WHAT IS THE BEST CAMERA?
I must admit that one of the hardest parts of taking this time away from full-time vocational work is this will put a big crimp in feeding a chronic condition that I share with many who have a fondness for photography - GAS (a/k/a Gear Acquisition Syndrome.) Of course, GAS is a delusional little bugger, for behind every full-blown case of GAS is the cruel reality that better gear does not make you a better photographer, nor does the latest and greatest gear do you any good if it is locked away in your camera case.
One of the great things about our first (but definitely not our last) visit to Mt. Nebo State Park outside Dardanelle, AR, has been the local deer population that has no real boundary issues when it comes to us outsiders who have invaded their environment. For the times we have had to descend the mountain to get supplies, the children have insisted that we keep the windows down as we navigate the switchbacks so they can say hi to the “deers” (as Joseph calls them.) Knowing we were going to be headed to the playground when we came back up the mountain, I had my camera in the car, ready in case one of Joseph’s “deers” made themselves available for a quick pic. Before we even got out of the driveway of the cabin, this beautiful creature was giving us the once-over.
At first, I was highly annoyed, for I only had a ‘travel lens’ on the camera, not one of my professional lenses that would have been my first choice. Erin told me to relax, for the picture was going to be ‘just fine.’
As I look at today’s pic, I am reminded of one of the great truisms I learned early on in a photography class I took when starting out - the absolute best camera any photographer owns is the one they have on them at any given moment. Rather than be disappointed at what wasn’t, this pic reminds me to spend less time fretting over what is missing and more time celebrating what (or who) is present.
What is it that you might be missing out on celebrating because you are focused more on what should have been rather than what is in a given situation?
Grace and Peace,
Lamar
NOTE: P.S. added 01JUL2022
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