Start where you are

Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. Doing something now is exceedingly more important than thinking about doing something later. Success is more a product of habit than it is of skills and resources. The great masters of photography used gear that would be considered obsolete for today’s standards. If they can capture photographs that influenced people, there is no reason you can’t do the same.

I feel a lot of us photographers get court up in gear spec’s, converging on the tools of our trade. Instead, we should have consideration for the purpose, meaning or story that our photographs tell. Sure, gear is important but not the primary fundamental. If you got the best gear in the world, what would you do with it? What would you capture? That is what you should be concentrating on. That is where your attention should lie. On the craft, the art form, not the tool. Think about the painting, not the paintbrush.

It’s easier said than done, but we should always play the cards we are dealt with. It takes time to establish a skill set and to develop a style. It takes time to accumulate quality gear. Tutorials and comparison articles are entertaining and give you great insight. But we need to go beyond spec judgment when it comes to photography.

So start, start where you are right now. Use what you already have, and do the best you can. Form healthy habits that will advance your photography practice. And remember to love the process, love the journey, because the present is all we really have.