Photographer wins photo contest with outdated point-and-shoot

Leonard Goh | Dec 15, 2008

Joel Charlebois' winning picture--Midnight Train to Humber. (Credit: Joel Charlebois and Metro)

This is a wakeup call for those who lust after fancy imaging equipment and believe that superior cameras and lenses will definitely produce better pictures.

Joel Charlebois won the 2008 Metro Global Photo Challenge which attracted a total of 55,000 contestants, many I'm sure are professionals who tout expensive gear. The difference is Charlebois didn't even use a dSLR for his winning shot--Midnight Train to Humber. According to the report on Metro, all he used was the Canon Digital IXUS 700 (a 3 year-old camera) and a US$20 plastic tripod.

Besides the US$1,476 prize money, Charlebois will also be flown to Paris for a photo shoot and to give a talk about his winning picture. This is one of the rare imaging contests where cameras weren't part of the prizes.

Like what the photographer said about his win, "It's motivation for anyone with an eye--but not necessarily the fancy tools--to keep shooting", don't be disheartened if you cannot afford the top-of-the-line Nikon D3x or the much sought after Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Most of the time, having a good eye for pictures is more important than having the best camera.

Filed under: Digital Cameras
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