Because it Counts!

A new ad campaign by Sony Australia pokes fun at DSLR camera geeks who seem to have more gear than brains. The ads are hilarious and they succeed because they contain a grain of truth: a lot of photographers really are obsessed with their gear and far too many shutterbugs do allow their DSLRs to get in the way of the creative process.

But a recent ad by Canon offers a great counter-argument to the Sony ad. And it does so by answering the question "why?" with just three words: Because It Counts. 

Now I will be the first to admit that I have more gear than I really need and that I have a weakness for uber-cool Leicas and super-fast Canons. But if there is one thing I have learned after decades of carting all manner of photo gear around the world it is that the photos you take really do count. In fact, a photo can be one of the very few things in this world that actually becomes more valuable to you over time. 

The image below is a great example. It is of my mom and dad and it was taken in the summer of 1959. Whoever took it (probably my dad's brother Bill) went to quite a bit of effort to get such a nice shot. He had to have used a completely manual camera with a fixed focal length lens since there were no auto settings on cameras back then and no zoom lenses. And he shot it on slide film that probably had an ISO no faster than 25!  

But was the effort worth it? Did it count back then...and does it still count now? To me, my family, and to anyone who can appreciate a sweet portrait of two love-struck kids just starting out in life, the answer is very clearly YES. Because it Counts.