AN OBSERVATION

“We live in a world that values easy solutions to complex problems. And buying [photographic] gear on specifications is such a solution. Further, instant pop culture has destroyed the ability of most people to appreciate nuance, delicacy and detail, values which require dedication and emotional commitment, and which are only revealed over time.”

“Finally, I submit that obsessive preoccupation with technical specifications is a masculine peculiarity, which values linear left- brain thinking over holistic right-brain feeling. Perhaps this explains why women are often into pinhole and antique cameras while men are intent upon acquiring the sharpest lenses and latest, most technically advanced equipment.”

“Unfortunately, most photographers have become slaves to sharpness and rate a lens solely on that basis, instead of on character, which is a subjective quality and cannot be quantified.”

-Peter Hughes

Curing Photo Gear Acquisition Syndrome

(Photo: Randy Wells, 1982 50mm Leica Summicron)