Health is wealth.

Let that sink in.

I see those stickers everywhere, and it probably is one of the truest statements ever made because we’re nothing without our health.

And in photography, you actually do need to be somewhat healthy.

You’ve got to get those steps in.

You’ve got to walk.

You’ve got to get outside.

But I’ve also been thinking about another kind of “health” in photography.

THEY ALWAYS WANT US TO BUY SOMETHING

Look at most of the photography content we’re consuming.

A lot of it is telling us that we need to buy something to get better.

Buy the new camera.

Buy the new lens.

Buy the preset.

Buy whatever the next thing is.

And obviously, sometimes you actually need something.

If you need a camera, a good gear review can be useful.

But at some point, you’ve got to ask yourself whether buying more stuff is actually improving your photography.

Or are you just buying more stuff?

THE PRESET THING

The presets are probably the best example.

If you’re buying somebody else’s preset because you want your photographs to look like theirs, where does that eventually get you?

You’re starting with somebody else’s look.

I’d rather figure out what I like on my own.

Play with it.

Make it too contrasty.

Make it too dark.

Screw it up.

Try something else.

Keep going until eventually you start recognizing something that actually feels like yours.

That’s the fun part.

Anyway, look at this.

We’ve got some water coming down the alleyway.

I’ve definitely got to photograph that.

Water glistening in the sun.

Damn.

This is one of those days in Santa Monica.

Let’s go.

THE CONTRADICTION

And this is where the whole thing gets complicated.

People have to make money.

Creators have to make money.

Camera companies have to sell cameras.

People have businesses.

I don’t have a problem with that.

The problem for the individual photographer is figuring out how much of that stuff you actually want influencing you.

Because there’s always going to be another product.

There’s always going to be another video.

There’s always going to be somebody telling you that this new thing is going to make your photography better.

At some point you have to decide how much of that noise you’re going to let in.

GO FULL HAM OR DO YOUR OWN THING

Maybe everybody else can go full ham.

Sell the cameras.

Sell the presets.

Sell the accessories.

Make the videos.

Do your thing.

And then, as the photographer, you can decide whether you want to participate in all of it.

You don’t have to.

You can just go outside.

Walk.

Take photographs.

Come home.

Look at them.

Figure out what you like.

Then go back out and do it again.

That’s probably healthier for your artistic exploration anyway.

MINIMIZE THE DISTRACTIONS

That’s really where I land with all of this.

I’m not interested in trying to create some perfect system.

There isn’t one.

Everything has contradictions.

I’m more interested in figuring out what’s actually useful to me and getting rid of as many unnecessary distractions as possible.

Especially with photography.

I don’t want somebody constantly telling me what my photographs are supposed to look like.

I don’t want to believe that I need another piece of gear before I can make something good.

I want to go outside and discover it myself.

And that’s probably the simplest lesson from this entire ramble.

Buy something when you actually need it.

Ignore it when you don’t.

Then take your camera outside and go make photographs.

Let everybody else go full HAM.