Two recurring and intertwined themes are running through my life at the moment: When was a photograph made and mirrorless photography. Both are nonsense and yet fascinating – much like life itself. When was a photograph made? This question moved from the slightly academic to the real this week as I was contemplating entering a local art exhibition. When was the above photograph made? Does it matter? Of course it matters if you are trying to suggest that it shows something that it doesn’t but otherwise? I’m not really sure as the photograph should be able to speak for itself. This photograph was captured seven years ago but it the image above was created yesterday using the latest photo editing software – it does make a difference.
Again with mirrorless cameras – what on earth does it matter which camera you used to capture the image? Clearly it does to some people. For the record I am firmly in the mirrorless camp as I have been a Sony camera user on and off for the best part of 20 years. Does this make me a ‘bad’ photographer? Of course not but in the the internet fuelled opinion bubble that seems to have gripped everything it is somehow important.
Here we have a photograph captured using a Sony NEX 5N in 2012. I was at the low point of my photographic practice when I bought this camera and I soon stopped using it because, well I am not really sure why looking back on things as you can see I can wrangle a half decent photograph out of the machine. Again, this image is only made possible because of the latest offerings from Adobe and was produced, not capture, just over a month ago.
So what can we learn from all this. Well for me there is only real lesson. Don’t get over precious that you only have X camera when ‘professionals’ use Y. Capture the images, make the photographs by whatever means you wish and enjoy and learn from the whole process. To misquote James Carville – It’s the photograph that matters stupid.
PS – My opinion is that Canon and Nikon have missed the mirrorless boat and will always be playing catch up. Whether this is fatal to their business is far too early to say but if you want to use a mirrorless camera then there is absolutely no reason to buy a Canon or Nikon unless you already have a a number of Canon or Nikon lenses and accessories. In short the mirrorless offerings from both manufacturers seems to be more about sureing up their current user base rather than attracting many new customers. If this is the case then they are both in very serious trouble. Only time will tell.
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