Back in 2015 I went on my first backpacking trip in South-East Asia. Three weeks one bag pack. I’ll spare you the details of what I packed, but even with the limited space and the unknown that I was going to face, I made the decision to bring along multiple prime lenses and their creamy soft look, giving up on flexibility and compactness of a zoom lens. This decision was about giving up on versatility and practicality for a very small improvement in quality. This got me thinking about the importance of details and if they are worth the complexity I’m adding to this trip.
When I look at the same picture taken with one of my prime lenses and one of my zoom lenses, I can distinguish them straight away. However when a friend shows me with pride his overly contrasted and sharpen photo taken with his smartphone, it makes me realize that I have trained my eyes to see the difference and most people wouldn’t be able to tell them appart.
I am not tring to brag nor is it a criticism on my friends lack of visual capacity, but it is of a realization that I might have become that dude who only listens to none compressed audio because “mp3s sound like shit” or this other friend that can taste these mystical flavors in wine when most of us taste sour or bitter wine.
It is a strange phenomenon where the more you gets into something, the more demanding you become towards it. It’s a one way street. From now on you will always notice the compression in the audio, the moiré in the video or the noise in the picture. Things you might have been oblivious to a few years back but now it’s all you see. You become more picky and from now on you’ll need the more expensive stuff.
It seems to be inevitable. If you enjoy something, you’ll be looking for something more. You’ll sharpen your senses to the details whether you are a creator or a consumer of said product. But as a creator I find myself facing a dilemma. All these finer details the 99% won’t notice, are they worth bringing along heavier lenses for that sweet bokeh, finding that special casks to let your whisky mature or spending that extra hour tweaking that sound to perfection? Are they worth the extra effort/cost?
I think everybody has their own answer to this, but over the past few years I have solidified this belief that even though I make things for other people I need to be proud of what I do and therefore if I can spot the difference it is worth going the extra mile and bringing the nicer but bulkier lenses. In addition, even if your friends don’t notice, it doesn’t mean they don’t feel it. There isn’t much difference between being able to recognize the softness of the lens and appreciating the vibe of the picture. This may mean the same thing coming from people with varying photography experience. Details are important because it’s what brings it all together and just because people can’t put their finger on them, it doesn’t mean they can’t appreciate it.
