etc?  This trend has gotten worse since the general photographic public switched to digital photography.  It wasn't nearly as bad during the days of film photography.

For the most part, what is the point?  I will concede that the location and focal length of the lens will give other photographers, who may have interest in making a similar photograph will be helpful.  There may also be one or two other stats of interest, but unless he or she is there on the same day, time and conditions, the rest of the information is just free advertising.  I doesn't matter.  It really doesn't matter with what I shot the above image.  The reader doesn't know where I stood.  If ones goes back, the conditions will be different.  The sky, the sunlight, the color of the trees all will be different.  The interested photographer shouldn't really care what camera, tripod, shutter speed, F stop, ball head, memory card, etc. that I used because it doesn't matter.  What matters is your vision and creativity.

I think all this is provided because most photographers seem to be obsessed with gear when they should be looking at photographs for light, composition, content, symbolism, pattern, color, tone, etc.

The photographer interested in improving his or her photography should study what  equipment he or she needs to accomplish the type of photography he or she wants to create.  If you are a wildlife photographer you might need a very sturdy tripod with a gimbal head and a very long lens.  It doesn't matter what brand as long as it meets your needs.  If you are a photographer who likes to shoot sports, then you might want to research which fast long lens will meet your needs as well as which monopod will be sturdy enough to keep you gear steady.  The sports photographer may also want to ensure his or her camera body and memory card can fire off enough frames per second as well as read the info into it to record extremely fast moving action.

Don't get caught up on brand names.  Pay attention to the parts of reviews that tell you if the equipment will satisfactorily meet your needs in performance, features, strength, speed, weatherproofness, endurance, etc.  Almost all DSLRs will meet everyones' needs now a days.  It is just a matter of which feels the best and the controls work the best in your hands.

Thanks for looking.

Enjoy!
Dennis Mook