a.k.a. — unsolicited late-night thoughts, but written anyway.
(01) The Camera as a Status Symbol: Does the Gear Matter More Than the Eye?
Once upon a time, a camera was a tool to tell stories. Today, for many, it's a tool to tell their story. Photography gear has become a fashion accessory, where owning the latest model is often more important than having a unique vision.
A quick scroll through YouTube reveals countless videos by photography influencers who barely talk about photography. Instead, they showcase products in slick, slow-motion B-rolls—always wearing perfect outfits and sunglasses—shooting fire hydrants and manhole covers with cameras worth thousands. The message is clear: this isn't just about a camera. It's a lifestyle. And that lifestyle could be yours, if only you bought this season's "must-have" gear.
In the end, it’s not about creating images. It’s about being seen with the right camera.
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(02) Scroll, Consume, Forget: Photography in the (DDA) Digital Disposable Age.
Photographs used to live in albums, boxes, and memories. They were held, revisited, cherished. Today, they're digital clutter—captured, posted, and forgotten.
We shoot obsessively, hoard thousands of images, and then... never look at them again. The ease of digital photography has made taking a picture so effortless, it’s lost almost all value. Back then, every shot required thought. Now, it's just muscle memory. There's always space on the cloud, after all.
In this era, images aren’t about meaning. They’re about filling empty space. And their fate is always the same: a flick of the thumb, and they’re gone.
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(03) The Algorithm's Rule: Do We Shoot for Ourselves or for Instagram?
We used to choose what to photograph. Now, the algorithm chooses for us.
Travel destinations aren’t picked for their culture or beauty, but for their potential to go viral. A hike in nature? Only if there’s a "perfect view" at the end. A city trip? Only if the streets offer the right background for a trendy post.
We all know the scene: a crowd gathered at the Instagram spot—some after hours of hiking, others ten meters from the bus stop. But instead of taking in the view, breathing the air, feeling the place... the first instinct is to whip out the phone. Because now, photography isn’t about preserving a moment—it’s about proving we were there.
Photography no longer helps us see. It traps us in a loop of trends, hashtags, and déjà-vu compositions.
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(04) More Megapixels for What? The Tech Obsession We Don’t Need.
Is a 24-megapixel camera still usable in 2025? And if your camera doesn’t shoot 8K video, is it even worth turning on?
We've been trained to believe that if you don’t own the latest camera, you’re not a real photographer. But let’s be honest—those 100 megapixels? They end up compressed on social media. Those 1200 fps? Used in a moody slow-mo reel with lo-fi music.
The problem isn’t technology. It’s our obsession with constantly upgrading. We’ve been sold the idea that creativity comes from specs, that a 3-year-old camera is outdated, that inspiration is somehow tied to firmware updates.
But here's the truth: the best camera in the world is useless if you don’t know what you’re trying to say.
And for the record, among the more than 20??? different cameras I own (ahem...collect them), I still shoot with some old 10MP ones. They still do the job—because vision matters more than resolution.
And for the record, among the more than 20??? different cameras I own (ahem...collect them), I still shoot with some old 10MP ones. They still do the job—because vision matters more than resolution.
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(05) The Never-Ending Gear Chase.
Your photos aren’t bad because you need a better lens.
They’re bad because you're not looking. You're not observing. You're not feeling. And no camera in the world can fix that.
But the photography industry will never tell you that. Instead, it sells you the illusion that your creativity is limited by your gear. That the only thing standing between you and stunning images is the next upgrade. And so begins the endless cycle: camera, lens, tripod, drone, back to camera.
The truth? The camera isn’t the limit. You are. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you might start making photos that matter.