Posts Tagged Photography
Self Published Portfolios
Posted by Mark Duehmig in Everything on August 13th, 2009
This entry could be called “Printed Portfoilos,” “Self-Published Albums,” or even “How to say thank you for a vacation.”
I’m referring to the many options you have to get a high quality printed book done at a reasonable price. Short run or even single run printings of books. This can be an incredible tool for photographers.
This is the latest version of my portfolio. Email me or call me for a copy.
The first I saw of this service was an imbedded feature in Apple’s very cool iPhoto image management/storage software. Right from within iPhoto you can take your photos and lay them out using templates and hit an order button.
Soon came other book options and, I say this as a dedicated Mac user, they surpassed the quality and features of the books you can buy on iPhoto or the pro-level application Aperture.
Different websites offer different types of books. For example Blurb.com offers both hardback and soft back bound books while viovio.com primarily offers spiral-bound books.
I’ve used or played with several different company’s book printing options. I call them options because some are software programs (free) that you download, some require you to lay out the book in programs like Adobe InDesign or Microsoft
My first version of a printed portfolio. I've learned a few things since this version.
Publisher just using templates they provide. There are pros and cons to each option, but I have to say my preference is toward Blurb.com. The books are of excellent quality, with options like glossy dust jackets that look incredible. They also provide a layout program that allows you tons of flexibility in how the book is latex out. (Version 3 is a huge jump over previous versions, if you’ve tried it before.)
Another plus that Blurb.com offers is their on-line presence. They are gathering a following that communicates through their “Blurberati” web community. (http://blog.blurb.com)
They will also help you sell your books if you want. You can offer your books for sale through their website and you set the price, and determine your profit margin. Imagine providing a coffee table book to the Bride of her wedding photos as a bonus (it costs you about $30-40 depending on size) and she is thrilled. But then her family, wedding party and friends can buy copies too directly from the Blurb website with out you having to pre-order any. And you make a little on the books too.
The book I did for my crew when we sailed the Annapolis to Newport Race a few years ago. This image was taken by local photographer Don Dement, but is one of the best I've seen. (It's hard to take photos of your own boat when you're always aboard.)
I’ve published about 12-15 books so far. A few have been for vacations (I gave my crew a book on a sailing trip we took down the Chesapeake Bay and up the coast. I’m working on another for the Bermuda Ocean Race from last year where we won first place in our division.)
I’m also on the second version of my portfolio. If you’ve been to my website, www.MarkDuehmig.com, you’ve seen all the photos that are in my printed portfolio. But, when I’m speaking with a client, it isn’t good to end our conversation with “great to talk with you, now don’t forget to visit my website.” With a printed portfolio I can show them photos on the spot and leave them with a high-quality reminder of my product.
The 80-page, 10×12 soft cover book I order costs me about $27 each. I pay a few dollars extra when I order them to replace the Blurb logo with my logo. But maybe you could get by with a 40 page version and a smaller size? That lowers your costs dramatically.
A good friend of mine is an extremely skilled cabinet-maker here in Annapolis and the subject of a previous blog entry. (Justin de Gast, www.AnnapolisFineWoodworking.com) He is planning to publish a small book with photos (many are mine) of his work for the same reason I am. It is his portfolio.
Just think: being able to provide a client with a nicely published book is a heck of a lot more fancy than just handing him or her a CD full of images. Just make sure you build in money for this into your quote. Especially the first time until you learn the time commitment on doing the layout well. I’ve spent quite a few hours on my portfolio, getting the right photos in the right order, etc. Nothing good in life is free.
All for now. I need to get back to work and so do you. One last thought about these books though; no matter how much time you spend proofing the books, order only one on your first order. You WILL find errors, or at least stuff you want to fix when you have the hard copy on your hands.
Keep shooting,
Mark
www.MarkDuehmig.com
My phone has been ringing…
Posted by Mark Duehmig in Everything on July 20th, 2009
I knew there would be times when keeping the blog up would be a challenge and this is the first time I’ve really been unable to even make notes on my iPhone during a slow period. It has been crazy. My phone has been ringing off the hook.
