The Same Yet Different - Conclusion

I told you at the beginning of this that I didn't know what to expect from doing it.  I really just wanted to see what happened.  Maybe I was going to fall in love with one system over another.  Maybe I would discover some hidden value in something that I hadn't noticed before.  Maybe I would just spend a long night shooting a bunch of pictures with some friends.  

I think the biggest thing that I can take away from this project is a greater love for the art of photography.  Seriously.  I love photography.  I had a blast shooting all these cameras.  I can see so much value in each and every camera that I shot.  If I had the money to go out and buy every one of them, I would.  I could totally see myself using each one of them in its ideal circumstances.  The DSLR definitely has its place.  As does the 8x10, the 4x5, the Hasselblad, the Holga, and the iPhone.  Photography is such an awesome form of art because the tools are so accessible.  Everyone can take pictures.  Not all of them are going to be great.  But anyone can take a picture that is unique in showing the world as they see it.  And that is cool.

Another thing I have learned through all of this is that I love portraiture.  I like to approach it as a story-telling opportunity.  I have always tried to shoot portraits of athletes in the field while I shoot them ski, climb, run, whatever; but with a white backdrop you don't have the benefit of the surroundings helping to tell the story.  You have to tell it through the type of image you shoot and what the face of your subject is saying.  That is a fun challenge to me.  I want to do more of that.

Thank you for following along as I have presented this project.  It was super fun to shoot and to put together for the blog.  I want to especially thank my models: Michael Henriksen, Amalia Smith, Ryan Wells, and Ben Williams.  They were all so great to work with.  Thanks also to my wife and son for helping.  A big thanks to Jimmy Bunting for helping me get a lot of these cameras (his trunk was full of them when he rolled into SLC for the weekend) and the others that loaned cameras along the way.

I like taking pictures.  That's what I have learned.  But didn't I already know that?