I took a visit to this year's BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. There were some stunning images.
From a gear point of view, though, while there were loads of 1ds III there were also masses of 5D, 20D, 30D, D70. 400D material. What's more, many were taken with 'consumer' Canon and Sigma lenses. Printed at a big print sizes the 1D MK III images didn't 'pop out' over the lesser cameras in an exhibition setting.
Any DSLR and half-way decent lens can win a prestigious international competition. Get yourself in front of something amazing and not in front of tech-specs and 100% crops of walls.
However, good gear makes your life/job easier.
Also, good gear ensures that the possibility of a missed shot due to hardware (missed/slow focusing, for example) is of a lesser degree.
What are you saying? That the photographer is more important than the gear? Well, there's nothing new in this. However, it's not that gear is not important. Otherwise it's like saying that Luis Hamilton can win an F1 race with a BMW M3.
Yakim Peled wrote:
What are you saying? That the photographer is more important than the gear? Well, there's nothing new in this. However, it's not that gear is not important. Otherwise it's like saying that Luis Hamilton can win an F1 race with a BMW M3.
Happy shooting,
Yakim.
true but he'd probably make a better fist of it than me (or your average) driver in an F1 car against him in said M3
Probably the best way to shoot award winning wildlife images is to put youself in the best place at the best time and know your subject (it could even be in your garden). gear comes way down the list but it makes us feel better.
Gear does much more than makes us feel better. Good gear enables us to achieve 100% of ourselves, without being hampered by any (gear-related) shortcomings.
Yakim Peled wrote:
Gear does much more than makes us feel better. Good gear enables us to achieve 100% of ourselves, without being hampered by any (gear-related) shortcomings.
Happy shooting,
Yakim.
That is one aspect of it. However, there is more. Using gear in unorthodox ways, or the effort of overcoming gear handicaps, carries often great learning opportunities and results in novel ways of expression or presentation.
Yakim Peled wrote:
What are you saying? That the photographer is more important than the gear?
Actually, this completely untrue as far as the winning shot is concerned - it was an image captured by camera attached to a remote motion sensor, and the "photographer" was in bed when the camera was activated!
How the hell that won, I'll never know - it had nothing to do with principles of skill and creativity the competition espouses, and would be better as a demonstration of a security camera system than as the supposed epitome of wildlife photography.
Well, one can argue that the photographer arranged all this in order for the cat to be able to take his own picture. And Rebel XT + 10-22 is not exactly high-end gear.
Hehehehe......try a UWA lens to photograph a bird in flight...or other bird perching on a tree... Show me if gears aren't important....
keithreeder wrote:
Actually, this completely untrue as far as the winning shot is concerned - it was an image captured by camera attached to a remote motion sensor, and the "photographer" was in bed when the camera was activated!
How the hell that won, I'll never know - it had nothing to do with principles of skill and creativity the competition espouses, and would be better as a demonstration of a security camera system than as the supposed epitome of wildlife photography.
keithreeder wrote:
Actually, this completely untrue as far as the winning shot is concerned - it was an image captured by camera attached to a remote motion sensor, and the "photographer" was in bed when the camera was activated!
Moral of the story : Go visit India for stunning award winning wildlife pictures ! :-).
Jokes aside, the guy spent 4 months in freezing Ladakh for this picture...that itself tells a lot about his determination and courage. Besides, the snow leopard is so rare....no wonder, he won !!
ShutterLover wrote:
Any DSLR and half-way decent lens can win a prestigious international competition. Get yourself in front of something amazing and not in front of tech-specs and 100% crops of walls.
A DSLR and lens have NEVER won a prestigious international competition...or any other competition for that matter. Cameras don't win...photographers do.
Show me if gears aren't important.... 