With a hobby like photography, it’s very easy to get sucked into the trap that bigger is better. You MUST get that latest DSLR, the better and faster lens, the expensive accessories. Without them, your photography will never progress, will always be mere snaps.

Those of us with creative compacts mostly seem to be in a holding pattern while we save for the DSLR and while occasionally you find the odd magazine, blog post or article giving tips on how to get the most out of the more budget cameras (Dom’s recent Get the most from your compact digital post right here on the Fotonomy blog, for example) most seem to assume that their readers already have DSLRs or should be aspiring to one in the very near future.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as guilty as everyone else. I love my Canon 400D (yes, that’s me in that photograph), newly acquired after years of saving, but there’s still times when I reach for my old PowerShot A620 in preference and this interview with pro photographer Alex Majoli is a great explanation why.

Majoli is an award-winning photo-journalist and his images have appeared in such revered publications as Newsweek, Vanity Fair and National Geographic. The shots are from locations such as China, Iraq, and Congo. You’d expect him to be carrying some pretty impressive kit. What does he use?

A humble point and shoot.

Well, okay, he carries SIX humble point and shoots. Two are slung around his neck to shoot in burst mode, four are kept as spares in case of equipment failure. He carries extra memory cards and that’s it. Not even an external flash unit.

Now there’s food for thought…