A little thought...

I believe I may have touched on this point once or twice before, in previous posts here and there. Earlier this week, as I served beer and chatted with an amateur photographer in the good old Alexandra Tavern, we touched upon the willingness of a great many photographers to fork out hundreds upon hundreds of pounds on bits and pieces of equipment for their kit.

Now. Let's say, before we start, that it is a fundamental necessity to shell out for the important things. I don't think anyone will reasonably dispute the necessity of the right camera bodies, lenses and lighting kits. Those things are pretty danged necessary. I wouldn't advise compromising when it comes to capturing and creating light. I have no wish to advise compromise anyway - only a little pragmatic thought.

Capturing and creating good light are the photographer's top priorities. Influencing light, though...?

Let's return to our friend in the pub. In the 1980s and 90s, he said, photography (in the main) began to move away from being the realm of people who thought with vigorous creativity, learning their craft the hard way. In came cameras designed to be used by absolutely anyone, and absolutely everyone bought cameras. What an impact this has had - many of today's amateur photographers boast of not having to learn what their cameras' settings do. Many cameras are even built without manual settings. Cameras are becoming smaller and smaller, and more fashionable. Image quality has taken its place on the back burner, in favour of image size and the colour of the camera's casing.

Nowadays, this is, of course, obvious for everyone to see. What had also become obvious in the 1980s and 90s, however, was the growth of the camera as a status symbol - particularly amongst men. Alongside your choice of shoes and car, your choice of camera began to define you. Never mind what you could do with a high-end camera, the fact that you owned the thing was enough to make other men in the street and the pub dribble and fawn.

The upshot of this has been that people who don't know very much about photography have been buying equipment they don't know very much about, for reasons they're not quite sure of. This has created a demand for simple things such as flashgun diffusers. Anyone with their own mind would play around with ways of diffusing light. Manufacturers know that many people don't think this way, however, and sell their own equipment at prices they think they can get away with. £45 for a piece of shaped vinyl. £26 for a carved up yoghurt pot (as a friend of mine recently discovered).

They're fine, for their different purposes. As I said - there is a demand, and they are fit for purpose. The creativity and, sometimes, the intricate control of light dissipates though. Why pay £45 for a diffuser that does the same job as, say, a piece of paper and a hairband?



Or a piece of polystyrene with some paper glued on it? (Photograph courtesy of Rod Penn)



Or a piece of bubble wrap?



Or, if you want to show a flash of brilliance in your thinking, why not go to a DIY shop and experiment with your control of light, like Andy Larkin's tremendous image of moving clouds in bright sunshine - using a welder's mask as a filter. Click here.

You don't need to spend vast amounts of money to set yourself apart in photography.