Hey everyone! This week we'll talk about why photographers are emotionally connected to their gear.  You have all heard the chants "I'm a Nikon guy" or "I'm a Canon guy," along with boos and hisses for the other company, especially when you're with a group of photographers.  Now I know that a lot of this is only just playing around, but is it?  I think as photographers that we get a emotional connection with our gear.  We have favorite lenses, lights, bodies, and it's usually the same brand.  And I think it actually makes good sense.  As someone who has switched from full frame Nikon to crop sensor Sony, I have some insight on why we are emotionally connected to our equipment.  So here goes a list.

1. Investment.  As someone who has GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), I have invested a lot of money into gear.  When you buy into a system say like Nikon or Canon, you tend to buy all of their lenses that go with that system.  You slowly build up your arsenal of lenses, and before you know it you've got $15,000 of stuff that you need to insure in case you drop one.  It just gets crazy how much money we invest on gear, and to replace or switch to another brand would be very expensive.  Believe me I've been there, done that.  We would have to sell all of our gear at a loss and then buy new gear of the other system.  We get protective of this gear like they're our babies.  So if we have Canon system, it's the best thing ever and anything else is inferior. So that's one reason that we are so committed to one brand. My Camera's

2. Experiences.  With our cameras we get to go places and take pretty photos of whatever we specialize in.  Maybe it's pretty landscapes or portraits or wildlife.  And our cameras got us to these places.  We've made such a big investment in these small machines that we must take them to different places and use them.  And its great!  I think my camera is my passport to everywhere.  It's taken me to places and I've done things that I never would have done if it wasn't for my camera.  It's like a travel companion that I take with me everywhere.  It has seen and done the same things that I have, so you have the shared experiences together.  And the photos really do look great!  And you look at them, and they bring you back to the time you took them.  So you think it's because of the camera that you got to have that experience.  And maybe it was.

AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2Photographer: Anthony Thurston 3. What other people think and say.  "Wow, that's a pretty picture! You must have a good camera."  Have you ever heard that?  And you probably said something like, "Well, I have a Nikon camera" -- blobby, blob, blob -- and you started going on with the specs and your shoulders went back and your chest started to stick out and you started to feel proud.  I don't care what you say, other people's opinions do matter, even if they are wrong.  Because you're a photographer, and you could have taken the same photo with an iPhone and they wouldn't know the difference, but you would.  And I get it.  I've shown up at local events with a big camera taking photos, and people would stop and ask if I worked for the local paper.  Or people have stopped while I was in the woods photographing something and asked if I was a professional photographer just because of my gear.  It's like being mistaken for a movie star or something, I guess (never has happened to me LOL).  But it makes you feel good inside, and you think that your new gear has given you a new persona.  And maybe it has.  When you're without your camera (which you should never be), you're just an everyday Joe.  But when you don your camera you're now a professional camera guy/gal on assignment for whatever your mind can conjure up. _MSP6316

Confession.  I love my cameras!  I'm a proud Sony shooter!  And I don't think that it is wrong to be emotionally attached to our gear.  I have the first lens that I ever bought for a Pentax camera.  It's so old that it has a screw mount.  But I will never get rid of it.  I have memories with that lens.  One memory is from when I was in high school and set the lens on top of the car while I was unlocking my car.  Yep, you guessed it.  I got in and drove off to work.  I got there and noticed it was missing.  I panicked, and I backtracked and found it in the gutter by my school.  Not a scratch on it.  So yes, we as photographers are emotionally attached to our equipment.  What camera gear are you attached to?  Think about it.  And until next time, keep shooting and get outside!