Forget the gear list: Here's what a self-taught Shetland joiner, with a boat strapped to his car, can teach today's photographers about getting the shot that counts

Forget the gear list: Here's what a self-taught Shetland joiner, with a boat strapped to his car, can teach today's photographers about getting the shot that counts

Every photographer has, at some point, blamed their gear. The lens wasn't sharp enough, the sensor too noisy, the light too flat. It's comforting, but it falls apart entirely when you look at the work of John D Rattar (1876-1957) – the Shetland joiner-turned-photographer whose 150th anniversary is being marked this month with a major exhibition.Rattar, whose earliest known photographs date back to 1890-92, was entirely self-taught. He worked wit…