This is the best camera you will ever own!

Debate continues among photographers over the best camera. It is likely that there will be no global agreement. However, the best camera you will get is not Canon, Sony, Nikon, or even Hasselblad.

Have you heard the story of a time when a client approached Picasso in a cafe one day and asked him to draw something on his napkin? Apparently, the man asked Picasso to set his price for drawing a napkin, to which Picasso replied with a request of $ 100,000.

The man was angry and claimed that this price was ridiculous given that Picasso only took 30 seconds to create the drawing. The main point, as the tale goes, is that Picasso told the man that it didn't actually take him 30 seconds to create the drawing, it was his 40 years of experience that he had built during those years.

The truth of this story cannot be confirmed, but what is true is that Picasso was not successful overnight and spent nearly 91 years creating drawings, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and more.

Talent and work versus equipment

What is my point of view and how do you relate to the title of this article? The genius, talent and beautiful artwork that Picasso created in all kinds of mediums came from Picasso's mind first. And through earnest hard and learn the necessary skills. The works that earned him an estimated half a billion dollars throughout his life did not magically appear because he was holding an HB pen. Or a specific type of horse hair painter's brush.

Picasso first saw in his mind what he wanted to make, and his mind's vision was evident through his tools, whether it was pencils, paintbrushes, or chisels. However, years and years of practice, dedication, and harnessing of his talent led to his greatness. And the tools helped him create what his mind first saw.

This does not mean that the camera and the lenses are unimportant in photography. I buy new equipment and tools because I often have visions of what I want to create and I think a new piece of gear may help achieve these visions more easily than using the equipment I already own.

I'm not buying gear just for it hoping it helps sell my next picture at a price like Peter Lik. To make my point clear, I want to share three photos with you and explain how my brain created my final version before I put my fingers on my camera or lens.

The above photo was taken two weeks ago before Hurricane Haison brought havoc in S.W. Japan. It was taken in the late afternoon, around 5 PM. This location is about 10 minutes from my home and I often use that little back way when I get home. Or when I take my little girls on my bike.

Every time I cross this bridge I have been jotting mental notes about the makeup and what I need to consider to get a good shot. I knew it had great potential, but I also knew there were a few things to count.

In the end, I knew it had to be late in the evening, because the sun would shine from behind the mountains on the train and shine yellow on the train and brown on the bridge. It also had to be a day when the sun shines in order to get that illumination and reflection from the train. I also knew that the tide must be so high - like the tide that comes with a full moon - that boats on the left get stuck in gray mud. Finally, I had to be there at a specific time because the trains only pass once an hour at that time in the evening.

Planning and experimenting

With all of these things in mind, I would often drive across this spot and see the perfect light, but realize the tide was very low. Or I could see dazzling light and a gentle high tide, but then realized that the next train wasn't coming until darkness approached. All these ideas about light, composition, elements of weather and timing all date back to my hours over the years in photography and other art forms. Hence, when it came time to get that shot, it was relatively straightforward.

I knew where to stand, knew the technicalities of the camera and lens needed, then I pressed the shutter button and did some work in post-production. I could use Canon, Nikon, Sony, or anything else that allowed me to get what I wanted. It was the mental image and preparation that made this shot work. Let me show you some more pictures to prove my point.

I took this picture from the same first position. It was at a similar time of day but as you can see, the results are starkly contradictory to one another. In this image above, the sun was hidden behind a dense gathering of light clouds, removing its amber glow.

Moreover, the tide was much lower, and you can see the effect on the boats and water. There's even an old, buried boat stuck in the mud. The photo isn't very pretty, is it? Finally, without the train, this is just a boring shot. However, it was shot in the same first position, with the same camera and lens. I'll give you another example below. 

The photo above was also taken in the late afternoon. This time, I went to the other side of the bridge and took my pictures of the train from there. Due to the cloudy conditions, there is no orange glow, no train reflection. There aren't any boats in the frame either, and the only real element of interest up front are those exposed rocks that show themselves at low tide.

Again, a somewhat blurry shot of a site with great potential. Of course, you might say I should have taken pictures in a better light for the comparison, but that only strengthens my argument, because it shows that you are thinking about the light before taking the camera out.

The summary of speech

In conclusion, there are a lot of elements that go into taking good photos, and many of them include things unrelated to the equipment you use. Your understanding of light, color, weather patterns, configuration, and gear contributes to getting the picture you want.

Without the first four elements I just mentioned, it doesn't matter what type of camera you were using. Because if you don't understand light, mount, etc., not all equipment in the world will help you. To be sure, equipment can help turn a good photo into a great one, or get exactly what you want.

But the computer that represents your mind, and all the information that can be processed, synchronized and synthesized, will always be better than your handheld camera when it comes to getting that awesome picture, that you want to hang on your wall or put in your wallet. What do you think? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

About the author

Ian Stanley is an associate professor who teaches photography and composition in Japan. He has participated in international conferences and has written for Japan Travel magazine and the Japan National Tourism Organization. When he's not taking pictures, browsing, or playing with his girls, he's watching Rugby League.