You Don’t Need an Expensive Camera to Enjoy Photography

I will always remember my first camera. I was around twelve years old, and, for some unknown reason, I had a strong desire to have a camera.

I could picture myself going around with a camera in my hand observing the world and taking pictures of what I saw.

Eventually, after much time spent admiring a camera in a local photography shop window, my father agreed to buy it for me. It was a Kodak film camera and the condition for getting it was that I would pay to have the films developed. I hastily agreed and willingly saved my pocket money to fund my new found hobby.

I still remember some of the pictures taken with that camera, and one or two have survived in an old photo album.

Fast forward a few years, and after struggling with an SLR I decided that compact cameras were the way to go.

I owned a few as they got progressively better, then came a camera on my phone and the convenience was too hard to resist, even though the picture quality was poor in those early days.

Although I maintained my interest in photography, I didn’t take it seriously again until 8 years ago, when I bought a DSLR. Since cameras were now digital, I reckoned I could afford to experiment and properly get to grips with this hobby at last.

When I mentioned to a friend that I was taking up photography, she remarked that it's a costly hobby. Indeed, it can be. New cameras are constantly being released, and we're told they offer much more than simply capturing images.

However, if you're new to photography and prefer using a dedicated camera instead of your phone's camera, it doesn't need to be costly.

Like my very first camera, any camera that you can afford will give you hours of enjoyment and create many precious memories.

Any camera will help you learn the basics of photography and allow you to take decent photos.

Any camera will give you that ‘real photographer’ tactile experience of holding a camera to your eye, framing your subject and pressing a physical button to bring your vision to reality and have your own creation to admire and share if you wish.

I mention this because those are the memories that stand out the most from my experiences with photography. None of those cameras were costly, yet they brought me joy, sparked my creativity, and sustained a hobby that continues to thrive today, all without the need for expensive cameras or lenses.

For me, my recent holiday experience bears out the truth of this opinion.

Since I was not going on a photography holiday, and my travelling companion was not a photographer, I decided to take a simple camera and lens set up for some casual photography.

For my daily photography setup, I used an Olympus OM-D EM 10 Mark II paired with a Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens. Both the camera and lens aren't new, and they can be purchased at a reasonable price on the used market.

Each morning, I went out with camera and lens; no bag, no tripod and no expectations of what I would find. If I came back with something I liked, I was pleased, if I missed a shot, I didn’t mind.

Each morning, I enjoyed the process of being out with the street cleaners and early workers, enjoying the quiet and peace before the town woke up and the day’s visitors arrived.

I am pleased with many of the images, and any that are a disappointment were down to myself as photographer, not the camera or lens.

A calm, enjoyable start to the day is what photography brought to my holiday. And it can be achieved with simple gear and a love for the process.