Has the world suddenly decided I am an incredible photographer? Not likely. Instead, Google had decided my place in this universe does warrant a higher ranking, and the results have been immediate. I have asked callers and emailers where they found me. The answer is usually Google.
This blog is no small part. Google keeps track of traffic between websites and apparently my readers, (both of you 
) have been visiting my website. AND you have been talking about it. Thank you.
If you feel like it, since you have probably gone through my portfolio at www.MarkDuehmig.com if you are reading this blog, consider reviewing me on Google. If you search for Annapolis Photographer, my listing should show up in the top ten in the business directory. Click on “Local business results for photographer near Annapolis, MD” and you’ll see an option to write a review. (Actually, the underscored part above is a link. It will take you right to the business results.) Thank you in advance if you choose to do this. Being busy is good!
Ok, I’ll write more soon. But I’ve got two more days of shooting before I rest. One of the days is a project I look forward to telling you about. Oh! and I just did a first printing of my paper portfolio at Blurb.com. I’ll tell you about that too. Very cool stuff. Next post….
Good night.
Mark
www.MarkDuehmig.com
PS - Welcome back Steve. I look forward to seeing your shots.
Choosing a camera bag
Posted by Mark Duehmig in Everything on June 25th, 2009
Choosing a camera bag…
Disclaimer: I LOVE camera bags. I understand why some women want a lot of purses. No single purse will fit every occasion and no single camera bag will work in every shoot.
There are two things that might help you in your shopping though: first, expect to pay for quality, and second, get over the beautiful photos of the large bags festooned with camera bodies and lenses.
Point one, paying for quality; if you have a lot of equipment, it won’t take long before that ads up to thousands of dollars of gear quickly. You need to protect that stuff. So don’t wince too much when you need to spend $300 for a good bag. It will last you a long time.
Second point; if you get that big bag with 30 slots for lens, four slots for camera bodies, three more for flashes
A promotional photo of a loaded camera bag. I used to drool over these images. What do you think this weighs?
and side pockets for the little things, it needs to come with something else: a Sherpa to carry it. This might be ok if you take the bag from home/office/studio to the car, and from the car into a shooting site where you just pull from the bag all day. But there aren’t too many jobs like that unless you’re primarily a fashion or product photographer.
I still have, and it is still one of my favorite cases, a Tamrac 814. (I think it is an 814. They don’t make this model any more.) And I loaded it full of gear and was trouncing around Cairo one day when I started to take on an “S” shape. That gear was killing my back with continuous walking and shooting. And if you want to keep your gear, you don’t dare set it down in Cairo.
I wasn’t home 20 minutes when I ordered a Lowell Pro backpack. A little more difficult to swap gear in and out of, but a lot easier on the back.
I have a bunch of bags, but here are some favorites:
* Case Logic Camera Messenger bag; This is my everyday bag that allows me to carry my camera and essential gear with me everywhere. I carry a D-700 body with a 17-35 lens attached, and a 70-200 mm lens in the side. I have to detach the handgrip/battery holder and this goes in the other side, along with a SB900 speedlight. I also have room for my Canon HD video camera if I want to take it along. (I shoot video for the Weather Channel, and it isn’t good to run into a nice wall cloud and not have a camera.)
* Tamrack 814; This is a minimal sized bag for carrying a D-700 and two lenses. The 70-200 mm is just too long. But if I get a bigger bag, I’ll just fill it, so I’ll make this one work. It is supposed to be able to carry two camera bodies in this model, but not unless they both have small lenses. Even with two pro quality medium zooms it would be tight.
* Lowell Pro backpack.; this is a great bag. It holds the above gear easily and can accommodate a second body without a lens attached. Or a video camera. This is an earlier version of their packs and the accessories pocket is one big, giant maw. New bags have many smaller pockets to help organized stuff. I recommend this if you carry the stuff I do. (See my packing list below.)
* I have two excellent bags from National Geographic. They caught my eye because I thought they looked good, and I was curious about their quality since National Geographic put their names on them. Yes, they are excellent. I ended up getting a daypack and
Me shooting at the edge of Lake Fagnano in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Everything fit in my National Geographic bag. This is the "Explorer Backpack - Large."
a large backpack. The daypack acts much like the Case Logic bag above, but dressier. I take it when I don’t want to look like I’m carrying a camera bag. The large backpack holds lots of gear and enough clothes for a day or three, depending on where you’re going and what you need. Everything is padded well and looks great too.
