Honesty

Someone posted a comment on one of my galleries in Pbase recently (see above):

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Lena
Nothing special. You are not real photographer. You are just button pusher. Probably your camera is better and does not fit with you.
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Wasn't really bothered by this kind soul, but what kept me wondering was what's on the mind of him/her...

Frankly, Lena has uttered a lot of truth... I'm not a REAL photographer, just a button pusher... hahaha, how true... all I did was really push the shutter button to record the shot...

I was quite amused really, that Lena actually even bothered to comment... And I guess there just could be a few possibilities...

a) Lena is a professional and REAL photographer. And if so, this really is an extremely constructive feedback for me to think about :)

b) Lena is not a REAL photographer and merely drops by randomly and happen to hantam my gallery with this comment. And if so, I should just brush this comment aside and move on...

I've seen this quote somewhere which says "a camera helps the photographer record what he sees... But the photographer must first be able to SEE..."

I like this quote a lot because I'm a believer of "a photo is only as beautiful as the photographer can see"... Being a partially geeky guy, I have GAS (gear acquiring syndrome) as well... i.e., I'm fascinated and has a tendency to acquire better and newer gear...

But these quotes as mentioned above have kept me on the ground, and I've lost quite a lot of craving to keep up with the latest and newest camera bodies out there... My current EOS 20D has been my regular workhorse for the past 4 years... 4 years in today's pace of DSLR development translate to at least 3 generations of upgrades and better cameras... But I still can't find a good reason to upgrade simply because I still can get what I want to capture with my 20D...

Anyway, I'm glad this Lena character popped into my gallery this way because it's a timely reminder of what photography means to me, as well as a reminder for me to keep 'seeing' things around me in ways that are special...

As I've done so in my reply on my gallery, thank you once again, Lena, for your (brutal) honesty... hahahah (^o^)

(btw, my button-pushing photos can be see HERE)