Wednesday, January 25, 2012

D4 Mentality


Am I no theologian. I am no authority on spiritual matters. As a photographer, I observe. And what I observe is this: Often, we carry our Nikon D4 top of the line Pro camera's about our necks, bashing those who merely carry little bottom rung point and shoots. You mock the point and shooters, saying they should just shut up. Because they are not able to gather light from total darkness like you can with your D4, you disparage them as false photographers.
And you, who carry such a large camera, what qualifies you to be the authority on photographic matters? Just because you can afford such a large camera? I have been carrying a lesser than a D4 camera about my neck for over forty years now, and still, I do not feel I have attained a level beyond point and shoot. And many of you D4 carriers I have observed toting them less than ten years at best, based upon your youthful zealotry.
I think you have yet to master your D4's controls. On every camera there is an ISO setting. It determines the amount of light that enters the camera. In the old days of film, each brand of film had an ASA or ISO rating of speed. Kodachrome was one of the more finely detailed slow grain films, usually requiring bright sunlight or a tripod to properly expose this ISO film of 25. Tri-X was a faster film for low light situations with an ASA of 400. It is my suspicion that you D4 users are setting your ISO at 3200 and beyond. This washes out everything and causes gross over-exposure in daylight. You are going about thinking you are walking in this bright light, so much brighter than it actually is.
If you would tone your light gathering capacities down a notch or two, you would perhaps once again begin to take proper exposures.
You would no longer see everyone as under-exposed and walking in darkness. There is a light scale friends. Not everyone chooses or is able to walk in the light of Zone Nine or 3200 ISO.
So quit wanting to silence those who are carrying about the point and shoots. Someday they will possibly move beyond that level and will graduate to a D4. If they don't, that is fine. You will always have the poor photographers who struggle so you who carry the D4's can look down upon them and bask in your knowledge of photography. But just remember, one day you carried about a point and shoot.

No comments:

Post a Comment