I have to admit that I was drawn to the style of the National Geographic bags in part because of Marlin Perkins. You know, the white haired guy from 70’s Sunday night show Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. “The lioness has my leather briefcase firmly in her claws, but my companion Jim is going to go get it back for me. Well done Jim! See to those cuts before you get blood all over the Land Rover.” I loved that show. But I digress.
* Tamrack Velocity 5 case; I don’t use this much any more. My first DSLR was a D70 with the kit lens. This bag worked great as my day bag to keep a camera with me, as well as a few other things. But it isn’t big enough to accommodate large pro lenses. The truth is few bags are designed to work with a whole set of f2.8 lenses. So try before you buy.
* Hard cases; I have two hard cases for carrying gear. The first is a Pelican 1650. I got it both to protect my gear in wet environments, and so I could safely check a bunch of gear on an airplane. There was a problem with this latter plan. I don’t know the exact weight of this case, but I’d guess about 35 lbs. That only leaves me about 15 lbs of gear before the airlines charge me exurbanite fees for being over the 50 lbs limit. I still haven’t really solved this since tripods and stuff weigh so much. I’d get charged for multiple bags too, depending on the airline… Sigh.
My other case is smaller and holds one set of gear. One body, two lenses and a flash. It is my go anywhere in any weather case. It is a Seahorse brand. Works well so far and cheaper than the top of the line Pelican cases.
* Tripod bag; There are times when I need to carry a big tripod, and the rest of the gear I’m packing won’t accommodate it. I have a PortaBrace Tripod bag. It is made to carry big video tripods so I can carry two smaller tripods or even a set of light stands. Odd story; once in St. Louis, I’m at the baggage carousel waiting for my gear to come around. I see the tripod bag on the belt and wait patently for it to get to me when this older (I’d guess 70) lady picks up my tripod bag, carries it over and lays it with her growing stack of bags. Folks, there is nothing common about a bright blue, 4 foot long triangular bag with a wooden handle. It wasn’t like it was a black roller bag. When I went to retrieve it, she seemed surprised; “Oh, is that yours?” Hmmm.
Ok, anytime you have a bag, you’ve got stuff to go with it. Some of this stuff varies depending on where you go, but a few things are good anywhere.
Accessories I carry in my camera bags:
Small flash light
Small roll of toilet paper in a ziplock bag
Lens cloth(s)
Comb
Small screwdriver
Small package of Band-Aids
Sensor cleaning swabs (NEVER use paper products!)
Pen & notepad
Business cards
Memory cards in crush proof case
And when I’m actually traveling with my camera bag as my carry on,
Cell phone
iPod
Water bottle & snacks
Tickets & passport in quick access compartment
I used to carry one of those cable locks where a cable pulls out, goes around your bag and connects it to something solid, so someone can’t grab your bag while you are sleeping at the airport or from under a chair at a restaurant. That is until I had my bag locked to my chair at an outdoor café in Uruguay. It wouldn’t unlock. At all. I ended up borrowing a pair of nail clippers and working on the small cable over time to get the thing cut. It took a while. I’ll get another some day.
All about camera bags now. I’m sure you guys have suggestions, tips and stories. Let’s hear them!
Keep shooting,
Mark
Another photo from the race
Posted by Mark Duehmig in Everything on June 9th, 2009
I didn’t plan to piece-meal out the photos from the race. Just a busier conference than I expected.
Two boats race to catch the class that started before them on the Annapolis to Newport Race.
Here is another quick grab from the photos. Two bright colorful spinnakers on a sea of gray, rainy weather. I’m glad there were more boats on the horizon to give the photo depth, but the fog keeps attention on the boats in the foreground. As always, feedback and critiques of the images are appreciated.
One other tool I forgot to mention. I grabbed a cotton t-shirt before I ran out the door to shoot the race. Every time I raised my camera to get a shot, the lens got spots. Water was dripping off the small cabin top, blowing in the wind and generally everywhere. A big soft piece of cotton allowed me to do a quick wipe between the shots. Much better than a non absorbent lens cloth. (And never use paper products like kleenex or paper towels.)
