Those images are so beautiful, he must have very expensive gear!
Maybe you’ve seen it written in comments or maybe even somebody have said so while you were listening. And unfortunately that is one of the aspects with photography that is commonly misunderstood.
So let me try to explain it in a few words. The camera is about catching light. In general, the better this ability is, the more expensive the camera will be. However, the most important part of capturing an image is the person handling the camera.
This person needs to know what limitations the camera holds. This knowledge together with experience and a trained eye for good compositions will lead to beautiful images.
To demonstrate this for you, I took my Canon 5Ds equipped with a EF 24-70 f/2.8L, my Canon M100 equipped with a EF-M 22 f/2 and my iPhone with me to one of the local streams. The 5Ds and the lens had a retail of $5 048 and the M100 and the lens $849. The idea here is to show you what limits the different cameras have. Can you guess what camera that has produced what image? (Answer on the next page)
Camera 1 Camera 2 Camera 3
Canon M100 iPhone 11 Pro Canon 5Ds
Could you see what image belonged to what camera?
All three images are acceptable. There are some minor glitches to the iPhone’s result. My guess is that the long exposure time has misaligned some. The details is also a bit washed out. Once you start comparing the Canon M100 and the Canon 5Ds it gets harder. You need to zoom in on the details to see what camera that got the best results.
If you are one who most often post on Facebook or Instagram, the phone will give you acceptable results most times. If you plan to put some of your images on to walls, then maybe you should consider something more than just a phone.
My final comment on this topic is that the person handling the camera will be the limit of a good composition in most cases.