Gear Talk Part 1: The Point & Shoot Years
Sable on a golf course in Scottsdale, AZ, December 2013
Hello Friend,
One of the nice things about working for a newspaper was the access to some gear I could not get otherwise. Yes, I mostly had to use my own cameras and lenses, but I also was able to work with things like a 300mm f/2.8 for sports and newer digital cameras as they come on the market. In fact when I worked for the Augusta Chronicle, we were one of the early adopters for digital. And in 1999, the whole staff was issued the new Nikon D-1. We photographed the 2000 Masters golf tournament completely digitally, and it revolutionized how fast we could photograph, edit and process each day’s images.
I bring this up, only to set the stage for the big change for me in the fall of 2000 when I left photography to go into sales. I lost access to the newest, coolest stuff. I still had my film cameras, but now I would need to pay for my own film and processing – big drag for a growing, single-income family. Since I still wanted to do some photography, I decided to buy a simple digital Canon point and shoot.
Sable surveying his domain near the summit of Table Rock Mountain June 2014
It was a bit of a tough transition for me to go from professional working photographer with access to that type of gear to just a guy with a little point and shoot. But since I was busy with my new career in sales, I didn’t let it bother me too much. Looking back on those “middle years”, I am pleasantly surprised at how much photography I did for those 15 years or so from leaving journalism to when I started playing in this landscape photo world.
Like most people with a point and shoot, I photographed my family: our daughter as she grew up and adventures my wife and I had. The things I liked most about carrying around a point and shoot, was how easy it was to take with me. Because it was small and unassuming, I could still take documentary-type photos. These point and shoots were great for me to just have along as we lived our lives.
What I didn’t realize until now, was I was creating a nice body of work that I can look back on and remember so many of the adventures we had during those years. We also had an early iMac with the iMovie program. I was able to import these photos and create little movies of my daughter’s life each year. I still have these little “home movies”, and watch them every once in a while when I run across them cleaning out a closet.
Sable looking for fish on the Middle Saluda River, Jones Gap State Park June 2014
Because photography and being creative were important to me, and these point and shoots were not expensive, I made sure to get one for my daughter. As she was having her own adventures, she was looking at the world through a camera lens as well. She took it with her to Girl Scout camps, her summer trip to Australia, and her first trip to London. She could then show us what she was doing and enjoying on her own big journeys.
When she was off on those adventures, she was not able to take her stuffed tiger, Sable. (Side note: Sable is a cousin to Hobbs from “Calvin and Hobbs”. And he has some of the same way of being as Hobbs. As in, is he only a stuffed tiger or a real tiger sometimes?) So, we would take him with us on our trips. My wife and I had a blast finding ways to make him part of the trip and creating little stories of him doing his own thing while his human was off doing her thing. He hung out with us in Arizona when Mina was in London. And he hiked with us in South Carolina when she was in Australia. As we would have him on our backpack or when we were putting him in fun little situations to photograph, people would often stop to watch and ask what was going on. We would explain, and they would laugh.
“The best camera (um, tiger) is the one that is with you.”
Hiking with Sable at Table Rock State Park (SC) June 2014
In the spring of 2005, we got to see the large group of azaleas in our back yard bloom for the first time since moving in the prior year. We decided it would be pretty to get some photos of our daughter in the flowers. Thus, was started a 20-year tradition that has happened almost every spring since then. Having my little point and shoot those first years allowed me to start creating something that has become an annual collaboration with my daughter.
I look at the latest, greatest cameras with awe and some envy. Though, I do know the best camera is the one that’s with you. And I look back at the catalog of images from those little point and shoots years with nostalgia. I was able to capture fleeting moments quickly and without a lot of fuss.
Patrick Krohn
January 2026
Bonus photos of a hike with the three of us in the South Carolina Upstate in July 2014. This is why you shouldn’t let your teenaged daughter stand behind you for a selfie during a hike in the rain. The second had us laughing even more when we saw them together later.
“Mina in the Azaleas” April 2010
“Strong Mina in the Azaleas” April 2013
Yes, I did upgrade my cameras since these years with the point and shoot – twice in fact – and those stories will be coming up. Though, when I did, I basically knew what it was I wanted and where I wanted to go. And I have always been much more on the “entry level” side when I did upgrade.
These point and shoot years were a great way for me to keep my hand (and eye) in the creative photo world. Would I have taken “better” photos with a “better” camera? I don’t know. They likely would have better technical esthetics, but they might not have been as playful either. A point and shoot was much better at allowing me to do just that: point and shoot. I mostly shot on manual, but I didn’t concern myself so much with depth of field or shutter speeds or ISO like I do now. As long as the image looked properly exposed and what I wanted in focus was in focus, I was good to go. I would shoot a couple of frames and move on.
When I pull out my more “serious” gear, people feel a little intimidated and look at me as “Patrick The Photographer”. With the point and shoot, it was much more, “Oh, there’s Patrick with his camera again. Isn’t that nice?” Which is better? It really doesn’t matter to me. I’m just happy to look back at that time in my life and enjoy what I created and how it set me up for this stage in my photo journey.
The challenge today is to not worry about your gear, but to enjoy and be proud of what you are making with it.
Thank you, and keep creating what you do.
The first year of “Mina in the Azaleas” March 2005
When there were events with other members of my family, like a big family reunion or weddings, I was able to still document and enjoy them with my point and shoot. Were they “world-class photos”? No, but that did not matter. They were photos that are still meaningful to me and my family. And it helped me still keep in touch with my creative side. I didn’t think as deeply about the images I was making then, but that wasn’t the point. Finding fun images from an event and then sharing them with my family and friends was very rewarding for me.
I do miss some of that carefree, spontaneity that is able to be captured with a smaller camera or a phone. (Though, I have never enjoyed using my phone as a camera.) When we go camping and hiking now, I am much more focused on the landscape, the light and what nature is showing me. And less likely to get those quicker snaps of people “doing their thing.” Each type of photo has their place in my creative journey.
Looking back at this time, I am reminded just how much I did photograph during these “middle years”. I was able to capture – and now remember – many of the fun things we did together. I am a little bummed we didn’t do more with Sable, even though he often went on trips with us. But it wasn’t easy to carry a tiger around in public – people ask questions and he does get that hungry look that humans don’t like to see. And I wonder if we were younger and more adventurous then or our adventures are just different now.
Not to bury the lead, but the point I am trying to make is, the gear doesn’t make the photos, we do. Some gear will help you realize your vision better. Or just let you get those images you want with a little more ease. It doesn’t matter what you are carrying, there will always be better, more sophisticated toys out there. You can spend your life chasing that. Or you can spend your life making images and memories you want to enjoy.