“The creative act arises out of the struggle of human beings with and against that which limits them.” — Rollo May
Photographer and creative entrepreneur Chase Jarvis released a book back in 2009 titled The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You. In it he published a series of photographs all taken with his iPhone and essentially made the argument that you didn’t need an expensive camera and all of the equipment that went with it to take good photos. The camera included in your phone was good enough for you take some amazing photographs. It’s an idea that seems so obvious now, but back then, a phone’s camera was very low resolution and most serious photographers relied on high resolution, standalone digital cameras. It wasn’t obvious then how smart phone photography would allow anyone to be able to take amazing shots, but with all of the advancements in phones and their cameras over the last 14 years, most of us carry around impressively high quality cameras with us all the time. We don’t need to rely on bulky and expensive stand alone equipment. The best camera is the one that’s with us all the time.
I think Jarvis was also making the argument that creativity and artistry don’t rely on having the best materials and the best equipment, and if you use what you have, you can make amazing work. I’ve adapted the title of his book as a personal saying that I share with students all the time. The best art materials are the ones that you actually use. Of course we can extend that to any creative endeavor. We can fill our kitchens with lots of high end ingredients and expensive gadgetry, or we can fill our studios with all manner of materials and supplies, but if we don’t use them, they do not serve us in anyway.