GREAT GRAD IMAGES!

Many people are graduating really soon. Everyone supporting and celebrating their graduates from Preschool to post-Doctorate levels want great photographs.

Here are a couple of hints:

1. Check your batteries and memory cards and bring plenty of backups. A failure here will be the source of disappointment and ridicule.

2. Closer ... closer ... closer. This rule applies to every level of imaging and especially big events. 

One "secret" is that the bigger the camera and lens and the better you are dressed, the closer you can get to the real action. A Hasselblad and tux will get you closer to the stage than a Brownie, ripped jeans and flip-flops. A tux also makes you pretty much invisible. You can move up and down and in and out and people just don't notice or care because "He must be a professional with that big-A camera."

3. Gather important people before they run away. Despite declarations of annual reunions and staying in touch, graduation day is the time to catch people in a generally civil and decently dressed atmosphere. At their 50th reunion, the images will be priceless. And what WILL the clothing and hair look like in 2061?

4. Be the hero and bring water, hankies or towels so people can refresh. Then take the shots.

5. Gowns, shoes and mortarboards are fun, especially if they are decorated. You can even have the grad put their gear on family and friends and even pets.

6. Have an ND, polarizing filter or sharpening filter handy. If you have time, drag out your Lensbaby.

Enjoy the pomp, circumstance, fellowship, meal and rest.

Your images will be there for everyone to enjoy. © tim www.timjohnsonphoto.com

Lens Cleaning - Nothing To Sneeze At

Much information is available about cleaning filters, lenses and cameras. However, I am offering a plea for a higher level of prudence.

When traveling I use multiple cameras - if I wish to use a variety of lenses. This spares the camera body and lens attachments and ... in a time like the Spring - or while on a trip to the beach or while attending a big dustoff at a dirt raceway, keeps dust from invading the camera.

Lenses are fragile and they are probiotic. I have seen hundreds of lenses sporting fungal growth. Nasty.

This Spring is especially dense with pollen and dust. Pollen is a particulate with particular characteristics - it is sticky and sneaky.

You have seen it on a bee's knees and you find it inside your house - no matter how tightly you seal your doors and windows.

For people who are highly allergic, frequent baths, shoe cleaning and pet cleaning (green cats and ham are common right now) are important.

For your camera, cleanliness is critical.

Dust can scratch the emulsion off of film and it can mess up a sensor.

For the next few weeks plan to keep your camera sealed and occasionally blow out the card slots and other crevices with canned air.

NEVER - on any lens or filter - should you blow straight onto the glass or onto your sensor. The propellant and sudden cold can damage the coating on any glass. (Just pretend your lenses and filters are like your teeth. Do YOU like it when the dentist blow air onto your abused teeth and gums?) if lenses and filter could scream - they would.

If you must change a lens outside, especially at the beach, do so inside a changing bag or use a large plastic bag to keep out the dust and salt.

One more note - if you have allergic tendencies - leave your camera sealed until you stop sneezing. THAT is something that no repairman does not want in his workshop.

Use your microfiber cloth lightly, no tissue or paper towels. Rarely should you need liquid cleaners and always lightly rub from the center to the edges.

It is interesting to this senior photographer that rarely do you see a lens ad on TV or in magazine with a protective filter. Now, guys and girls we all know better than this. © tim www.timjohnsonphoto.com