It's about the gear, stupid.
I was watching a video with Scott Kelby who in reply to an oft-asked question; "Why aren't my photos better?" responded with the answer that it's about the lens you use.
Now he did add the caveat that you can of course take a good photo with anything. Joel Sternfeld, for example, released a book containing photos taken in Dubai using an iPhone.
Kelby's main point was that if you have a REALLY long lens you're just going to get photos that other people shooting with the "standard" 18-55 won't. This may well be true, but i'm uncomfortable with the notion that it's down to the technology. It feels as though your expensive lens is way to differentiate yourself from others through money, rather than by using a cheap, more readily available lens and really working a scene to find something great.
