September has been an odd month. There was a flurry of activity with the Christmas editorial work finally being finished off then 3 weeks of finding myself down on the north Kent coast visiting friends. The removal from the usual routine has been just what was needed to blow away the photography cobwebs. Being at least 2 hours from the office with little or no way of being in contact with anyone left me to wander the coast line at my leisure and take in the the glorious surroundings. Being out of the office also forced me to travel light, which was in this case the MarkIII and an old favourite, the 28mm f2.8 prime and an iPhone for snaps. I'm sure I'll be flamed for saying but I took more with the iPhone on some occasions which brings me to the point of this post.
With all the distractions miles away and the beautiful surroundings and perfect light at my disposal, it didn't matter which medium I was using to record the landscape around me. I was just enjoying taking photos without the commercial end result in mind, which sometimes clouds judgment. Sensibly I did take the same photo with the MarkIII just to be on the safe side, but for the initial time it was like being back in my teens with my old Minolta X700 and a roll of 36 exposure film.
My parting nugget of wisdom, told to me by a progressive photographer many many years my senior said-
'the camera, regardless of brand format or spec, at the end of the day is just a tool. Whether its an 35mm or a 8x10' large format, different cameras are made for different uses, its what ever gets the job done is the most important thing'
The scary thing I did notice once I got back to the office was the rate at which technology is advancing, all the photos attached to this post are all from a humble iPhone4 showing its not all about the kit but having the knowledge and understanding of the light and applying that to the environment around you.