That’s what I am. This might be relevant as I see a lot of photography blogs and websites written or curated by professional photographers. Some of them can be quite gear oriented, saying something about this or that camera, lens, light-setup, whatever. I really do appreciate the work that these photographers are doing as well as their openness in sharing their knowledge. But I also get the feeling, that clever marketing people at camera manufacturers are facilitating this channel  to persuade customers to buy “professional” gear. You know, in order to take “professional” photos.

“I can only imagine how great my cooking would be if I just had the same stove and oven as Jamie Oliver.”

I am not immune to all that influence, I still look up at professional photographers and I still suffer from the “I need that gear” reflex from time to time. And I had a “professional” full frame camera setup with all the fancy f/2.8 lenses. But I sold it by now, because I am not a professional photographer. And because this setup was actually preventing myself from taking more casual, “non-professional” images.

I want my gear to help me capture moments of my life, I want it to be an expansion to my own memory and helping me to tell stories. Gear is just not very important for doing that. Moments like being on a short vacation in Venice strolling through narrow streets with my beautiful wife.

Visiting New York City for the first time and taking meaningless pictures during the bus ride to get there.
Visiting New York City for the first time and taking meaningless pictures during the bus ride into the city.

 

Enjoying a beautiful sunset in Croatia on a summer vacation together with friends.
Enjoying a beautiful sunset in Croatia on a summer vacation together with friends.

 

Being in a city for the first time. Again, taking rather meaningless photos in the streets.

This is the most important part of photography to me. It is great to know a thing or two about exposure, composition or editing, as this might help to get “better” photos. But after all, for the most part it is about memories and stories. And being able to do that without the need to produce or deliver something is the great freedom of not being a professional photographer.
But I guess that this story doesn’t help you to sell a 5000$+ camera setup to an enthusiast.

PS: Check out the “Pro Photographer, Cheap Camera” series from DigitalRevTV. It’s all about Jamie Oliver’s stove.