Lately, while reading online articles, I’ve noticed something that is a consistent reoccurring theme: Without the [insert a specific, trendy, high-priced DSLR camera here] you cannot take really good pictures. I don’t know where that thought process came from, but it couldn’t be any further from the truth. Read on and you’ll see what I mean…

A couple of years ago I went to an art walk in Southern California. Some of the booths displayed amazing pictures taken by local professional photographers. One picture, a very large photo taken of an iceberg in Antarctica and printed on canvas, caught my attention. I spoke to the photographer who took the picture. A few minutes into the conversation he said that the photo was taken with a 5 megapixel camera, which was considered completely obsolete in the professional photography world. So, at the time the photo was taken, he didn’t have today’s current, trendy, high-priced camera, but he took an amazing photo.

An article in the June 2013 edition of Outdoor Photographer magazine explores using a small point-and-shoot camera to create great pictures (article: Sierra Light With A Compact by James Kay). Mr. Kay talks about using a compact point-and-shoot on a hiking trip and how to work within the camera’s limitations. He says that the camera gave him a new sense of creative freedom and he also brought back some amazing photos from a trip in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. So, it doesn’t sound like Mr. Kay was concerned about having a DSLR in hand, does it?

Basically what I’m trying to say is this: Stop worrying about what the latest and greatest camera is (there is always going to be a newer camera model) or if you have enough megapixels or if the guy next to you has the most expensive equipment on the planet. Just get out there and start taking pictures with what you have. Let your creative side do the work and you’ll be surprise at what kind of pictures you can create.