There seems to be a natural progression from members on this forum, of which I may be a representative sample:
1. Camera lust. You get a P&S and use it for a bit and if new to digital are really wowed by the new things that can be done since your film days. You soon realize the limitations of the type of camera. You step up to an entry level DSLR and begin trolling the "Canon EOS Digital Cameras" forum. Bad move!
2. Lens lust. Starts very soon after getting your entry level DSLR and kit lens. You start trolling the "Canon EF and EF-S" forum. The telephoto usually comes first because 55mm just doesn't cut it, and you convince yourself that you don't really need that 2.8 aperature and that f/4 is so much cheaper. What's one stop?
3. Buyer remorse. Still trolling the camera and lens forums, you decide that you just have to have the prosumer stuff. You're shots are great, but could be so much better with the more advanced stuff! You put an ad in the "Sell" section, and very shorly you have sold your gear to a member who is still two steps behind in "camera lust." And, you tell your wife that you only lost about 10% on the turnover---heck that's cheaper than renting the stuff! (Still, its best to hide the receipts).
4. Accessory mania. Now that you have the good stuff, you have to "kick it up a notch"! Trolling the "Accessories and storage" forum makes you realize how lost you are without a tripod that weighs less than air, 16 gig memory cards, filters, Rocket blowers, remote cables, etc.
5. Flash desire. A no brainer. Everyone at the "Small flash and Studio lighting" forum says pop up flash sucks. The wife---"Are you kidding me! That flash cost as much as the camera!" She suggests a 12-step program.
6. Printer lust. Now that you have the good stuff, you start to expect more out of yourself. When your images aren't THAT much better, you decide that it has to be the printer and so you start trolling the "RAW, post processing and printing" forum. Now that you've spent so much on equipment, it would be crazy to use an inferior printer. The wife--"That ink set costs HOW much?" She's so clueless sometimes.
7. The Quest for Knowledge. When you images still don't look THAT much better than with your P&S, you get concerned. "Now that I'm $4,000 lighter in the wallet, how can this be?" you wonder. Now your real education begins. You are relieved to hear Ansel Adams say he calls it a successful year if he get 12 good prints a year.
When you start actually being concerned about the image, then, grasshopper, you can call yourself a photographer.
