The Beginner Photography Podcast

The $400 Repair That’s Worth More Than a New Camera

• Raymond Hatfield

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#590 In this episode of the podcast, I share a personal, behind-the-scenes look at what’s been happening in my photographic life, focusing on one of the most common dilemmas photographers face: Should you repair a broken camera or upgrade to a newer model? After my Fujifilm X Pro 2 suddenly died while on a shoot, I walk listeners through the emotional and practical decision to spend $400 on repairs rather than buying a new camera. I talk candidly about why this choice isn’t just about saving money—it’s about honoring the sentimental attachment to a workhorse camera and making smart, needs-based decisions rather than getting distracted by shiny new gear.

KEY TOPICS COVERED 

  1. Repairing vs. Upgrading Your Camera - Raymond breaks down when it makes sense to repair a camera versus upgrading, suggesting repairs are usually worth it if they cost less than 30–40% of a new camera’s price, especially when the current camera still meets your needs. He also touches on the sentimental value attached to long-serving equipment.
  2. The Role and Impact of Upgrading Gear - He examines whether new features truly benefit your workflow or if upgrades are driven by boredom or “shiny object syndrome.” Real improvements, he argues, should address specific workflow issues or unlock new creative possibilities.
  3. Creative Inspiration and Intentional Projects - Raymond describes how long-term, theme-driven personal projects—like documenting the Indiana State Fair—offer structure and cultivate deeper creativity. He shares techniques for using constraints to generate focus and learning.

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS & CONCEPTS

  • Repair/Upgrade Threshold: The decision guiding whether to repair gear based on whether costs are less than 30–40% of replacement value, contextualized in terms of need, features, and sentimental value.
  • Creative Constraints: Deliberately limiting yourself to a theme, technique, or subject to focus your creative energy, avoid overwhelm, and produce more meaningful work.

DISCUSSION & REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. What has influenced your past decisions to repair or upgrade camera gear? How did those choices affect your creativity and output?
  2. How can creative constraints or themed projects deepen your photography and help you grow as an artist?
  3. In your own workflow, are there features you genuinely need in new gear, or are you tempted by upgrades for other reasons?
  4. How does stepping away from work to seek inspiration impact your creative process?

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Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Raymond Hatfield:

If you're in my situation and maybe your camera died, that's why you're thinking about upgrading. I would say that if the repair cost is less than 30 to 40% of buying it new, and your current camera meets all of your needs, then yeah, I would just repair it. If upgrading would give you features that you would actually use or would make your workflow much more efficient and they're not just like, well that would be nice type of thing, then yeah, it might be worth it to, to upgrade. Hey, welcome to the Beginner of Photography podcast, brought to you by Cloud Spot, the best way to deliver and sell your photos online. I'm your host, Raymond Hatfield, and today I want to chat about a few things. I thought that I would have a bit more of a candid discussion about all of the photography things that are going on in my life. Today. So today we're gonna talk about, how to know when it's worth repairing a camera versus upgrading your camera. Why my new camera is gonna help me to be a better photographer and why if you upgrade, it might not help you. Why the passage of time is what excites me most about my most current photo project and also why it's so important to, give yourself some, creative inspiration and walk away from work from time to time. So first, let me start off by just saying that, my beloved Fuji Film Ex Pro two. He died. So I was out, shooting, I was shooting a scene of some food for work. We were just showing off some food, right? So I was taking photos and I was probably, I don't know, 20 or 30 photos in, and the screen just flashed black and red, and then it just turned off. It just turned off. So I knew that I had like charged the battery, before shooting. So I tried to turn it back on and again, EVF flashed black and then red and then it didn't turn back on and it was like, like the camera had this like mini heart attack. It was, horrible to watch it. I knew something was wrong and it wasn't just A dead battery. because again, I knew that I charged the battery before I had started shooting. So anyway, I turned off the camera, put it back in my bag, and then when I had got home, I recharged that battery and sure enough it said that it was like, 80% or whatever. I even tried another battery. And, when I tried to turn it back on, that didn't work. I, searched the internet to figure out like what can I do, what am I doing wrong? And it suggested taking out both memory cards and removing the lens, and then trying again. So I did that and it still didn't work, so it's dead dead. And that means that the fate of my