Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“In this strange new world where so many of us—still—take life for granted, I’m glad and thankful too for being alive for another year.”—Joe Farace
In the writing I’ve done for my books, magazine stories as well as all of the thousands of blog posts I’ve always tried to be honest with you as far as my opinions on the pros and cons of any of the cameras, lenses, lighting gear and even film and photo labs I’ve used. It didn’t matter whether this writing was done for metal therapy (as this blog often is for me) or for publication in a book or magazine or even somebody else’s blog. because I feel that not being honest would be a disservice to you.
No manufacturer, their representatives or PR agencies has ever paid me or given me merchandise telling me what to write or say anything other than what I believed in my heart to be true. My approach to photographic ethics has, as I’ve found to my chagrin over the past forty years, had an adverse affect on my income, visibility as a writer or, Heaven help me, a photographic personality.
The changes in how photographers work, how they consume information as well as how the pandemic has effected everything in our society caused the photo magazine and book publishing industries to implode and in the process affected my ability to reach out to photographers. With this blog I have wanted to create an uncensored and creative outlet for my writing but more importantly let my book and magazine readers know that I was still alive, had images to share and something to say about this hobby and avocation that we all love.
This blog has accomplished part of that goal and while these days it’s impossible to create a truly uncensored blog without interference from the nanny software used by thousands of corporations and institutions that drop the hammer on any writer/photographer who produces images the software doesn’t permit. Don’t even get me started about censorship and shadow banning that permeates social media. There’s a a 300-page book called, Pics or It Didn’t Happen on this topic. Consequently I do what I can within these formats to express how I honestly feel and share images that, I hope, combine the art and craft of photography. And fun too, because the motto of this blog has always been Have Fun with Your Photography!
And now a word… This blog is free to access but it’s not free to produce. There are costs associated with domain names, hosting services and software that runs and protects the site. My Webmaster, Tim Fiedler, is paid to keep this and my car photography site/blog up and running and dealing with the inevitable software and security issues that plague all on-line activity.
This blog has sponsors but there are not enough of them to make it self-supporting; I make up the difference out of my own wallet. I don’t have the kind of personal sponsors of some bloggers who are paid by companies to write and say favorable things about their products. The sponsors you see here are companies owned and run by people who respect what I do and my ethical approach to photographic writing. These current, and all of my former sponsors, never told me what to write and what to say about their products .
If you enjoy and would like to support this blog, you can help by joining via Patreon, where memberships start at $1.25 a month, with other levels at $2.50 and $5 that include special benefits. And if you do, I would like to thank you for your support.
As we end another paradigm shifting year, I would like to wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year.