Ok, back to work.
Mark
www.MarkDuehmig.com
Got it covered…
Posted by Mark Duehmig in Everything on May 31st, 2009
I am honored to announce that one of my photos is gracing the cover of one of my favorite magazines, Spinsheet.
I’ve written in this space before that I am a real fan of this magazine. It maintains a true Corinthian spirit to taking to the water. Everyone belongs on the Chesapeake Bay and this magazine celebrates that. And I’m proud to be part of it.
Cover of Spinsheet Magazine
I did some traveling this month so I didn’t get to haunt the boat yards and docks like I wanted, looking for photos of opportunity. But one Sunday morning my daughter and I had gone out for a drive and she fell asleep in the back. As we crossed the Eastport drawbridge I saw a line of boats tied up and a sole figure working on them in the rain. I circled back and had a look.
The boats are part of the CRAB fleet. That’s Chesapeake Regional Accessible Boating. This wonderful organization has boats equipped to make sailing possible or easier for people with disabilities. Again, helping get everyone out on the water.
I had my cameras with me* and I stepped out into the rain and shot off a handful of photos. My gear was getting wet, but then again, taking pictures is why I have it. And both the gear and me would dry.
There are a handful of elements that make this photo work. I wanted a short focus so I dialed the aperture to the max opening of 2.8 on my Nikon 70-200 lens. There was too much busyness on the other side of the creek that would distract from the foreground subjects. There is also an interesting reflection on the wet docks. But I think the boat’s name, Steamed, next to the CRAB logo was also an important draw.
So, I’ll thumbtack this up on my wall of my studio and smile when I look at it. It means a lot more than some anonymous magazine I don’t care about. I’m still waiting for that National Geographic assignment, but until then, I’ll try for next month’s Spinsheet cover…
Mark
www.MarkDuehmig.com
*You should always have a camera with you. (http://blog.markduehmig.com/index.php/archives/55)
Not all lenses are created equal
Posted by Mark Duehmig in Everything on May 27th, 2009
I’ll begin this entry by saying I am writing it without coffee. I went through the drive-through this morning and forgot to order coffee. Now this shouldn’t be a big deal, but my daughter has fallen asleep in the back seat, and this much-needed nap will help her get though pre-school today, so I’m going to just sit here and write this… without coffee.
OK, so you’ve got a nice camera, likely with the “kit” lens that came with it, and you’ve decided that one of the first things you want is another lens. Either really wide or really long- something to compliment the mid-range workhorse that came with your camera. But when you look at the prices from the camera stores, you are shocked and confused at the wide range of prices for some lenses. Why the big differences?
A couple of reasons, but first, lets make sure we’re comparing apples to apples. When you see prices on line, or in the back of magazines, beware the unscrupulous sellers. Some will, at best, bate-and-switch you or sell you gray market stuff. At worse, you’ll end up with junk and without your money. I have experience with both, as those prices can be tempting and my spirit was weak. But please, take my word for it; there are only a few places to trust: B& H, Adorama & Abes of Maine. Hopefully your first choice is your local camera store. We need to keep those in business so we have a place to go and touch and feel our goods before we buy them without flying to New York. But I digress…
There are two big differences in lenses that affect their price; construction materials and the speed of the lenses.
The kit lenses that often ship with DSLRs are a good example of materials. The lenses are probably a high quality plastic such as fluorite. This isn’t bad as it does a great job and is lighter than glass. But, it isn’t as perfect as glass.
Even with glass lenses there are different qualities. Ground glass vs. cut glass and even composite glass, are all options for making lenses. The most expensive lenses are made from high quality glass blanks that are ground down to their final shape. The difference in quality is definitely that last 5-10%. Lens technology is such that the kit lens sold today with a camera is superior to a great lens just a few years ago.
The other, more important factor, is how fast the lens is. When I mention the speed of a lens, I’m talking about the smallest f-stop that a particular lens can be set to. The f-stop is a ratio between the focal length of a lens and the opening of the lens. The focal length is the number most people are familiar with; “I just bought a 200 mm lens.” 200mm is the focal length.
