You’ve found religion in the form of a camera brand that you had to pay to get into. You’ve discovered heaven in the way that ergonomics feel. You rejoice in the way that camera shutters sound — at times finding contentment in their silence like a sacred vow undertaken by monks. And ultimately, you find faith in the lenses. But where is your camera God when you need something done? Like the Aztecs, they demand a sacrifice of money for you to be given their favor at any one time. My dearest camera cultists and camera fanboys: this isn’t true love — this is capitalism.
I remember the first time that I went to Sony Kando trip and feeling like it was a cult-like experience similar to people getting together to go to church. And all the other manufacturers copied them.
These days, talking to camera fanboys and camera cultists is like trying to convince a pyro that water will save them from immolation. This, in turn, has created fundamentalists.
Let’s soak this knowledgeable bread into a saucy truth. Fundamentalism is when someone doubles down on their efforts while forgetting the reasons why they were doing what they were originally trying to achieve. Indeed, the goals disappear, and instead, it just becomes about being robotic.
Did you get into cameras because of a brand? Or to make photographs?
Did your camera hurt you when it made a sound? Did you suddenly become a better photographer because you could shoot tons of images per second?
Did the retro ergonomics of your camera suddenly make you a better photographer?
I’m not going to tell all of us to wake up from the dream that we’re having because it’s actually a nightmare. Most of us are too far gone to the brain-drain dopamine-casino that is social media. Instead, I’ll tell you that it’s time to leave a cult.
You can’t afford to, you say? That’s wrong. The second-hand camera market is flush with lots of cheap alternatives that will deliver great images.
I could go on and on about this, but this is a great place for me to start — and people can only take so much truth at a time.