I mean, I got the gist of it but only hypothetically.
In practice, though, none of this meant anything to me.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
In hindsight, that was the right choice.
It sure felt this way at the time.
Until I started getting gear envy.
The distinction is awfully subtle, but it ultimately separates an averagesnapfrom a powerfulimage.
There are no rules to what makes a great photo, but you know when youve seen one.
Its like an imprint on your brain.
Its a characteristic tough to put into words, but fairly easy to highlight visually.
Go to any stock photography platform, and search for twins.
Its the pop in of snap you’re able to imagine a person using as their profile pic.
Itsa good photo of that person, but thats all it is a forgettable Facebook avatar.
Now compare those images to Diane Arbus renownedIdentical Twins.
It talks to me as a spectator.
Itsnot justa photo of twins, but an intimate portrayal of two fundamentally different individuals.
The secret is in the details.
The use of monochrome highlights difference, while the identical attire underscores sameness.
Identical people, different individuals.
The photo instantly communicates thatvision, it puts those concepts into your mind.
Unfortunately, thats not how bad photographers (with inflated egos and insufficient self-awareness) think.
We correctly identify great photography and incorrectly attribute better cameras to what makes it great.
This brings me back to gear envy.
I briefly lost interest inmyphotographylast year.
All of a sudden I had become obsessed with full-frame cameras.
I got so fixated with the idea that I hardly bothered to shoot with smaller aperture tweaks.
The reviewer in me knew this was wrong, but the experience felt therapeutic to the photographer in me.
For the first time in months, I genuinely got a kick out of shooting out in the streets.
It brought back the unbridled enthusiasm I experienced when I first got into photography two years ago.
I wasnt simply in love with the process, I was in love with the camera.
It fit so nicely in my hands, the feeling was so familiar.
Ive previously spoken about the importance oftrusting your camera, and theres little to doubt about the A7R IV.
Everything Sony boasts about immaculate image quality, snappy performance, and effortless handing is true.
The A7R IV is so good it makes it difficult to take bad pictures.
It restored my confidence as a photographer.
One of the biggest challenges of street photography is how fast everything moves.
A shallower depth of field leaves less room for error as far as focusing goes.
A few centimeters could mean a few more stops worth of blur for your subject.
I got to learn that first-hand.
I took a couple of snaps, but ultimately settled on this one.
Thats not a shortcoming of the camera, but an inappropriate technical choice on my part.
The thrill of flashy new tech is always ephemeral.
It vanishes as soon as we get accustomed to it.
Then we relapse back into our routines.
This is the most important lesson the A7R IV taught me.
Yes, there are undeniable advantages to full-frame sensors, but those wont make you a better photographer.
Ive always sought to exhibit moments ofsolitudeanddespairin my photography.
Take this picture, for instance:
Casinos have always drawn my attention.
For a place designed to be a hub of entertainment, theres something inherently melancholic about them.
With the odds stacked against them, there are no happy endings for these people.
Only a bitter walk of shame.
This story isnt unique to a specific person, its a tragedy playing out at the casino every day.
I waited for the right person to step into the frame, and I pressed the shutter.
Theres no denying it: The A7R IV is a powerhouse of a camera.
It literally does it all.
But that comes at a hefty price, $3,499 to be precise.
The same goes for any photographer whose work often appears in print.
Thats not me, though.
Photography is still mostly a hobby for me.
Im sorry, A7R IV: I like you, but its not you its me.
All images in this piece have been snapped with the A7R IV.
Theyre all heavily edited (and some heavily manipulated).
If youre interested in a closer look at my creative process,follow me on Instagram.
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