favorite camera is up in the air because, I wanna replace it whether it means getting it repaired or getting a new camera. I don't really want to get a new camera. I would rather just repair it. And interestingly enough, when it did die, die, I just had looked, at what the price of another ex PRO two would cost. And, I looked it up. Back when, I bought my expert two, it was in, June of 2017. and this is my second expert two, my first expert two I bought in August of 2016, and then sold it when I had, quote unquote upgraded to the XT three for shooting weddings, which I immediately regretted real bad decision. Was not happy with that. I just liked the style. I like the flow of shooting with the X PRO two more than the XT three. Not that the XT three is a bad camera. It's a really good camera. I just liked the X PRO two better. But anyway, so my current X PRO two, the one that I bought in June of 2017, I bought it for$1,149, and here in 2025. They're still selling for over a thousand dollars, which to me like that's nuts. That is nuts because like digital cameras don't hold onto their value very well because new technology, comes very quickly. And for comparison, the Canon five D Mark four, which also came out in 2016, and retailed for$3,500 is now selling for less than the price of an X Pro two. Anyway. Point is, the camera's not so old that it's cheap enough to just, buy a new one. And that means that I'm currently in the process of packing it up, to send out for repair, and, without seeing the camera or, but just having heard of the issue that I just described to you. The estimate is about$400 and I think that's gonna be the best option. I'm definitely gonna pay it because I think, one, I love the camera, but two, you can't buy another camera of the same caliber or build quality of the ex Pro two for that price. You can't buy another camera that's comparable for$400. So it's like, do I buy a lesser camera that you know I can get for$400 or do I spend a lot more than$400 to get a newer camera? And it's like that camera was, my second body at weddings for five years. So I feel like$400 is a perfectly acceptable, just maintenance cost or price for the amount of work that it's been through. But I did think about upgrading. to the X PRO three, again, same range finder style that I love so, so much. And the X PRO three came out in November of 2019. So it is a newer camera, it has newer technology. it has a newer, camera processor, newer sensor as well, but I'm not gonna do it. And let's, let's go ahead and talk about, maybe acceptable reasons to upgrade a camera because that's something that I'm sure many of you are thinking of or have done before. And I think first things first is that like, upgrade whenever you want. Honestly, like, it's your money. I'm not gonna tell you that you either should or shouldn't upgrade your camera. because everybody's shooting style is a little bit different. The subject matter is different for everybody as well. But since the show is called the Beginner Photography Podcast. While many of you have been, with me listening for years, I know that there's still a lot of you who are new to photography and are shooting with entry-level cameras and are considering upgrading. So let me kind of break down, for you why you might want to upgrade a camera and what features to look for and whatnot. But first to be a camera, to be a camera, you must be able to simply control light and record an image. That's it. If you can do those two things, you're a camera. So both the 44,000 medium format Hasselblad camera and the 50 cent pinhole soda can with a light sensitive piece of paper inside are, they're both cameras. They're both cameras. And funny enough, actually, the light sensitive paper inside of a soda can, would actually be much larger than the medium format sensor of a hassle blend. But anyway, what's the difference between them? Right? The difference between these two things is build quality and features. The Hasselblad, one of the features is an interchangeable lens, like wow, that's great. The has bla can also record in color. Anyway, entry level cameras, they can control light. It's the build quality and the features that are typically pretty minimal. So oftentimes entry level cameras are. They're mostly made out of plastic, and sometimes that includes the lens as well. And these features are held back from the professional models because most beginners are just learning how to use their camera. They don't need many of the extras that the pros use, so they remove them or hold them back to make entry-level cameras a cheaper and more affordable option. more easily accessible to get into the hobby of photography right. Now this does not mean that entry-level cameras take bad photos. Maybe you've heard me say that a brand new flagship camera does not mean that you are gonna start taking better photos. What this means for entry level cameras is just that the tool itself is limited in additional capabilities that maybe just professionals would use. So when you upgrade from an entry level camera to pro gear, it's a big jump, right? However, once you have a professional series camera, like the ex Pro two. You have the things like fantastic build quality. the x pro two is built like a tank. Seriously. It is, I mean, rock solid. it's also weather sealed, and you have all the, great features like. great auto