Okay, so this example kinda sucks, but you get the idea

No I don’t mean breaking down like your 1981 Ford Fiesta. I mean breakdown as in divided into parts for analytical reasons. I have known amateur photographers that had great equipment and a very competent technical knowledge of their equipment, but still had a hard time capturing images that any random group of seasoned photography enthusiasts would overwhelmingly deem to be more than just a “nice snapshot”. That’s when I realized that old saying some of us guys have heard before, “it’s not the size of your tool, it’s how you use it,” was actually true. Well, at least in terms of photography equipment.

continued…

Though some experienced photographers say the vision is everything, and even go so far as to say something like “I shoot jpeg, because I get it right in camera- no need to shoot RAW (insert macho growl sound here). But I believe I have captured a reasonable number of “better than snapshot” images over the years, and I will say that for me it’s been 60% vision and 40% (pause…EEEK!) post-processing. I know I am no wildly talented photographer, but I do think I have a better-than-average knack for post-capture vision; taking a photo that borders on ordinary and doing something with it that makes it visually interesting- at least to those of us  that aren’t purist snobs. So anyhow, my message to anyone who cares…. you know who you are… Carl!… is that we are not all blessed with the amazing vision for composition and capturing a moment like the greats of professional photography, nor are we always in glamorous environments with interesting material, so for the average joe like me, we have to have a vision that incorporates post processing to some degree if we want to make the most out of our daily captures…. Amen.