The best tools to BE the best ME

We’ve taught photography for 12 years, and have had hundreds of students.
So often they come in thinking they need the best and newest to get the best pictures.

Every few years new cameras come out.

New sensors, new focusing systems, new wifi…
always changing.

The question everyone asks me: What kind of camera should I buy?

I don’t mind that question.
Most often my answer is any recent Canon Rebel will be just fine.

I recently saw my new youtube favorite Peter McKinnon’s answer– it depends.
So many different needs, different budgets, different end products.

If you want help, feel free to ask.

On thing I’ve realized for this journey is that I’m sure lucky.

I began this journey with some key ingredients already in me.
I know how to photograph, and I have great gear.
So I hit the ground running.

At least on the technical side of things.
There’s a whole lot of things I’m working/struggling on/through still.
But at least I can take great videos and photos!

One problem.
Shooting myself solo has been a problem.
I don’t know if I’m in focus or if I’m framed right, and had to review every clip, and then hope I stood back in the same spot.

I knew what I wanted: auto-focus in video, timelapse in camera, slo-mo, and fit my canon lenses.
I made calls to all my favorite companies to get feedback.
It was strange researching a different side of cameras than I had before.
The person I found most helpful was the video guy from borrowlenses.com.
Highly recommend them.

In the end I decided to not worry about slo-mo; my phone could still handle that.
And this wasn’t truly a vlogging camera– I wanted more flexibility to use my lenses.
I compared model after model, camera after camera.
I didn’t know Canon had so many consumer and pro-sumer cameras.
But I found the one that would be perfect. I continued to research it for days after just to make sure.

Canon 80D. Here’s some kits on amazon, I bought it at B&H.

Honestly guys, the hardest thing is spending money on something that doesn’t currently have any ROI (return on investment) yet.
These tools are important, and will help me make videos more quickly and effectively.

But it’s not the camera that makes this blog and youtube channel what it is.

The lifeblood is ME.
It’s my life journey.
It doesn’t matter if I record with my phone or my DSLR.
The best camera is the one that is THERE to record it.

So what about YOUR life journey?
You may not be trying to record your life and share it.

But maybe you’re “camera envying” someone else’s life in some way.
Wishing you had their “gear.”

Their well-behaved children.
Their good-looking husband.
Their perfect house and perfect pets and perfect job.

But here’s the secret, my friend.
YOU have the perfect EVERYTHING.
It’s fully perfect.
It’s exactly what God (or universe) has given you to teach you what you need to know to become who you need to become.

Let me say that again.
You have what you need to have to become what you need to become.

This is your journey.
Exactly how it has to be.

I’m glad our paths have crossed, and we get to be together on our journey to our truer selves.