Gear won’t make you a better photographer
This is a review of the Hunter Hart / Two Harts Cape Town 2024 Retreat.
The backstory. I had been following Hunter Hart on YouTube for a while now. I found him through his videos on the Leica Q. His work immediately intrigued me. These wide angle beautiful portraits. I have always been intrigued by the wide angle portraits but relied so heavily on 50mm+ lenses to get the creamy bokeh that was an easy out for portraits.
I consumed everything Hunter had to show on his YouTube channel. My work however did not change much. I kept relying on my 50mm or 85mm and in my head I knew I had to make a change.
Then, came an announcement. Hunter and Sarah were having a content retreat in Cape Town South Africa. Several days, several shoots and some of the most beautiful scenery you could imagine. I rushed to show Kristan the details. She was shocked and smiled because she had actually been following Two Harts Weddings for a while on instagram and saw the same advertisement for the retreat.
We hopped on a call with Hunter and Sarah and by the end of our hour long call we had paid for the retreat and was finding our plane tickets. As the weeks got closer to the retreat I struggled day and night with what I would take on this trip for gear. Initially the trip consisted of a Canon R6, a 15-35, a 50mm and the Leica Q2. This of course was just what I wanted to bring. Eventually I decided to leave the 15-35 home and I would take just two bodies and two lenses. I wanted to only bring my Q2 with me but this was a once in a lifetime trip and I knew I would need my Canon and 50mm to get the look I wanted.
I shared my struggles with Hunter before leaving and he said he would challenge me to shoot 70% of the time on the Leica and allow myself 30% of the time on the Canon. This worked and this was my plan…. or so I thought.
Our first day at the retreat Kristan was taking a nap and Sarah was doing some work. Reagan, the other member of our group had not yet arrived. Hunter and I were talking and he was showing me how he sees the world. We used the AirBnB as our canvas and found some really cool places to take some photos. Here are a few from that session.
I immediately fell in love with these images. They were very different from the normal portraits I would have attempted to take in the AirBnB.
With this new found confidence to see things a little differently, I was making my first big attempt and I would only take my Q2 with me on the first day photo session.
I will admit, the first session was not the best use of what I had learned. I think it was a mixture of the first shoot, the environment being hectic and navigating the culture of a new country. I was still happy with everything I had captured but knew I could do better.
Day 1 -
Day 1 - Session 2
Session two was a lot better. We had a private area with minimal distractions. I felt like I began warming up to using the Leica Q2 and I could feel myself getting into my element. Much happier with these images.
That night during our debrief I made the commitment to keep going with the Leica Q2. I wanted to push myself on this retreat and this was how I could do it.
Day 2 Sessions
Now I was in the groove of things. I woke up excited to shoot 28mm. I felt like the world was at my fingers and the Q was my sword. I was ready to conquer the world. These images started to come to life for me. More angles, more emotion, more beauty. At this point in my head I made the decision I was not going to be using my 50mm at all. I was all in on the Q and 28mm.
Day 3
This days again began on a high for me. I was no longer reaching for my Canon and only focused on charging the batteries of the Q. Getting to shoot in the city and getting to shoot couples was perfect. Family sessions are our jam. I was able to take my new brain of angles and my love of families and create some magic this day
By now you are thinking, “Wait, why is this review for a content only talking about gear? I thought you said gear won’t make me a better photographer.”
Here is where things changed for me. Up until this point I was so focused on the gear. I had the option to bring any amount of gear I thought I would need on this trip. I could capture my images from so many focal lengths I would get sick of switching lenses before I ever ran out of ideas. But, as time went on, I quit thinking about the gear. Each day I woke up with 1 camera, that could only shoot one angle and all I had to worry about was having batteries that were charged. I no longer worried if I had the camera or the right lens. I only had one option. I had to make this camera work. I had to get creative with my poses, my guidance, my framing and my light.
Day 4
Day 4 I continued to ride this high. Shooting two extremes took a mental toll on my mind. Getting to shoot Shelby Cobras followed by using my gift of photography to help Hope Town was a lot to process in a single day. I am glad again I chose to only rock 1 camera and lens. It allowed me to take in everything around me, engage with the children and just focus on the moments. Having to worry about gear would have taken a lot away from a day like this for me.
Day 5
As I wrap this up, I want to reflect on this trip. It started out as a content retreat with three other strangers. As time went on it became more about friendships, stories, laughs and a few tears. It became about seeing the world differently. It was about sharing our gift of photography with others and allowing them too see their true beauty in this world.
If you have the ability to purchase a new camera or go on a content retreat or a workshop I highly encourage you to not purchase that new camera. The continued chase of a new camera will never make you a better photographer. Technically speaking, using the Canon R6 and a 15-35 or 50mm was a smarter choice. Eye focus, faster auto focus and often times easier to use controls made it the “smarter choice”. Heck I could have made an argument to even purchase a new camera because we “needed it”. Instead we chose to take this retreat to get content we otherwise would not have obtained. We made lifelong friends with others we never would have. We ate and experienced the world in a new way. We heard stories of struggle and success.
We came home with a new love of the world and not only has this retreat helped me see the world differently, it has helped me see myself different as well. Something like this cannot be purchased through a new piece of gear.
If you would like to learn more about this retreat or possibly sign up for a future one, I encourage you to follow Hunter and Sarah below.
