Sadly everything is important except the picture itself

Boris, 25, Moscow, Russia, initially became interested in photography because as a designer he had to take pictures of different objects for a magazine in early 2000s. He was using film slides and a scanner. Now he is into digital photography because it is faster. He shoots film now “only for fun and for personal needs”.
He likes Canon more because “its interface is more logical and the camera itself is cheaper”. But the noise Nikon makes when you take a picture is closer to a film camera which is more pleasant. At the same time the Canon picture is more “academic”. The bottom line for him is that using only Canon or only Nikon is all a matter of habit.
He still enjoys film photography a lot and wants to get himself a Hasselblad but it costs almost 1000$. That is why he currently uses a 1958 Yashica he bought at a second hand store. Yashica is a semi-professional film camera. “The process of taking a picture itself is more interesting here. It means more pleasure, more emotional, an esthetic high.”
Boris says: “I understand why people run around the city with professional cameras and take pictures of most mundane and hardly spectacular stuff. I used to do it myself once. You feel engaged by it, it moves you to take and take pictures, because it is exciting. A compact camera doesn’t give you this excitement; it doesn’t make that peculiar click when you take a photo. That is why I understand those fanatics. But I know that few of them have bothered to read a book on photography, on composition.
If you read just one book it will change the way you see photography altogether. You will understand that this Canon vs. Nikon war is futile. The technology is advanced no matter what is the brand. So whatever you buy it is going to be the best you need.
But all I see is people going crazy about lenses, engaged in those equipment wars. And nobody bothers to read a book. They just enjoy the effect of their involvement with the art. They put their pictures online and discuss: Is it art or not? Is it photoshopped or not? So much tension is never good.”

Insights:

- People don’t want to read up on photography, they just like the feeling of involvement in the world of art.
- Everything before and after the photo can be more important than the photo itself: collecting the equipment, enjoying all the sounds in the process, discussing the photo afterwards.