focus, better than entry-level cameras for sure. You have dual card slots for security and recording your image to both places, and more like customizable buttons as well to make the camera your own. And, I think that's about it. So after nine years of owning the x pro two. A number of advancements have happened in the world of photography. Yes, there is better auto focus now and yes, there is higher resolution sensors, things like InBody image stabilization as well. But other than that, there's really nothing that would truly benefit me and my style of photography. And honestly, I've never had a moment where I thought to myself like, man, I really wish that I had more than 24 megapixels here. I've never ever thought that, ever. So, I kind of don't even really care that much, that there's higher resolution sensors either. so the upgrade, right, the upgrade would cost me, between 1500 and$2,000 just for slightly upgraded features that I would use, and other features that I, I would not use. So to me, I just, I don't see the point. the x pro two still fits my needs in photography. My workflow in photography, my style of photography. Perfect. It's a great camera. Upgrading isn't solving any problems that I have with my photography, and it wouldn't be making the process of shooting any easier either. So if I did upgrade, it would simply simply be because I'm bored, I guess, you know? Because I would have reached the limits of my camera, the x pro two, and. I haven't, I don't think that I have reached the limits of the x pro two. It's still, I mean, just keeps going and like going really well nine years later. Like I said, it's a great camera, but again, I'm not shooting the Olympics. You know where I need peak auto focus speed. I'm not shooting massive fashion campaigns that need 50 plus megapixels. I'm not shooting video or in extreme low light to really benefit from in body image stabilization either, except for maybe like three or four photos a month. Like I could see how it would be helpful, but like not$2,000 worth of helpful. Now those would all be like massive upgrades over an entry level camera. So I'm not saying that, an upgraded camera or that brand new cameras today aren't worth it. That would be a huge upgrade. But when you're coming from a pro level body, albeit not a current one, right? Came out nine years ago, going to another pro-level body, isn't that big of an upgrade. It's more of just like quality of life improvements. And again, it's your money. If you think that those quality of life improvements are worth it, then buy the camera. Who am I to tell you what to do? But it did make me ask myself, well then what would it take for me to justify upgrading my camera, my And I think for me, maybe it's'cause I'm getting older or maybe it's because I've just experienced cameras like this as well. I would love a larger and a higher resolution viewfinder. That would be fantastic. Now that I'm getting older, my eyes are not what they once were. It's just nice to have a larger screen. And then also I would love for it. And I'm assuming that we're talking about like an X Pro four here, right? Like what would be the next camera that would come out that would make me upgrade? It would also need the tilty screen from the X 100 V or the X 106 series, just to make it easier to change my compositions from time to time. Shoot more on my kids' eye level. And yeah, I mean, I would assume also that it would have the things like InBody image stabilization and faster auto focus as well. So like, that would be great. but the main things would be a larger viewfinder and a true, tilty screen. But because that's not available right now, it's not an option. That's why I have simply decided to repair my 9-year-old camera rather than upgrade it. So do me a favor and cross your fingers that it goes well because I dunno why, but like, I'm nervous about it, like going into surgery, nervous, like, oh, I'm sure it'll be okay, but what if it's not, you know, like the weird things like that. which is crazy'cause like it's just a camera. It's just a camera. It's up. A piece of, metal and glass and plastic essentially. But there is a sentimental aspect to the camera that it's been with me for a long time. I've created some of my favorite images with the camera and I just, I just love it and I want to keep it. And I wanted to keep working. So to make this more concrete for you because again, maybe you are deciding whether you should upgrade or, get a new camera. I would say, if you're in my situation and maybe your camera died, that's why you're thinking about upgrading. I would say that if the repair cost is less than 30 to 40% of buying it new, and your current camera meets all of your needs, then yeah, I would just repair it. If upgrading would give you features that you would actually use or would make your workflow much more efficient and they're not just like, well that would be nice type of thing, then yeah, it might be worth it to, to upgrade. And if the camera has a sentimental value to you, then sometimes it's worth more than the specs on the paper. And I would, I would try to repair it.'cause that's, that's what I'm going through. And this is a perfect time to bring up that on a completely unrelated note, I bought a new camera last week. That sounds so dumb. But hear me out. Okay. So when I first got started in photography, it was with