Today’s Post Joe Farace
“There is nothing to talk about” she said. “I’m just a freak that’s all.” ― Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I’ve always believed that photography was the universal language and somewhere during its 150 years of existence it evolved a language of its own.
Back in the pre-digital days when certain people became more obsessed with the camera, lenses and photographic ephemera than they were with the image that the cameras created, they were known as equipment freaks or sometimes equipment snobs. Nowadays, the term pixel peeper gets tossed around a lot with some shooters being accused of having GAS aka “gear acquisition syndrome,” a term I’m not all that comfortable with, much like some peoples use of “capture” to describe a photograph or how others will type “desent’ on social media when they really mean is “decent.”
But unless you’re living a monastic Cartier-Bresson-like existence making photographs with just one camera and a 50mm lens, chances are you own a lot of gear, perhaps in order to be able to capture that “ultimate image.”
These days my workaday digital cameras are/were Canon EOS DSLRs along with Panasonic and Olympus mirrorless cameras. But you may—or may not—be surprised to learn that since the beginning of October, 2021, all but one of the photography sessions/photowalks that I have engaged in—with the major exception of video—have been shot using film. The exception? The one shoot that I did was with my new Lumix 8mm f/3.5 fisheye lens for Micro Four-thirds cameras. This is a great lens and lots of fun that I hope to put to good use making digital infrared images if and when Spring actually gets here.
About this photo: This is a frame grab that’s from a video on my YouTube channel “Joe Farace’s Videos” called Behind the Scenes at a Glamour Shoot. You can watch this short video buy clicking here.
All the cameras and lenses that are used to make the photographs that you see on this blog were paid for with my own money. Any exceptions to that rules are cameras and lenses that were a gift from my wife and when I use any one of them I always mention they were given to me by her. Occasionally, very occasionally these days, I will get equipment from lens or camera manufacturers for me to review for this blog. You may be surprised to know that after reviewing this equipment I have to return it to them. There are no freebies, at least not for me.
Since I pay for all of my own gear you’ll probably notice that some of the cameras that I use may seem “old” and occasionally I’ve received e-mail from readers asking “why are you using that old thing?” I’m not an equipment snob for another good reason: I can’t afford to be.
If you would like to send a roll of film for me to review or other stuff for these posts and my videos you can mail it to: Joe Farace, PO BOX 2081, PARKER, CO 80134