A trip to the Griffith Observatory made me stop chasing perfect gear

I was in Los Angeles last fall for a family thing and made the trip up to Griffith Observatory. I had my camera, a decent tripod, and was all set to try and get that classic shot of the Hollywood sign with the city lights. But the place was packed, the air was hazy, and my shots were just... okay. Then I saw this older guy with a simple point-and-shoot camera, not even on a tripod, just holding it up to one of the public telescopes. He was showing his grandkid the screen, and the kid's face lit up. He got a blurry, grainy picture of Jupiter's moons. It hit me that I've been so focused on getting the sharpest, cleanest astrophoto with the right gear that I forgot why I started. The joy is in seeing it, not just in having a perfect file. Now I spend more time just looking through the eyepiece and less time fussing with settings. Does anyone else feel like the hobby can get too technical sometimes?

3 comments

3 Comments

piperb931mo ago

My buddy got so into the specs of his new lens he missed his kid's first soccer goal trying to change a filter. The camera was perfect, but the moment was totally gone. He sold the fancy lens and just uses his phone now, says he finally gets to be in the pictures.

alice3361mo ago

That line about finally getting to be in the pictures really hits home. It feels like we're all chasing the perfect setup, the perfect gear, and we end up watching life through a screen instead of just living it. I see it everywhere, not just with cameras. People get so focused on getting the right thing to record the moment that they forget to actually have the moment. Your buddy figured it out the hard way, but at least he figured it out.

lindab4924d ago

Told @piperb93 I started leaving my good camera at home for that same reason...