my, dad's Pentax, K 1000 film camera. it's a fully manual film camera. It doesn't even require batteries to operate. Well, there's a light meter built inside of it and it broke a few years ago, and I guess this is a pretty common thing for the K one thousands, but it's not an easy thing, or cheap to get fixed. So I have just been using my own pocket light meter when I go out to shoot which has been fine, but unfortunately I like film to be more like casual vignettes of life than works of art. So having to carry a whole like spot meter with me every time I go out and shoot with this K 1000 really will get in the way of a good time real quick, real quick. Because it's not small enough to fit into your pocket. You kinda have to wear it around your neck along with the camera. And then these things are kinda like jumbling around. You can get like a pouch that you can connect to your belt for it, but then have to plan that you're going out to do these things. You can't just like have it with you all the time anyway, so point is I wanted to get a, I've been for a while wanting to get a film camera that is a bit more modern. Something with, let's just say a built-in light meter and auto focus would be cool too. And, Canon has been making film cameras, or, well, they've been making'em for a long time, but they were building them still into the early two thousands. So, I mean, today you can get like a really good quality film camera for relatively cheap because the demand is not super high. And because I still have one Canon lens, the trusty Nifty 50. Why? I am not sure. I don't know why I didn't sell it, but I didn't. So I thought, well, I better go looking for a Canon film camera. And I settled on the Canon EOS 55, which I did not know this until after I purchased it, but it is a Japan only model. It was only released in Japan. So there's a few features on it that are interesting, including the back. There is a, I don't know if it's a warning, but it's some sort of sticker and it's all in Japanese, and I have no idea what it says, but it still takes photos. that's all that I needed to do. Anyway, in America, the version that was released, which is similar is called the Canon ELAN two ELAN two, and this is like, it's a mid-range camera, so it wasn't an entry level rebel series camera and it wasn't a professional level, like the in one series camera, just mid-range, and everything that I could find online about the camera said it had great auto focus. The build quality was good. and it also had features like, being able to shoot double exposures. And I found one on, Facebook marketplace for just 50 bucks and I went to go look at it and I mean, it is an immaculate condition truly, like I'm shocked that anything of this age looks this good. It's just cool to look at. So anyway, I bought it 50 bucks. And, for 50 bucks you're immediately shooting full frame on, you know, you can use professional series lenses as well. So like you can create some really great images because it's on film. And after shooting for a few days, like sure enough, auto focus is quick. It's got a good working light meter, and everything sounds like it's working perfectly inside the camera. When you're shooting with it, it advances the film, it automatically rewinds the film, things like that. So just a lot of quality of life improvements over the K 1000 and it's only 50 bucks, so I've put three rolls through it. And I sent those out today to be developed, so I'll let you know how those turn out when I get them back. Here's the thing though. It's not a camera to replace anything that I have, right? Like it's not gonna replace the x pro two, but I've been wanting to shoot more film for a number of reasons. One. Just being, its tangible quality. I love that there's a chemical reaction with the light around us that happens onto this piece of film, creating something, marking it forever, essentially. As almost like a stamp that you were there and this thing happened. I like that a lot. As we move more into a world where AI is, just in more places in our life, I like having something that is a lot more manual and tangible. And there's also just this greater sense of accomplishment when you capture a really good exposure on film, more so than when you capture a really good exposure on digital. I also like how I'm not self critiquing myself or editing the photos that I'm taking while. I'm shooting right when I'm shooting with my x pro. I'll be out there taking photos, but if there's, if I'm questionable about a photo, I'll, do a playback. I'll look at how it turned out and then make adjustments from there if needed. but you can't do that on film. So I'm just out there in the world paying attention to everything that is going around me, going on around me, and hoping to. capture something interesting and that's something. It's something that every time I have shot film in the past and I start to get into that mindset, it then transfers over into my digital photography, meaning I pay attention to light differently. I wait longer for the moment, like I choose the moment in my head, like I know what I want to see, so I wait longer for the moment rather than just shooting through something and then just picking out the best shot later. So I feel more intentional in both, what and how I'm shooting. And I think that the more time we can be present and fully aware of what we're