[caradoc]

What do you feel is “wrong” or could be “improved” for these images?

[caradoc]

1) Thanks for the decision, Choc-Ful-A.

2) I’m just happy to get my stuff in before it goes green this time. My schedule for the past three weeks has just sucked.

[caradoc]

//kidding. she might need a sammich.

Eve needs no sammich. Genevieve could stand a sammich or three.

[caradoc]

I’d argue that what is clear is not necessarily the actual subject of the image… 😉

[caradoc]

Yea or nay?

[caradoc]

Well, crap. Late again.

[caradoc]

FSM not working today?

[caradoc]

(sigh)

Better late than never, I guess.

[caradoc]

I’ve found that a small spray bottle of glass cleaner and a rag go a long ways towards getting a clean shot

I prefer paper towels, as I don’t need to be carrying someone else’s snot in my pocket – and check with the staff before using any sort of glass cleaner. Some of them get a little freaky about unknown chemicals near their fish.

[caradoc]

A squishy rubber lens hood helps a lot.

[caradoc]

I have never regretted having a UV filter on a lens, and it even saved one of my lenses once while i was out in the middle of nowhere and had a bit of an encounter with a tree.

I’ve regretted filters on many occasions – until I quit using them.

Internal reflections suck, and with as much night and lightning photography as I do, there’s no coating in the world that’ll absolutely prevent them.

[caradoc]

Not planning on turning anyone into a human Slinky, are you?

(We occasionally refer to people as “Slinkies” at work – they’re essentially useless, but moderately entertaining if you push them down a flight of stairs.)

[caradoc]

If you can afford the $1k for awesome glass, you can afford a good quality filter.

Exactly. A good quality filter isn’t a piece of glass designed as a disposable protection system.

Lens tissue, a good cleaning solution (typically pure methanol), a microfiber cloth, and a decent blower will work wonders in most cases.

Blower first. Get the loose crap off so you’re not grinding it into the lens or coating.

Then follow up with gentle cleaning with the tissue and solution.

Then a final wipe with the clean microfiber.

[caradoc]

I find lens hoods help protect the front element better than a UV filter.

If the filter breaks, you now have shards of glass scratching the hell out of your lens coating. And cheap filters do Bad Things to images – poor coatings lead to weird flares and reflections.

Why spend $1000 on a solid piece of awesome glass only to screw up your images with a cheap filter?

And good filters are expensive…

So, with a lens hood, I generally do not use any filters at all unless I need them for the shot – like a CPL or GND.

[caradoc]

Heh. Mother Nature gave me a heap o’ loving last night. Not quite what I was hoping to get, but it didn’t suck.

Flickr, on the other hand, gave me a ration and a half of crap.

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