G.A.S. is a common acronym in the photographic world. The acronym stands for Gear Acquisition Syndrome. G.A.S. is more common today than any time in my collective photographic memory which stretches over nearly 50 years. Driven by the constant advancement of technology camera makers are introducing cameras that are touted “new and improved” Most of the time those improvements are nothing short of amazing. To a photographer who attempts to capture images of wildlife the advances of the past few years has allowed me to capture images I never would have thought possible before. Being honest however, all the new gear has not made me a better photographer. It has made photography easier and allowed me to capture more good images, but I look at images such as one shown here which was captured 10 years ago, my own photography is not much better in spite of the gear I use. This image was captured on a 12 megapixel cropped sensor camera, less than 25% of the resolution I shoot with now and it remains one of my favorite images.

What made me think of this is that one of the major camera companies is paying internet influencers to switch brands touting their new cameras as superior to their old models. Now to be transparent I understand this, to most of the folks involved in social media photography is a business, even if started out as a passion and money talks. To those of us who are amateurs both in skill and attitude I feel something is lost. To believe that a camera company or an internet guru cares about me and my photography is an irrational idea that I fall for more often than I care to admit. So be of good cheer - the camera you own right now is almost certainly better than your skillset. Maybe, rather than succumbing to G.A.S., you might want to take a trip to a new location, or take a class, or even (gasp) read your camera’s manual. You might be surprised how much your photography improves! Any of these can be the best cure for G.A.S.