doing when creating something, be it a photograph, be it a new workbench, be it you know, just planting flowers in the garden, whatever it is. The more we can do that and be fully present and aware of what's going on, the better because those are the things that make you feel alive. At least they make me feel alive. They are the small joys in life that bring a feeling of accomplishment and pride. Every time I use my workbench in the garage that I built myself. It feels better than when I was using the workbench that I just bought at, Lowe's a number of years ago. There's a level of, of pride in that when you're able to use something that you created and you're proud of it. But going back to talking about film, I would love and my goal is to eventually buy a Fuji film, GW six 90 for a photo project that I have in mind all about Texas, but I thought maybe I should hone in my light reading and, decision making skills as far as controlling it with a 35 millimeter camera because it's well, because it's cheaper to make mistakes on if you mess it up with the, GW six 90, I think you only get 11 shots per roll of medium format. So yeah, if you make a mistake, it's a lot more costly for sure. So we'll see. But that'll be a few years off. But speaking of photo projects, I am actually working on a project right now that is centered around the Indiana State Fair. Maybe you've heard me talk about this before, but I have this photo project. It's very large. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what to focus on with it, but it's, I call it a love letter to Indiana, which is just me taking photos of things that uniquely say Indiana, because just visually and culturally, Indiana's a very different state than California where I grew up. So I see all these things In a light that just says, Hey, this is Indiana, it's those things that I want to capture within a, a photo story. So the state fair, well, growing up in California, I had went to the state fair like once and it really just wasn't like as big of a deal as it is here in Indiana where people like go knock and futs for it, and all the things surrounding it too. People love the state fair. From the food to the animals, to the rides, the vendors like all of it. People love it, and I love it too. So since the x pro two just died on me, and I just got this new Canon EOS 55, I thought, well, that's gonna be on my camera of choice for this year's state fair. And I've been going for three years to the state fair specifically to photograph it. The first time I went again, specifically to photograph it, not like with a family or anything like that. it was a few years ago and I focused on light and place. And it was just trying to make photos that said, Hey, this is the fair. But like, they weren't really, they didn't go deep or anything. It was just kind of snapshots, wannabe hero shots, I suppose. but while I was shooting, I kept noticing how much people loved eating those giant ears of, of roasted corn. I had taken a few photos of people with like, you know, chomping down on this corn, but it was getting late, so like I didn't take many. The next year I went back, I thought, I'm. We're gonna focus on people and their relationship with corn at the state fair because outside of the Indy 500, Indiana is known for, its corn. So it felt like a good match for this Indiana photo project, right? Well, this year I went and I focused bit less on people and more so on like environmental images and what it feels like to be on the fair. I think part of that, my game plan kind of changed because I was still trying to figure out just how this camera works in regards to auto focus. How can I trust it? In what situations is it gonna fail me? Things like that. And even though like it's pretty quick auto focus for a film camera, it's still really slow compared to today's modern standards. So it was just trying to like feel it out and it felt like the right thing to do was just to focus on the environmental shots of the fair rather than focusing on people. But anyway, it was much, much tougher than I expected. And again, I think not only was I trying to figure out the camera, it was also, shooting it on film is a different experience because there were a few photos that I really wanted to look at to make sure that I nailed the exposure. There's a silhouette of a horse. That I, again, really wanted to make sure that I, I nailed that exposure. there was a shot where depth of field was really important, where I had, a few stalks of corn in the foreground and then somebody in the background playing corn hole. Right. And I thought it would be nice to have that depth of field there, but I couldn't check it. So I am not sure how those are gonna turn out. But we'll find out. We'll find out. Right. And, I'm not sure if you do this too, but I find having constraints makes me a more productive photographer. And what I mean by that is like, if I went to the fair with the goal of capturing the fair, well, it's like there's so much going on all the time that I would just be focused on surface level photos, right? Elevated snapshots, like nothing meaningful, or important. It's nothing that anybody else wouldn't capture, right? it's nothing more than that because you're just walking around and you're just photographing what you see, kind of stream of consciousness type stuff. And that's because you're not