Introduction:

I have been doing a lot of lectures at universities around the world during the past couple of years and one of the questions that always comes up, both at these lectures and via email, is "what kind of camera/equipment do you use?" I always tell people that about half of my portfolio was shot on a camera that you can now buy for about $200 and the other half was shot on a camera that costs about as much as a new car (granted not a very nice new car :) If you can tell which pictures are from which camera, and you have the money, then buy all means buy the nice camera, they are a pleasure to work with, break less and have many features that consumer cameras just dont have.

But I want people to know that if you want to be a photographer or photojournalist, or just take better pictures, your camera should NOT be your main focus. Honestly, it has very, very little part in the equation. You see photography and photojournalism are about the subject matter, and THAT is what you should focus on.

If you ask people what image, single image, comes to mind if they think of the Iraq war, their most likely response will be the Abu Ghraib images. The photo of that man standing on a box and attached to wires, wearing the black hood and draped in a kind of cloak...most of us can vividly see that image in our minds eye or at least it conjures up emotions. And I guarantee you that this image and most from Abu Ghraib were taken with mobile phone cameras or small point and shoots. The subject matter is what effects us, not the technology used to capture it!

Subject matter, composition and mood are far more important that megapixels, lack of lens distortions, slightly off colors etc. Who cares about those things? (the answer is actually FAR too many people.) Take a look at some of the websites and bloggers who do in-depth reviews of cameras, studying every little thing and picking them apart from the lens to the sensor. Take a look at the pictures these people take. Often they are so concerned about what is going on in the camera that they completely forget to find something interesting to take a photo of. It is an example you find all over the internet.

The Test:

Because I realize that telling peopl that they should not pay attention to equipment so much in the beginning has little meaning when it comes from a photographer who shoots with quite good, top of the line cameras and lenses, I decided to put myself and my theories to the test. I was in the US two months ago and went on Craigslist (for those of you who dont live in the US, Craigslist is a website where people sell their used things and you can often get good items for low prices.) I gave myself two weeks and a maximum budget of $100. Each day I looked at the camera's for under $100 and checked the reviews online to try to get something as good as possible. I ended up spending $70 for a small point and shoot (I also wanted something as small as possible that would fit in my shirt pocket.) This particular camera sells new for $150, so it is really a bottom of the line camera. I wont tell you what brand or model it was, because it just doesn't matter.

I then brought this camera with me on my most recent trip to Africa, where I was working on stories relating to child drug addicts, child prostitution and poverty. I kept it with me most days in my pocket and pulled it out now and then to shoot a frame or two with it. I am posting some of the images below, in no particular order.

Next week, in part two of this series I will talk about what the differences were between this crappy little point and shoot and my professional camera and how they affected my shooting etc. I will also give some tips and tricks that I used to get the very most out of what I had, which is really the secret with any camera, or anything in life for that matter.

I really hope that these posts will inspire people and teach them that if you want to be a good photographer or photojournalist, it is completely possible and you can do it with that little digital camera sitting in your drawer or even your phone camera. Be inspired, go out and shoot and quit thinking about what your camera CANT do and remember all the things it CAN. The crappiest point and shot these days is in many ways better and more versatile than the top of the line camera of fifteen years ago. So go take pictures and instead of throwing more money at camera manufacturers, buy yourself a plane ticket to some exotic place you have always wanted to go and then photograph the hell out of it!!!!!!!!!

A child sits on a blanket on the dirt in a slum area outside of Kampala, Uganda.

Men work salvaging metal in one of Kampala's worst and poorest neighborhoods.

A young boy is reflected in a rain puddle in a rural area of Uganda.

Residents prepare to vote in Ugandan national elections, a time which is notoriously chaotic and violent. Photographed through a moving car's window.

A brick maker works in a rural area.

Drug addicted street children get high by inhaling glue through plastic bottles on the streets of Kampala's most notorious ghetto.

A young prostitute waiting for men in front of a slum brothel.

Children play on the streets of a ghetto.

A young woman who has been a prostitute since she was a child, working in a slum brothel.

A woman carries her child down the street. Photographed from the dirty window of a moving car.

A child writes on the ground of Raising Up Hope for Uganda.

A brief note and request:

Many of these photos, and many photos that will be displayed on this site over the coming weeks, could not have been captured without the help of my dear friend Patrick. He was raised on the streets and has gone on to now help children get out of horrible situations. He is 21 years old and cares for 43 orphans in a house he built and founded himself. Twice a week he does outreach for street children and drug addicted children in the slums of Kampala, many of whom end up being cared for and educated in his home. His organization is www.raisinguphope.wetpaint.com He is currently looking for volunteers to come to Uganda to help him, and of course funding for his sustainable projects. I have met this man, spent weeks getting to know him and can say that he is a true, kind and amazing soul. It is a gift if you have the chance to meet him and I vouch for him 100% His work is important and if you can help him I promise your time and money is better spent on things like this than most other charities. Follow his link or contact me for more info.