During a recent trip in the South Island I got a notification that an occasional Australian vagrant Chestnut Teal had been seen at Travis Wetlands in Christchurch. We were due to pass through the city in a couple of days so factored in a visit on the off chance. Having never visited the venue before it was going to be a bit of a long shot. Our first stop was at a part of the reserve with the wrong habitat for teal so we moved to another area where the problem immediately became apparent – how were we going to spot one Chestnut Teal amongst the hundreds of Grey Teal and Shovellers?

After walking and straining our eyes for a while we made the only sensible choice. We found a spot with nice light and regularly flying birds, and just started watching the birds and photographing. I was using the Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S and Edin had her trusty Nikon D500 and Nikkor 80-400mm f4.5-5.6 AFS. Regular flights of Tete moroiti/Grey Teal, Kuruwhengi/Shoveller, Poaka/Pied Stilt, Canada geese and occasional Kahu/Harriers kept us occupied and distracted from the frustration of trying to find the needle in a haystack.

I was distracted from my task by Edin saying “the Chestnut Teal has arrived”. She had been tracking a bird in flight which landed in front of us and was clearly our targeted bird. It was more than a little exciting. The bird and it’s mate proceeded to feed and we had the chance to photograph some feeding behaviour in quite nice light.

For this type of shot my gear with the 800mm lens was more appropriate, putting more pixels on the subject. After getting some images I passed my camera and lens over to Edin and started using her D500. One of the benefits of mirrorless is being able to do everything without my glasses. I can shoot, review menu settings and images on the electronic viewfinder and not bother with glasses. For a DSLR the optical viewfinder diopter can correct for my vision but I need my glasses to change menu settings and review images. Fortunately, Edin and I both set up our cameras the same way and my DSLR muscle memory is so ingrained that I can shoot even if everything looks blurry so I didn’t need to change anything on her camera.

A little while after we had swapped gear a Harrier flew over flushing all the ducks. I placed the D500 Group AF sensors over the Chestnut teal and shot a sequence as they launched. They flew behind some cabbage trees and re-emerged and I was quickly able to regain focus and shot a few more images.

Edin managed the same with the Z9 and 800.

So how is it all about the gear? At the most basic level without gear you can’t make images. At another level, some gear is a little more appropriate for specific uses but you don’t need something specific to achieve results. For the feeding ducks the extra reach of the 800mm was useful to get them larger in frame and blur out the background. For the more challenging flight images both sets of gear achieved good photos. Most importantly, unless you use the gear you have you won’t get any images.

I hear people lamenting the fact that they don’t have/can’t afford the latest gear or a long telephoto lens with the intimation that that is the reason they are not able to make good images. It’s understandable as there can be a significant cost involved, let alone the availability issues with delayed delivery times. Realistically though it is not a barrier to getting out and making images if that is your drive. I see more people with the gear not making the images because they are not driven to make the effort, rather than motivated people being hampered by their gear. I follow a number of photographers producing excellent work using crop sensor DSLRs and zooms in the 100-400mm range that are now extremely affordable.

Having been lucky to use the Nikon Z9 for the past 6 months I can definitely say that it is better at some tasks and worse at others when compared to a DSLR. It comes with a steep learning curve and I am still getting to grips with some aspects of how to make the best of it while navigating around the frustrations. With a DSLR I know what it does and what I can do with it so it is a simpler equation. The mirrorless goes between amazing me and frustrating me with each incremental firmware update lessening the frustrations. There are definitely things a Z9 can do that DSLRs don’t but equally there are things that are easier and simpler to achieve with a DSLR.

So, yes, it’s all about the gear. Not so much having specific gear but using the gear you have. It is far more capable than gear of a decade ago (don’t even mention film days). There has never been a better time to be a photographer – DSLRs are more affordable than ever on the 2nd hand market and mirrorless is pushing back the boundaries of what is achievable in some areas. Nikon F and Canon E mount lenses are also excellent value second hand. Edin’s recent post on her gear highlights this with some of her gear being almost vintage (the 18-200mm and 12-24 were lenses I purchased back in the day of the Nikon D200). Edin is a very successful photographer to the point that she was given pre-announcement use of the Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S so that we could shoot the images for the worldwide release. She doesn’t have a Nikon Z9 or Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S but that doesn’t stop her making top images with the gear she has (and some when she borrows my gear or gets a loaner from Nikon) and I can still make images that please me when I borrow hers. I still have my Nikon D500, 300mm PF and 500mm PF as they make an excellent compact and capable bird kit that is a joy to use. The F mount lenses work perfectly on the Z9 with the FTZ adaptor as well.

It is all about the gear but it is not about having the gear, but rather, about using the gear. Get out and use your gear until you bump up against it’s limitations and then if the drive is high enough you may be able to justify spending a bit more if you have to. Most gear is more capable than most photographers so push to find your limits and then push your limits with practice until you’re pushing the limits of your gear. A lot revolves around practice. The more I photograph the better I get at the technical side. If I have a break I get a bit rusty. One of the joys of my recent South Island trips was being able to get out and photograph every day and appreciate the opportunity to hone skills. It doesn’t matter what gear you have, unless you’re using it well it won’t produce any results. Use whatever you have well and it will produce better and better results. Most importantly, have fun, delight in nature and create something.

Advertising pushes us toward the latest and greatest but in reality gear are just tools to do a job. Some are slightly more appropriate but many can do the job. Focus on using the tools you have to be a creator. Don’t be swayed by marketing to prioritise being a consumer. The world has too many consumers and too few creators.