Night Photography Class Lesson One: Just Because You have a Good Camera, Doesn't Mean You're a Good Photographer

Back in 2010 when I was contemplating purchasing a digital SLR, I came to the conclusion that:

a) I'm not a good photographer and 

b) There's no bigger crime than being a bad photographer who owns an upmarket digital SLR. Using a good camera to take bad photos is just a crime. As the saying goes, "A good camera does not maketh a good photographer".   

Taking all this into consideration, I decided to upgrade my point and shoot instead. My camera, which was a Panasonic Lumix was over 5 years old. I've also always disliked the quality of the night shots,and it had gotten to a point where I wouldn't even bother taking any photos past twilight. The end result was the purchase of a high end point and shoot (Canon S95), with the plan to take lessons prior to commiting to anything else.

Met the photography group under the big screen in Fed Square. Everybody had some high end bulky camera casually slung over their shoulders along with a tripod in toe. A & I were conspicuously the only ones with point & shoots. The guy taking the tour tells us that we'd be viewing everybody's photos at the end of the night. My assumption? I was expecting amazing amateur photos, but the end result was a lot of crap. In fact, I think my own photos were better than a lot of the others, if that's indicative of the level of skill/standard that night.

Some of the guys (obviously) had some pretty good shots, but nothing that made me go, professional-photographer-in-the-making. Lesson learnt.