Joe Farace

Joe Farace  |  Feb 21, 2017

Capturing “the decisive moment” is more than just clicking the shutter at the right time and it’s more than luck, too. It’s an artful combination of experience, talent, and preparation. Being prepared for the unexpected is just as important to photojournalists and documentary photographers as it is to a Scout and that includes selecting and using gear that can be deployed at that right time, even if preparing for a single shot or two takes several hours. Some of these tools may be obvious while others not so much.

Joe Farace  |  Feb 17, 2017

There’s no more iconic focal length in Nikon folklore than 105mm. I remember the day in the 1980s when I purchased the legendary Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 lens (at prices that seem ridiculously low these days) from Denver’s Robert Waxman Camera and thought I’d finally made it. I felt some of that same rush of excitement when I picked up the new AF-S Nikkor 105mm f/1.4E ED lens ($2,196). While designed for FX (full frame) Nikon F-mount SLRs, it can also be used on their DX cameras that use APS-C-sized sensors, where it produces a 157.5mm equivalent field of view.

Joe Farace  |  Jan 31, 2017

This January issue’s theme was outdoor photography and other than architectural interiors and studio photography, more images are probably captured out of doors than indoors. This column’s focus is on camera bags for landscape, nature, and wildlife shooters, whose needs are different from their urban counterparts. Kelly Moore, for example, manufactures fashion bags (see the December 2016 Geared Up column) and offers the beautifully crafted Woodstock Backpack ($229) that’s probably better suited for Rodeo Drive than Jellystone Park.

Joe Farace  |  Jan 06, 2017

Some trends just won’t go away: Billboard magazine notes that U.S. vinyl album sales are up 53 percent, generating $416 million in sales. Stereophile, our sister publication, reviews new analog audio equipment and you can purchase new Nikon F6 or Leica M-A film cameras from Shutterbug advertisers. Ferrania is back making film and the Japan Camera Hunter website is making their own film, a discontinued Agfa emulsion they’re calling JCH StreetPan 400. Amazon’s top-selling photo item is Fuji’s Instax Mini Instant Film. There’s even a new twin-lens instant camera, Mint’s InstantFlex TL70, and yes, I gotta get me one of those.

Joe Farace  |  Dec 21, 2016

In my July 2016 column I posited several reasons why you shouldn’t use Adobe Flash, including blocking millions of iDevice owners from viewing your photography. Yet Flash remains popular, as you can see by one of the sites I hoped to feature this month but could not because my computer is Flash-free.

Joe Farace  |  Dec 16, 2016

Sports photography shares much in common with capturing images of wildlife: You’ve got an active scene captured at a distance requiring specialized equipment and knowledge of the subject’s activities while anticipating what they are going to do next…or not. Sure, you’ll need fast, long focal length lenses but you will also need camera supports and other gear that along with specialized knowledge separates the virtuosos, like Regis Lefebure (regislefebure.com), from the wannabes. Here’s a look at some of our favorite tools of the sports trade.

Joe Farace  |  Nov 08, 2016

Proving you can, in fact, change your tune; Paul Simon revised the lyrics to “Kodachrome” when performing the song in Central Park in 1991 to “everything looks better in black and white.” Picky photographers insist “monochrome” is more precise because it covers images made using sepia, blue, or other tones, while images using only shades of gray are black and white.

Joe Farace  |  Nov 07, 2016

A reader recently e-mailed me, asking, “I noticed you and other professional photographers don't always use right-click protection or watermarks (on your sites.) It seems like you'd want to protect your photos from unauthorized use. I'm not a pro but even I wouldn't want someone to grab some of my photos as their own.”

Joe Farace  |  Oct 10, 2016

In contemporary lighting equipment there are trends and there are fads with some gear seemingly having equal parts of both. And they just aren’t boxes of light anymore; they are lightsabers, small studio lights with big output, and everywhere you look it’s LED lighting in every size, shape, and price.

Joe Farace  |  Aug 30, 2016

Because of the “this is why we can’t have nice things” antics of several idiots flying drones, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) now requires every drone (and RC aircraft) weighing more than 0.55 pounds to register their craft and have an identification label. Pilots are also required to carry Flight ID.

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