But an important factor with that focal length is the size of opening on the lens that lets light in. Comparing the two gives you a minimum “f-stop.” For example, if I had a 100 mm lens with a 50 mm opening on the front, I’d have an f 2 lens. (100/50=2). The smaller the front opening, the bigger this number becomes. A 100 mm lens with a 25mm opening is an f 4 lens. An lens is rated by its smallest f-stop.
It isn’t hard for a lens manufacturer to increase the focal length of a lens, just separate the glass elements further. What costs money is increasing the size of that front piece of glass (and most other inside too.) You can guess that time and materials increase greatly between a 25mm wide piece of glass and a 75 mm wide piece of glass.
So why do you care how big the front lens is or how fast lens is? If a 200 mm f 5.6 lens has the same magnification as a 200 mm f 2.8 lens, why not go photograph birds with the cheaper, and lighter, lens?
The difference is light gathering power. A lens with a bigger opening lets more light in. The results are brighter, crisper photographs and much faster shutter speed. Have a look at the sidelines at a pro football game. The photojournalists all have big lenses with HUGE front lenses. Those are 500 mm and bigger lenses that open up to f 2.8. They cost big bucks. (And don’t get lens envy, most of the photogs rent them.) But to stop action with fast shudder speeds and get crisp images, you need to let a lot of light in.
There is one other big benefit to a fast lens; depth of field. This is a whole posting in itself, but the f-stop you’ve got your lens set to determines how much of your image will be in focus. If you’re on the edge of the Grand Canyon and want everything from the rock in front of you to the distant river to be in focus, you close down your aperture to a small opening, which changes your f-stop. If there is enough light, you might choose f 22. If there isn’t enough light, use a tripod for that long exposure. Everything will be in focus.
But if you’re taking photos of your daughter blowing the seeds from a dandelion, you want all the attention just on her. So you stop down to f 2.8 if you can, and only what you focus on will be sharp. Everything else will be soft and unimportant.
Most “kit” lenses are listed around f 4.5-5.6. This means that zoomed out, they can open up to about f 4.5. And zoomed in they’ll have a minimum f stop of 5.6. These will give you good general photographs, but won’t allow you the option of a short depth of field.
So that is the 10,000 foot view of lenses. When you open your camera catalog, you’ll see the wide range of lenses and prices. The difference between a $200 and a $1600 lens is that last 10% of quality and flexibility when composing a photo. Is the difference worth about $1400-1500? That is up to you.
I’ve always given the advice that pretty much all DSLR cameras now are fantastic. With cameras, like lenses, you’re paying for that last 10%. But lenses will outlast cameras. The glass is where you’ll see that last 10% for many more years. If you can afford it, buy a cheaper camera body and put your money in the glass. When you wear out your camera you upgrade the body and keep using those wonderful lenses.
But isn’t it nice to know that even if you are using the cheapest digital gear out there, you can still have great photos? It all comes down to you and when you push that button. The Moment. So whatever you have in your camera bag, get out there and…
Keep shooting,
Mark
www.MarkDuehmig.com
Which camera is best for you?
Posted by Mark Duehmig in Everything, Focus on May 8th, 2009
I’ll say right up front that I can’t tell you the answer to this question, but, I can give you some directions to look.
Point and Shoot vs. a Digital-SLR
Let’s do a big separation here. Do you just want good pictures of the family? Something to grab those irresistible looks on your daughter’s face? Don’t know or care about f-stops? My friend, YOU are a candidate for any of the many excellent point and shoot cameras out there. And the good thing here is that they all take EXCELLENT photos. The only things to consider are features. But that is another post.
Or, did you have a film SLR and loved taking photos a few years ago but never made the leap to digital? You loved your Tri-X black and white film and remember the good old days when you took that dark room class in college. (Oh, the nasty chemicals we used to just pour down the drain!) You have an interest in taking photography to the next level? Being more creative? Then maybe a D-SLR is for you.
(One other note, these two cameras are not mutually exclusive. I have a LOT of camera gear. But I just bought a little point and shoot from Canon and I love it. Why? A few weeks ago my 10-month-old daughter was in a pink dress and the cat walked into the room. She lit up with a wonderful smile and all my camera gear was packed safely away in camera bags elsewhere. So I pulled out my iPhone and took a picture that is now my wife’s favorite. It is a grainy, 1 megapixel image that I can’t look at without wishing I had taken it with a camera instead of a phone. So now I always have a camera with me.)
Leaning toward a D-SLR
Ok, so you want to make the jump to a digital single lens reflex camera (D-SLR.) Here is the good part: the entry-level D-SLR cameras from either Nikon or Canon are excellent choices. You get a lot of camera for your money. At the time of this writing, for the Nikon, it is the D40. For Canon, it is the Rebel. You can spend more money, but I’m not sure why unless you really want some of those extra features. The 80/20 rule works here: you are getting 80% of the features with these cameras. You’ll really have to spend a lot more to get that remaining 20%.
Not convinced the low-end cameras are the way to go? Here is another idea; buy the lower end camera bodies and spend that extra cash you have on good lenses. Camera bodies will come and go, but good glass will stay with you year after year. But brace yourself; good lenses can cost three times as much as your camera.
Can I use the lenses from my film camera with my digital SLR? Answer: Maybe. With Nikon, yes. (As with both Nikon and Canon, because of the small size of the sensor, you multiply the lens focal length by 1.5. So if you put a 50mm lens on a DX camera, [Nikon D40 through the D300 or the Canon Rebels or 50D] the result will be the same as if you put on a 75mm lens. If you buy an FX body [Nikon D3 or D700 or Canon 1D or 5D] the lens will act normally. A really old lens may lack some of the metering functions, but will still work.)
Canon lenses, probably won’t work. They have been much more anxious to incorporate the latest technology, even if that means making a lens for a specific camera line.
Last comment on old lenses; before you pull that old manual focus, 7 lb zoom out of the shoebox in the closet, keep in mind that new lenses are vastly superior in performance to the old lenses. Design, coatings, etc, combine to give you a great lens. Even the “kit” lens that comes with the camera.
Finally…
One final thought about choosing a camera; you may be excited about taking creative photos with a D-SLR, but a camera that gets left at home is worthless. If you get a D-SLR, buy a small bag that is easy to grab on your way out the door. Get in the habit of taking it with you or you might as well have bought a shirt-pocket sized point and shoot.
Keep shooting,
Mark
www.MarkDuehmig.com
Cleaning your lens and image sensor
Posted by Mark Duehmig in Everything, Focus on May 1st, 2009
It’s a cool, rainy day here in Annapolis, America’s Sailing Capital. (Most people will accept Annapolis as the Sailing Capital, unless you live in Newport or San Diego.) And a cool rainy day might seem an odd time to talk about dust on your images, but it can happen any time.
I got an email from a friend yesterday that said he had a spot on his images he couldn’t get rid of and he asked my advice.
First, I told him, put away that can of compressed air. Save that for dust on your keyboard or to blow dandelion seeds out of your camera bag, but it has no business being used on cameras. Compressed air has a propellant in it that can leave a residue on lenses and really screw up your images sensor.
Looking for the dirt, I recommended he check the lens first, both outside and on the inside where the glass meets the camera. He had already done this but it was a good chance to talk about what to clean the glass with.
I have a small, squeezable thingy with a brush on the end. Nothing fancy, but you can get some sophisticated squeezable things that will do the same thing. This is my first assault on dirt since it gently brushes away solids that have landed there. I’d rather brush them off than smear them onto the lens.
Next is a lens cloth. This is the key for smudges and fingerprints. If a real lens cloth isn’t handy you can use clean cotton. Never use a paper product like a paper towel, nose tissue or even toilet paper. The tiny wood fibers will scratch your glass.
This will take care of most dirt issues on a camera, but if not, the dirt may be (queue dramatic music) on your sensor!
This isn’t the end of the world. Many cameras now have vibrating sensors that literally shake the dust off. My Nikon D-700s do this automatically. Some cameras might require a menu option be chosen to do this cleaning shake.
