I am not one who goes for high-end, expensive photography gear. You’ll never see me running around with a Contax T2 or a Leica. They are amazingly well-crafted and designed cameras. But in the end it’s not about the camera you’re using but more about how you compose your images, find the best light, knowing how to use the gear, being prepared and a whole lot of luck.
I almost always have a camera with me. I have a small messenger bag that I take with me, slung over my shoulder. At the very least I have whatever 35mm SLR I am currently shooting with or one of the small point & shoot cameras from the 90’s that I have. These are easy to find in thrift stores for a few bucks, or if you have a particular camera in mind (that isn’t overpriced like the aforementioned Contax T2 which you can’t find for less than $1000) you can find it online, usually for less than $50.
I shot this image with a Minolta Dual Freedom that I picked up in a Goodwill store for $4. The roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 that I shot this with literally cost more than the camera itself. It was a warm spring day in 2019 and it had been rainy in the morning. As the day wore on I could see out of the window at work the fog getting thicker and thicker so when I took my lunch break I ran up to the roof and then around downtown New Haven and shot half a roll of film in about 20 minutes. I got a lot of great images from that brief period but this one is a particular favorite. It’s matted and framed and hanging on the wall in my home. And I didn’t need a $3000 Leica camera to create it.