I assure you all that I for one am not remotely interested in “obsessing” over an estimate by someone about how much whatever camera gear costs. What someone
else paid for a camera is up to their priorities and of no interest to me, nor whether it was new or second hand. Sure If I am near someone in the field who has an interesting setup, I might ask to have a look but within a minute I will have forgotten anything
about brands or prices. I also do not have a camera suitable for bird photography and whilst occasionally I wish I did, far more often I am glad that I don’t, because it is an extra distraction. I decided years ago that photographing birds was only worthwhile
if that outcome, rather than observing, was the priority. Due largely to the prohibitive costs in the 1970s, it has not been my priority and I happen to have maintained that. Though I have done some video. I admire good bird photography and video but I think
I admire good bird art more.
I think I have been the only one who has made comment on this line about something within the featured photo about the subject matter.
Philip
From: Canberrabirds [
On Behalf Of Archer Callaway via Canberrabirds
Sent: Monday, 18 October, 2021 5:24 PM
To: Rory Read; David Rees
Cc:
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Bird photo comp - shortlisted entries
(Mark feel free to delete)
David, expensive equipment can go some way towards compensating for lack of talent or allowing you to fully express your vision, but patience, experimentation,
and an eye for composition and lighting go a long way towards making photos taken with cheaper gear stand out amongst those taken with the latest flashy and expensive kit. Ideally, one would have both the perfect equipment and skill, but that is not always
possible, nor necessary.
In fact, the majority of my favourite bird photographers are younger folk, many of whom are keen to upgrade their equipment but cannot, and instead
direct their focus on perfecting their craft. You may not have much exposure to their work given your use of Flickr, as opposed to Instagram which tends to be their preferred platform, but I can help point you in the right direction to a selection of our favourites.
While the below list still represents a wide range of setups, some considerably more expensive than others, what you'll see is that they have all developed their own style that sets themselves apart from the crowd - they aren't just another bird photographer.
I am not much of a photographer myself, but I too have won a category of a World Wetlands Day photo comp previously - with my bridge camera that was $450 new.
You frequently comment on other's photos on Facebook regarding their equipment choices 'if only you'd captured it in 4K video with an external mic',
'you should get a camera with x sensor' and so on. The same narrative repeated over and over is getting tiring. Perhaps it is time to accept that you can't blame equipment whenever you see great photos, or whenever something of your own doesn't turn out how
you would've liked? Good equipment is a privilege, and will never be something that everyone has equal access to, so it is unhealthy to be fixated on this. However, developing your skills is open to everyone, and that is where the focus and the celebration
should lie.
Archer
From: Canberrabirds <> on behalf of Rory Read via Canberrabirds <>
Sent: Monday, 18 October 2021, 5:16 pm
To: David Rees
Cc:
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Bird photo comp - shortlisted entries
I can tell you that because I know some of the shortlisted photographers, and many other wildlife photographers.
I think it's likely that a fair proportion of the more expensive lenses used were purchased second hand too, as is standard. How about we focus on congratulating the individuals that were shortlisted rather than obsessing over the fact
that *some* of them paid more than 20k for their gear.
On Sun, 17 Oct 2021 at 22:31, David Rees <> wrote:
Yes, I am more than aware that it is time on the job that makes the difference. I certainly do not use gear that costs 20K nor can I afford it. The question remains, how do you know that the individuals have bought the gear secondhand, or is it the more
likely case that it is the gear said individuals have used for a very long time and have got very good with it. Camera bodies are one thing, they change over frequently, glassware much less so. as we know, camera bodies are the cheap bit, and therefore much
less than half the story.
David
On 17/10/2021 7:26 pm, Rory Read wrote:
Some of the shortlisted images were taken with gear that cannot be purchased new in 2021, such as the Canon 5diii, Canon 450d (released in 2008 and can be purchased for $150), Nikon d800, et cetera. It is not disingenuous
to use secondhand prices in this discussion because many of the options don't have a new price, and much of the gear used will have been purchased secondhand.
Many of the images shortlisted were taken with gear that would cost you much less that 20k to purchase new. The competition is very accessible and skill and time invested are far bigger factors than gear price.
On Sat, 16 Oct 2021 at 17:11, David Rees via Canberrabirds <> wrote:
Bit disingenuous that, For fair comparison I have used new prices, yes, sure you can buy second hand gear, you can buy second hand gear at any price level, a $1000 camera for $350 sort of thing. My comment still applies as a rational standard of value.
David
On 16/10/2021 1:58 pm, Con wrote:
Martin
IMO, $20k is not necessary. Most of the shortlisted Birdlife images could have been captured by second hand equipment costing less than two thirds of new. Quite a few cameras/lens combos get purchased and then spend most of their lives in a cupboard. The
very latest bells and whistles might lead to a higher success rate per capture, and might confer some advantage in specific conditions (say birds in flight, or rainforest birds in dull light), but most of the Birdlife images could well have been captured with
equipment with a market value of well less than $10,000. I know several of the photographers who are shortlisted and the main answers to their success are time in the field at all hours of the day and night, becoming adept at post processing, and seeking constant
improvement.
kind regards
Con
On 10/16/2021 1:35 PM, Martin Butterfield via Canberrabirds wrote:
I think at the first COG Meeting I attended - mid 1983 - Graeme Chapman presented hints on taking bird photos, illustrated with some of his best images. From memory the cost of the kit he put up was something tripod $1000, camera body
$3000 and telephoto lens $3000. Allowing for inflation (about 3.5 x ) that would cost $25,000 these days. So $20k is good value!
On Sat, 16 Oct 2021 at 11:02, David Rees via Canberrabirds <> wrote:
Thanks for that, some glorious images, however from inspection, most of them needed about $20K plus worth of gear to take.
On 15/10/2021 7:00 pm, tlawson wrote:
|
ATT00001.txt
Description: ATT00001.txt
|
