While I was going through some vacation shots I recently did I was shocked to find some of my photos with a smudge mark on them. It took me a while to realize that some how I had gotten sun screen on my lens. Quite the nasty surprise I must say. It did bring me to think that camera care was something I have not talked much about. So here are a few brief things to look into to help make your memories as sharp as possible.Clean All Your lens'
Before you start any project for the day; take some time to clean all of your lens' that may or may not be in use. This includes any you don't plan on using as something may come up that you were not expecting and it is helpful to have your equipment ready to go at a moments notice. Also through the course of a day with opening your camera bag/gear your equipment will get dust on them eventually. It's just a matter of time.
So what you may want to look into is a small spray bottle of lens cleaner NOT Windex or anything with ammonia in it; as this type of chemical will strip off important layers on your lens. It is no different than if you wear eye glasses with any coatings on them - the chemical will strip off the coating and then you have expensive corrective glass without the hardening coating or maybe even a tinting. Not good. You will also want a micro fiber cloth to help with the cleaning process. Again the ones that can be used with eye glasses are great for this as they are not big and do not take up much room in your kit.
Dust out Your Camera Body
Another cleaning item to have on hand is a retractable brush as well as a small air bellows. These can be found in any of your local photo finishing stores. The air bellows is to blow out the dust in your camera body. You want to use this instead of blowing from your mouth because of the moisture factor. Our breath has moisture and like most electronic devises moisture is not the cameras friend. When using the bellows be sure to hold the opening of the body downward so that any dust particles that are dislodged can fall out instead of finding a new place to hide.
Like wise the retractable brush will help remove dust particles that you can see. You will want to use the brush instead of your fingers for the obvious reason of body oils and yet I still see photographers use there fingers. When using your finger you can leave oils in the housing of the camera and in time prevent your camera from working at it's optimum.
Consider Mid -shooting Maintenance
If you are shooting for more than a couple of hours you may want to consider taking a ten minute break or so to go through and clean the lens that is currently being used; as well as if it happens to be a windy day, like it tends to be in the southern end of Alberta, dust out your camera body away from the wind. This little consideration can save some frustration later on and help you keep your photography at the best level possible. This was the lesson I forgot while on holidays, thus why I didn't notice that I had a smudge mark on my lens until I got home.
You see the preview screen on your digital camera (even the bigger ones) is not going to show the smudge mark or other possible problems well if at all. They are meant to give a basic preview. Even then unless you take the time to enlarge parts of the photo and scrutinize every part you will still miss some distractions in your photo. So as you learn from my forgetfulness take a peek at a couple of the photos that I am proud of this time around.
So until next time have fun with your summer memories.
