Familiarity Breeds Success February 3, 2015 – Posted in: Photography – Tags: , ,

New clothes are great. So is discovering a new lunch spot. But these are not complicated items. You don’t have to learn to operate your shoes, just wear them.

We sometimes find ourselves caught up in a mentality of “new” when it comes to our camera gear. “If I had a new camera, I would take better pictures.” Well, if it’s an underwater camera and you’re going diving, that’s probably true. But otherwise, my guess is that we usually don’t know how to get the most from the equipment we already have.

And being comfortable with our gear is important.

Making consistently good images typically requires both sides of the brain: the creative and the technical. When we see something interesting, we usually have to adjust our camera to best capture it. Fast moving objects might require an increase in ISO. Stopping down the aperture is helpful for landscapes. You get the picture.

Satisfying the technical requirement as quickly as possible frees us to use our creativity. The faster you make adjustments, the sooner you can focus on composition.

It’s a bit like learning to drive a car with a manual transmission. At first, all you can think about is pushing the right petal at the right time and not stalling the vehicle. You’re not so much aware of the road in front of you as you are of your two feet and hands. But then, after mastering the stick shift, you can immerse yourself in the driving experience. And that’s when the fun begins.

PicMonkey Collage

Same with your camera… the real creativity begins when you’ve mastered those buttons, dials, and menus. And we can help you with that.

I just finished looking at the first page of the Rocky Nook online catalog, and there are seven titles to help you learn more about your gear. And the parade continues on subsequent pages.

And you can bring these camera manuals in their eBook form with you anywhere. We always have our mobile devices with us; therefore, we now can have our camera references available too.

When I packed my camera bag for Cuba, I included the Olympus OM-D E-M10 because it’s the body that I know best and reach for most often. I also brought a brand new camera that I was testing. Over the course of two weeks, I reached for the E-M10 every time but once.

Familiarity doesn’t have to breed contempt. In fact, it can lead to great pictures.

Interested in a Rocky Nook Camera Manual? Try these out for a spin:

Top Photo: “Three Amigos, Trinidad Cuba” by Derrick Story. Captured with an Olympus OM-D E-M10 and 14-42mm EZ power zoom lens.