spending, any time observing the space as far as like, what's actually happening. So, just yesterday, well, lemme get back to this. Because of that, I give myself constraints, right? It's these themes, so that when I do go to the fair, I know exactly what to look for. I'll look for a sign that says. Fresh roasted corn. I'll look for people, buying corn, right? transfer from vendor to the person. I'll look for people putting salt on their corn. I'll look for people eating the ears of corn. I'll look for stalks of corn. I'll look for, compositional elements that help me to say corn more, right? And I can hone in on one or two of those things and go deeper rather than just, oh, I'm just gonna go and capture just some random photos. You know what I mean? And I only go to the fair like once a year specifically to do this. So only once a year or I focus on capturing one element of the fair every year. Right. And because of that, I have, and every time I go to the fair, I get ideas for more things to focus on as well. And they kind of become more focused and more focused. So one of the things is just like, the unique foods of the fair, but I think that's kinda like every fair in America, right? They're always gonna have something like some interesting food thing. for us this year, it was like pickle pizza. We had a key lime, milkshake. There was They called it a dirty dancing egg roll. I'm not sure what was in it, but I think it was like a Philly cheese steak in an egg roll. Anyway, point is like unique foods to the fair. Right? That's one. I want to capture things like love at the fair, so. those images could be holding hands. Somebody winning a giant stuffed bear, a couple sharing a dull whip together. Just images that say like, love fair dating, something like that. Right. that's interesting to me. Also like the workers of the fair. So many food vendors, right? They have great attitude. They can be expressive. Sometimes they're also hot, and bored depending on the type of day it is. There's the crew that help make the fair. possible from people, sweeping up trash to transporting things from one place to another. then there's also, and I don't know if there's a big thing at all the state fairs, but like the state troopers are a big deal at the Indiana State Fair. They got several booths. they bring out their, like, retro charger or whatever it is, and, you see them all over the place. So, capturing them as well. And those would be more like environmental, like camera aware environmental portraits. I would tell them what I'm doing and asked to take their photo, but then you can also blend these things together as well. Like yesterday, while I was at the fair, I saw a group of, state troopers all in like this half huddle in the shade, all, eating like this barbecue, pork sandwich or something like that. Like they were just having lunch. Like they were just being regular people because a lot of people go to the fair for food and they were just being like regular people. They weren't in the, stiff, state trooper, not attire, what's the word I'm looking for? Like they weren't putting on this facade that they were the state trooper. They were like in that moment, Hey, I'm just a regular person who's in my state trooper uniform. And so it's like things like that that, and no, I didn't capture a photo of it. I should have, but like I walked past him and was like, oh man, that would've been a great shot. Anyway, it's like things like that that I want to capture things like just silhouettes. But also like the fair first thing in the morning, People setting up for the day, people getting ready, people checking rides, people enjoying the calm, quiet of the fair before it gets busy. And then you contrast that with the fair late at night on a Friday or a Saturday evening where there's a billion people and everybody's busy and it's again, going crazy. They also have these tractors that act as like trams and they go all around the state fair in a giant loop, right? They stop, let people off, people can get on. Mostly people just go and like sit on it and it gives them, a good idea of the fair and what's going on and whatnot. But yesterday I sat on it to go to the other side of the fair and it was just interesting to just like. It was like the state fair was like moving around me rather than me moving through the fair. So I stayed on it for like two or three laps, just watching people because it was constantly changing. And I thought, oh, that might be interesting. Like a view from the fair, a view of the fair and the people of the fair just from the tram. Anyway, point is, there's a lot of room to grow into this project and it's a very long-term project. I mean, I just shared with you like the next six years of ideas that I have, And who knows, maybe next year I'll host like a photo meetup at the fair. That could be fun, that could be real fun actually. But I shot two and a half rolls, yesterday, and I'm excited to see the film scans when they come out, and I'll be sure to share them with you as well. Unless, of course they all come back, totally under or overexposed and are unusable. But if that happens, I'll just claim that it was some sort of error with the developer and that, I probably did a perfect job, but it was definitely their fault. I'm just kidding. But, like I said, when I get those photos, I will be sure to share them with you. And, I