"The best camera is the one that's with you." Chase Jarvis
Photo taken with iPhone 11 Pro 07/20/2022
I remember in one of my first photography classes my professor being frustrated when a student said during critique, “Well the picture isn’t great because my camera is kinda crappy…. but I’m getting a new one this weekend so my pictures will be better next week.” If you ever want to see a college art professor’s head explode say those words. My art is crap because my tools are crap. This person, bless their heart, was not a fine art major and it showed. She quietly informed this person (I can’t remember if it was a guy or a girl I just remember the conversation) that it’s not the tools that make the person it’s the person that makes the tools. She gave us a famous quote that was along the lines of, “shoot the camera you have.” Ansel Adams, probably one of the most famous landscape photographers of the last 100 years said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” We learned in drawing I that some of the greatest drawings by Rembrandt were made with a stick and ink. A stick. And Ink. We did many, many drawings this way, and let me tell you I never did learn how to make anything that resembled a Rembrandt.
A young woman sleeping (Hendrickje Stoffels); her head resting on her right arm. c.1654 Rembrandt Collection of the British Museum
This was the exact image they showed us in Drawing I to demonstrate what could be accomplished with a stick and ink.
To create art takes more than just amassing the right collection of expensive tools. It takes being willing to see the world in a different manner. It takes the willingness to take what you have right now at hand and express and share with the world your point of view. I still struggle quite a bit with that last part. I’m trying to do better, and yet still a struggle. I’m always so worried that someone is going to say, THAT SUCKS AND YOU SUCK AND THE WHOLE THING SUCKS, AND WHO ARE YOU TO THINK THAT YOU’RE SOME KIND OF ARTIST?!?
Overcoming that fear is one of the hardest things for me, still. Especially as how I stepped back from photography professionally several years ago as my primary job. I still love photography and am happy to be getting back at it, but I want to do something different with my photography. I really want to go more into a fine art direction. I have an idea for a series and I’ve done a lot of reading and research and planning but now it’s time to make that jump into creating the pieces. Will it work? Will it fail miserably? Will it all work out in the end?
Who knows?
But I’m willing to give it a go. The photo above was taken with my iPhone 11 pro. It’s amazing what you can do with a smartphone these days. I did very little editing to this one, just made it black and white and adjusted the contrast a little. The light in my backyard just happened to be particularly gorgeous on this July day. As I looked through my phone today trying to figure out something to write about for the blog the above quote came to mind when I saw this image. The best camera is the one that’s with you. Use the camera you have. Create the work. Find a place to start, use what you have, and go from there. You can be afraid to fail, but just don’t be afraid to create. One of my favorite Mississippi artists Walter Anderson often times worked on simple copy paper and watercolors. You don’t have to be afraid to start where you are. Just begin.
Happy start to the weekend my lovelies! Hope you get some creative time in there somewhere. Talk to you soon!