New Technology Old Philosophy

Not a day goes by when I don’t come across some amazing ( really) new technology for Photography and film.New equipment , new apps, new photo services . The rate of change and innovation in photography is staggering . New gimbals for film work , new apps like After-light , FaceTune and Mavis . My favourites are Sun seeker to track the sun while shooting or planning a shoot and Cine Meter 2 and Mavis . Mavis turns the iPhone in to a proper video camera . The new equipment I love are the mirror less cameras from Sony with 5 axis image stabilisation and new lenses , to many to mention here .However sometimes the best work comes from limiting your resources , it makes you more creative I believe . It makes you concentrate more on the work than the tools  . Avedon  used to call it a series of no’s . He’d have a project and he would decide no to this type of light , pose, composition or whatever . I’ve got a series of ads coming up with two different ad agencies and both campaigns only have what needs to be there , strong and simple. Good art directors know that.Photograph by Bill Brandt .Brandt used a simple approach to create some of the most memorable photography . I must tell the story of when I called Bill for a job as an assistant . When I lived in London i would spend part of each day in phone boxes or on a Motorola mobile phone calling up photographers looking for assisting work and one day I was surprised to find the legend Bill Brandt’s number . I loved his work so I called him up . Hi can I speak to Bill ? The voice on the other end seemed a bit puzzled . Is Bill there I said ? Bill is dead , the voice said . Can I help you ? Oh I was just looking to assist him . You can’t assist him now , she said . Embarrassed . I didn’t realise he had died a few years earlier.