actually, almost. I skipped to go into the fair this year too. We had plans to go last weekend and then. we just didn't, it was kind of hot and then, life gets in the way. it's not that I didn't want to go to the fair. It was almost like I just felt like I couldn't make time to do. So July was an extremely busy month for our family. Literally every weekend was accounted for. We had softball travel. We were gone for five days. we went to an air show in Wisconsin for my son that took a number of days for travel and, to spend there. We had a family reunion planned in Alaska, so that was an entire week. My buddy from Texas came up and he had a film that was premiering in, our local film festival. So I went there with him as well. And I'm not complaining, I'm not complaining at all. Like it was a fantastic month, but, in that month I recorded no new episodes. so, podcasts have deadlines, right? These come out every Tuesday. Rewind episodes come out every Thursday, and deadlines are important, so I do my best to stick to them. But I almost said, I can't go to the fair today and shoot because I need to record a podcast episode. This podcast episode. But here's the thing. When I go out and when I shoot, that is when I find new ideas. That's when I find new stories. That's when I come up with new lessons to bring to you here on the podcast. And without that, it's like I'm running on empty. And while it's possible to just phone it in, that's not right to do to you. You deserve better than that. So I went and I shot yesterday, all day at the fair. I was there for five hours. I walked more than five miles. It was crazy. Valerie Chardon was right, like get yourself a good pair of shoes if you're gonna be a street photographer. But this morning, when. I sat down on my computer, I just hit record essentially, and here I am, just flowing. I wrote out a few topics that I wanted to cover, and, aside from that, it's just coming out and it's coming out a whole lot easier than what it would have if I stayed home yesterday to get the episode released to try to manufacture something. And that's kind of how creativity works, right? Like you can't keep pouring out of a cup without refilling it. You have to step away from the desk and put yourself, out there on like, on a path of inspiration. So for me, that was wandering through the fair looking for people, eating corn. But for you, it could just be walking around. Maybe it's in your neighborhood in the evening, or, going on a day trip to a little town or city near you that maybe you've never been to. And it's just a stop in the road just for you to walk around with your camera and watch the changing light. So, I guess all of that to say if you've been feeling stuck, if you've been feeling uninspired. It might not be because of lack of gear. YouTube is really good at making you think that. It could just be that you have a lack of creative input, and that's free. So it's okay to give yourself permission to refill your cup because you'll be a better and a happier version of yourself when you do so. So what did we learn today? Well, hopefully a few things. I think first and foremost, I want you to realize that I guess your gear choice should serve your photography rather than the other way around, right? Just as an example, I've always wanted a, like a M six forever, but they're so expensive and I know that if I were to get one, it would just simply be the most beautiful thing on my shelf. And nothing more than that. I wouldn't shoot with it much cause I'd be scared that I would break it. So because of that, I don't buy it. I like to use my cameras a lot. We also learned the, the feature to cost ratio when upgrading cameras. Like if you're not happy with your images right now, rarely will a new camera help you to take better photos. But if it will solve problems that you have when capturing images, then it might be worth a price. But before you upgrade. I encourage you to really, really, really use your camera. like try to push its boundaries, take it to its full potential so that you know exactly what a new camera will allow you to do better. And lastly, we also learned that constraints are the key to, well, my creativity. One reason why people love photography so much is that it shows them exactly what to look at. It's constraining the viewer's viewpoint of the world around them, right? When you're walking around, you can look anywhere. You can get closer, you can get further away. Your attention can go to a million different places. But when we, as a photographer, show somebody like, no, no, no, no, no. Look at this, that constraint can create more beauty for something. So having constraints when shooting can do the same thing for your brain, rather than your brain looking around and trying to figure out everything. Having a photo theme says, no, no, no, no, no. Just look for this to your brain and because of that, you will be able to hone in on, on those things whole lot easier, and you're gonna be a much more productive at capturing those images. So those are, my three biggest takeaways there. I would love to know what yours is. Feel free to join us in the Beginner Photography podcast community, which you can join for free of course, by heading over to beginner photo pod.com/group. That is it for today. Until next week. Remember, the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow.