When I was a teenager and shooting my cheap-o 110 film cameras at KISS concerts I would HAVE never dreamed that one day in my future I would be able to get a photo pass and shoot a concert, officially! Well, not only did that happen this year with the SEAL show in Chicago (see my show report and photos here) but after it was all said an done one of my shots made it in to his european tour book!!!

I just received my copies in the mail last week and there it is! A full page! I took quite a few shots that night, and used my trusty Leica M8 and a Nikon D90 I was testing at the time. My Leica kit which consisted of my M8, 28 Elmarit, 50 Summilux and 75 Summarit had a value of about $10,000. The D90, about $1100.

The shot that made it in the book was shot with the Nikon D90 and the lowly 18-105 kit lens, at ISO 2500 no less!

It goes to show that you do not need a mega buck camera for professional work! Just a passion for photography and the desire to do your best with whatever you shoot with!

If you have a recent entry level DSLR you have a powerful tool that you can use in almost any situation. Sure, nice fast lenses are a joy to own but are they really necessary? I see it every day, and am guilty of it myself!

Hobbyists get obsessed with buying the fastest and most expensive lenses they can buy. They want the best and they want quality. Again, I do this myself as I own lenses that I really do not “need”.

I mean, how many of us really NEED a $10,000 Leica Noctilux 0.95 lens? The answer is NONE OF US DO! Many times, like with this new Noctilux, it is all about what we WANT, not NEED, and that is the truth! Lens lust takes over our brains and we find a way to get the lens we want.

I can not afford the new Noctilux lens but I would sure as hell WANT it if I had a spare $10k laying around! Hell, I would be happy with the old Noctilux!  But do I NEED a Noctilux to get an award winning shot? NO!!! I have a 50 1.4 and that is plenty fast for me and gets the job done in my lower light situations.

Am I saying you should not buy these beautiful expensive lenses? NO WAY! If you have the cash, more power to you! Buy what makes you happy as we only have one life to live on this earth! It goes by too fast so enjoy it while you can. I try to live my life like every day could be my last! Seriously!

Basically what I AM trying to say is shoot with what you have and be happy with it. I have said this before but if you have the passion and desire, you can use almost any camera to make great images, so get out there and shoot!

I also want to thank Seal once again for using my image in the new tour book and for sending me a couple of copies. It is a beautiful book and also showcases a bunch of his own photography.

Now I need to find a frame to display them!

New reviews coming over the next two weeks: Sigma DP2, Leica 35 Summicron ASPH. In August: Leica 24 Summilux, Olympus EP-1 and more!