If your camera can’t shake its dirt off, or if it can’t shake it all off, then you need to clean the sensor. You’ll need to get one of the products specifically designed to clean sensors. Don’t even think of reaching for a Q-tip and whatever cleaner you had in mind. Put it down!
I was shooting in the northern Sahara Desert (yes, lots of sand) when I got my first sensor dirt. A colleague had a sensor cleaner called a Sensor Swab by Photographic Solutions Inc. (photosol.com) It saved my butt.
Upon returning to the States I bought one of their kits, which consisted of several disposable swabs and a bottle of cleaning fluid. However, my very next trip through airport security found that bottle confiscated. A tad too big I guess. This was painful as the kit wasn’t cheap.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one to contribute my gear to the TSA garbage can. The folks at Photographic Solutions have come out with individual, pre-moistened swabs. I bought a handful. This is a better solution IMHO because now I divide them up among my various camera bags.
There are other makers of sensor cleaners out there but I don’t have experience with them. I won’t go into detailed instructions on the actual technique of cleaning the chip itself; I’ll leave that up to the directions on the package. But you’ll probably need to go into the camera menu and lock up the mirror to get access to the sensor.
That should do it. If it doesn’t, I think you’re in for a repair job. But the above steps should get 99% of the stuff off you photos.
All for now. I think I’ll put on my Musto foul weather gear jacket and take some pictures in the rain….
Mark
www.MarkDuehmig.com
My humble beginnings…
Posted by Mark Duehmig in Everything, Focus on April 29th, 2009
I might as well talk about some of my photographic history to get started. Maybe that will help, or hurt, my street cred.
Back in my college days I spent some time in Alaska working on fishing trawlers. The first year I went up north was the year the Exxon Valdez found some rocks and spilled her guts. The oil had creeped down to Kodiak, where I was staying, and brought fishing to a halt.
So not having a job, I lived in the woods a few miles outside of the town of Kodiak until I finally found a job on a trawler. At the time it was traveling up and down the coast of Alaska buying fish and taking them back to canneries in Kodiak. I had with me a cheap little point-and-shoot camera. I took some pictures and sent the undeveloped film back home since I couldn’t affirt to have it developed there. (I was broke.)
When I got back home that fall, my Mom, who was trained as a artist, had developed my film and even had a few prints enlarged. They were pretty good, she said. (One of the photos is in my portfolio now. If I can figure out how to insert it here, I will.)
A foggy morning in Kodiak
Well, being told you have some talent gives you a bit of enthusiasm. I started to have visions of National Geographic covers. Someday.
And I scraped enough money together to buy a Minolta X-700. I carried that everywhere. And eventually wore it out. That is when I made the jump to Nikon.
A job or two out of college I started doing field service work for an engineering company. They were still growing and the winters weren’t too busy for me. So my boss wanted me to start shooting video (I was already shooting still photos, of course) when I traveled to construction sites and during the slow winters, edit them into sales videos.
Well the technical end of video is very similar to still photography so I quickly took to it. I started in Hi-8 and bought a two gigabyte hard drive. (In 1993 or 94, that cost a bundle.) This is when I also switched to Macintosh. And for many years video production has gone hand in hand with still photography. (See my alter ego at http://www.EncompassFilmWorks.com). But, still photography has always been my passion. My creative outlet. Recently I have taken efforts to return to my roots and dedicating more energy to one-frame-at-a-time photography. This blog is part of that.
There is a link to my portfolio in the upper right of this blog. It is www.MarkDuehmig.com. (If you didnt come to this blog through my website.) Please have a look and and let me know what you think. I’d love your feedback. Many of my friends are photogs so don’t be afraid to get critical and I’ll learn from it.
Thanks and more later.
Mark
www.MarkDuehmig.com
Getting the word out.
Posted by Mark Duehmig in Everything, Focus on April 27th, 2009
Welcome. If you’re reading this, you’re one of my first visitors. This blog is just being set up and I appreciate you stopping by.
I’ll be posting comments on photographs, locations, shoots, equipment, adventures, things that work and things that don’t.
In the mean time, check out my portfolio at www.MarkDuehmig.com.
Check back often!
Mark
www.MarkDuehmig.com