Sensor cleaning update for DSLR and MILC camera sensors

In my NSL Photography Blog article, Essential camera gear protection and maintenance, I discussed the importance of keeping your camera clean to ensure it's ready for your photo sessions and whenever a photo opportunity presents itself. Part of keeping your camera clean is keeping your camera's sensor clean.

Today's DSLRs and MILCs have internal sensor dust removal systems. While they do a credible job, they aren’t 100% effective. Repair shops, and manufacturers offer “professional” cleaning services, but they’re often expensive. Some charge $150 or more, and it can take as long as 3–4 weeks to get your cleaned camera back.

Eventually every interchangeable lens camera will need to have its sensor cleaned, as every time its lens is changed, dust and dirt in the air freely enter its sensor compartment. At times, it may be necessary for photographers to clean the sensor themselves rather than wait for a professional cleaning, particularly when in the field.

Understanding and Achieving Image Focus and Sharpness: Part IV

Image sharpness depends on multiple factors including focus.
While it's true an image can't be sharp unless the subject is in focus, the converse is not necessarily true, that an image which is in focus, will necessarily be sharp. Image sharpness is fundamentally controlled by focus, but there are other important factors which enable in-focus images to be sharp.

In Part I we looked at how modern digital cameras autofocus (AF), and what factors influence AF systems' ability to focus quickly and accurately.

In Part II, we discussed choosing the best focus mode for a particular subject, manual or autofocus, or using them together, as well as single versus continuous focus, all to achieve a solid focus for a variety of situations common to travel photographers.

In Part III, we got to the nitty-gritty of using autofocus and manual focus, including looking at the different AF area and tracking modes, and focus locking methods.

In Part IV, below, we discuss photographer focus technique, and other factors which enable photographers to make sharp images.

Advanced Long Lens Techniques

More and more travelers, including travel photographers, are choosing destinations to see wildlife. They're interested in conservation, the environment, along with viewing and photographing wildlife in their natural habitat.

At some of these locations a good DSLR, with a telephoto lens having a focal length of 200mm will suffice, as you can get fairly close to the animals, but generally you'll need a 300mm lens or longer, and 400mm or longer could be a real help.

I found that even in the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador, which Charles Darwin's book, “Origin of Species,” made famous, where many of the birds and other wildlife have a small “circle of fear,” you often need a lens with a 400mm focal length.

The “Circle of Fear” is the distance from an animal, inside of which, the animal has discomfort or distress from the photographer's or observer's presence, which may cause the animal to flee.

In other locations, such as an African safari, or a hike in Denali, a super-telephoto focal length of 500mm or more is virtually a “must.”

Night Photography: Overcoming the Obstacles, Reaping the Rewards

In last week’s article, Night Photography: Pushing the Limits, Understanding the Obstacles, I discussed some of the difficulties encountered in Night Photography.

In this week’s article, I’ll discuss how to overcome those problems to produce wonderful night images which help tell one’s travel stories.

When it’s possible to use one, the tripod is absolutely the best tool for photographers to make great night photographs. A well-chosen tripod with a quality “head” can enable photographers to hold their cameras motionless to create high quality night photographs.

Night Photography: Pushing the Limits, Understanding the Obstacles

Photography at night has plenty of obstacles, but is also full of rewards for travel photographers.

Many locations have interesting sights and looks during the day, and a whole host of different sights and looks, and another atmosphere in the evening. Las Vegas many interesting photographic opportunities during the day, but it seems as though it’s at night that Las Vegas really comes alive. The night photography opportunities in Las Vegas are almost limitless.

Another location with great night photography opportunities is the “La Ville-Lumière” (The City of Light). While Paris, France, was originally given that nickname due to its fame as a center of education and thought during the Age of Enlightenment (eighteenth century), its early adoption of street lighting (In 1828, Paris began lighting the Champs De Elysées with gas lamps. It was the first city in Europe to do so.), and its use of electric light beginning in the 19^th century for street lighting and later to illuminate monuments established the nickname forever.