I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen young mechanics bankrolling the Mac or SnapOn Tools guy whenever they came around. Yet these were the same guys who used to sneer at anybody with a cabinet full of Craftsman tools. When you get down to nuts and bolts (pun intended) very little separates these pro tools from stuff you could get at Sears for a fraction of the cost. Mostly it was prestige. What you really wanted was the warranty on all three of them. Granted a Craftsman sticker isn’t going to look as cool on your toolbox, but anyone knows it’s the brain and the experience that makes the professional. Not just a brand name sticker.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

Today I took my Olympus OM-D E-M10mkII camera to the Great Sand Dunes National Park to take some photos. I use two lenses. A 25mm prime lens and a 40-150mm zoom. My camera is ten years old and I bought it second hand. As a travel journalist, it does exactly what I need it to do. It’s portable, takes excellent photos, and it’s simple to use. It also has the advantage of looking like an old-school film camera. I get lots of people asking me if I’m shooting film all the time.

It’s a Micro Four Thirds system, which basically means it’s smaller than a Full Frame camera. All you really need to know is whether or not the shots turn out well. They do. Unless you are pixel-peeping, you wouldn’t really know any different. There’s a little noise if you really look in close, but otherwise…

Let’s just say this. I don’t understand why people think you have to have a $6000 camera to take a good photo. Mine is a fraction of that. And really, the quality of digital photos has reached a level where quality is only going to improve so much with each generation. The secret is knowing how to create interesting compositions. Not how sharp the image is or how fuzzy the bokeh is in the background.

Most photogs these days rely heavily on post-production anyway. I am not a fan. I think that’s because I’m a relic of the film camera days when you tried to make sure conditions were as ideal as possible, rolled the dice, and found out what turned out when the film was developed.

Today, I got lucky. I was at the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado during an afternoon where the wind was blowing and storms were rolling in. The aspens are at peak Fall color right now too. But the real star of today’s shoot was the subject. All sorts of interesting people were on the dunes today. I found more than a few shots that I absolutely loved.

Anyway, the tools are definitely less important than knowing what makes a good picture. For me, it’s a feeling. It’s the way the composition lines itself out. The shapes. The color. The atmosphere. It’s visceral. And much of the time, it’s just dumb luck, or allowing yourself to be open to the opportunity to have dumb luck.

My old camera might not be the best, but I feel like it suits my purposes. It’s the ratty paintbrush that I keep coming back to. It’s the chewed up Ticonderoga #2 that has scribbled out so many stories.

If you feel like you are a fraud because you didn’t drop $10k on a camera setup, that doesn’t mean you are any less of a photographer. Become adept with the tools you’ve got. If you want to get some more tools later, and you can afford to, then go for it! But keep in mind there will be a learning curve for that too. And of course even those bodies and lenses will be old before long, and you’ll have to buy more.

Personally, I’ve got no use for a Full Frame camera right now. Some pro lenses might be an upgrade, but I’m having fun and feeling lucky with the Craftsman tools sticker on the outside of my toolbox for now. I’ve known people with the expensive rig that took mediocre pictures. All it did was show they had a couple grand lying around to flex on their friends.

My favorite photographer, Robert Capa, is known for saying “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.” Right now, I’m just working on getting a little bit closer.

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I plan to use my substack for small articles. but there’s also my podcast and YouTube channel. I hope you’ve enjoyed what you have found here!