About Gear
I'm not going to say much about gear, suffice it to say that I am a happy Canon user who knows the value of quality lenses.
But I feel strongly that cameras, lenses, and all the paraphernalia that go into creating beautiful art are never as important as the skill and vision of the craftsman. Today's digital cameras are all very capable. I could not say that any of them make bad images. The unfocussed, cluttered, off-color images we see all around were created by the eye and technique of the shooter. Simply put, we are each in control of what we create.
I keep a relatively short life-cycle for my gear -- I guess being clumsy and out in the field a lot has it's effect on a camera or lens' life. Still I find it funny how many clients look at the age or cost of a photographers' gear as a "test" of how good they are.
It's funny because in many fields, especially music, artists hang onto a quality instrument no matter how old, beat up, and ragged it may look -- as long as it makes wonderful music. From the Willie Nelson's of the country world to the Stradivarius owning classicist the instrument matters -- but mostly to the craftsman.
Some of my work is digital painting and just as I am a contented Canon shooter I also have preferences for digital post-processing: primarily Adobe products.