Re: Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
snapsy wrote: gdanmitchell wrote: Jacob Watrous wrote:
I spent the first part of my life prioritizing 'getting the photo' at any cost. In that world, you use the high-FPS, autofocus monsters because failure isn't an option. When I transitioned to an M with manual primes for my personal and professional work, it wasn't because I wanted a 'slower' experience—it was because I wanted a more intentional one. With a superzoom and high-speed AF, you are essentially reacting to the world. You’re waiting for the camera to tell you what’s in focus.
With a manual prime, you have to do the work of Orienting to the scene before the subject ever arrives. I find that when I build the 'stage' in my head—setting my aperture and scale-focusing—the 'Act' of taking the photo becomes instantaneous. It’s no longer about whether the camera caught the moment; it’s about whether I recognized the architecture of the frame in time.
For me, the 'Experience' of using a manual Leica isn't just a hobbyist’s romance. It’s a diagnostic requirement. It forces me to see the bones of the city instead of just reacting to the motion.
All of the virtues that you attribute to using your manual focus Leica gear are about choices, not the gear. And you can make those same kinds of choices with any brand or type of camera and lens. It is entirely possible to make intentional, engaged photographs while using a super-tele on a modern, automated camera… and it is entirely possible to turn off those automated features when you think that your objectives will be better met without them.
The implication that a photographer using modern, automated equipment and a feature like AF is necessarilynot “doing the work” is nonsensical and disproven by all of the fine work done by photographers using that sort of gear… and basically every other kind of gear and approach known to the world of photography.
Most AF lenses don't have the same ergonomics and hepatics as MF lenses, so the choice Jacob was speaking to may not be available on AF lenses. Also, he indicated his preference for being forced to using MF rather than having the option. It can certainly be debated whether relying on an externally-imposed restriction "should" be necessary, but if you live long enough you learn such debates are more about preference than necessity, so it's like arguing whether "blue" is a better color than "red". To each his own.
Some of that is kind of my point. I read from time to time these notions that using restricted technology makes us better photographers. I suppose I have no objection if one chooses to use whatever they regard aas minimal gear, but it bothers me when this is accompanied by a claim (as in the post I replied to)that those who don’t want to work that way are somehow lesser photographers. That’s just silliness, and there’s really nothing to support that as a broad perspective.
Mar 06, 2026 at 08:16 PM
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