Joy, one of two nice but very shy, white shepherds at the shelter

Amy

Right now I´m looking for a new-used Telezoom as repairing the old one wouldn´t pay off.
So I´m doing research on forums etc. and once again find myself surprised at the importance many hobby photographers ascribe to their equipment.
And then, after you´ve realized they must have spent ages and a whole fortune on choosing and buying just one lens you look at their pics.
And this nice, gleeful, warm feeling spreads when you realize that in many cases they´re boring at the best.
Cause my pics aren´t works of art either & I wouldn´t mind getting a fast lens, say a 2.8, 300 mm for a couple of thousand bucks - but what I find disturbing is what that they reduce photography to, when they only care about IS, USM and what-the-heck.
You´d think that it was all about gear when you read the discussions of those guys. And yes, they´re mostly guys, which may hint at the underlying problem- not to be sexist, it´s just a statistically provable, unbiased observation :).
This is a quote I found on another photo-forum:
"My wife is an excellent cook. She spends a lot of time in the kitchen making meals that rival a good restaurant. She does not spend hours discussing the wattage, voltage, ergonomics etc of her kitchen appliances."
Strike, I´d say.