BUY THE DREAM. FORGET THE PACKAGE.
By MICHAEL PERKINS
I BREAK OUT IN HIVES every time I see ads for cameras that claim they can “make you excited to shoot again”, which is really one of the more transparent pitches designed to make you believe that gear is an end unto itself. Specifically, our gear, which, more than their gear, will actually bring you fulfillment and mastery in a way nothing else can. Those hives turn into itchy, bleeding boils when the ads explain that it’s your bulky, uninspiring, cold, and impersonal camera that’s holding back your art, and that our warm and cozy, tactile clutch of knurled knobs and analog-ish switches will remind you of the joy you once had in making pictures, but lost…..until we came along.
Now, I would never be stupid enough to suggest that sleeker, simpler, more romantically designed cameras can’t re-ignite one’s fever for photography. Sexy stuff sells, and has frequently been sold to me. However, when your creartive flame starts to flicker, it’s vital to seek the real reason that things have gone cold. Is it really about products, or about process? Can you only bring back your original ardor for shooting just by re-tooling its mechanics? You’d never ask whether a new Maserati would make you a safer driver, nor would the Maserati people sell you their product based on technical reliability. Far from it: that sporty little monster is selling you a feeling, a sensation, some intangible lightning-in-a-bottle that will, magically transform even the experience of driving to 7-11 for a loaf of bread. For the very same “if you only had this” approach in photographic terms, see the copy in the vintage Leica ad shown above.
Gear purchases are supposed to be practical, in that we seek the perfect tool for what we want to create. However, said tool, no matter how many warm and fuzzy contours and menus it offers, can only take us so far in the pursuit of excellence. The oldest questions asked by photographers, i.e., “how will it help me do what I want to do?”, “is it enough camera?”, “is it too much camera?” or “am I really as likely to use it as to admire it?” must still be asked and answered. Manufacturers are selling a dream inside a package. Investigate and buy the dream, certainly, but realize that the package is, after all, just the box the thing came in.
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