For 2025 I’ve retired my #thursdaythoughts theme. While I search for a new one, it’s going to be (and may end up as) Anything Can Happen Day, which may have just been what Thursdays were called on the Mickey Mouse Club where I stole the idea!
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
The second day of a diet is always easier than the first. By the second day you’re off it. —Jackie GleasonHow Sweet it Is —Jackie Gleason
Over the years I have met many photographers and, to tell the truth, I’ve loved talking with them. If you happen to bump into me whether I’m out shooting or maybe shopping at Home Depot, don’t be bashful, come right on up and say “Hello!” I’m always glad to meet and talk with other photographers. That’s why I started my Cameras and Coffee meet ups and while they aren’t as popular as they once were, I’ve noticed that some people have been inspired to hold similar gatherings around the world. OK, mostly in England.
One of the things I’ve learned from all these conversations, even the ones on-line, is that some photographers don’t like to clean their lenses, believing that a little dust won’t hurt anything. Their immediate concern is that the more you clean a lens, the more likely you are to scratch it. According to several optical experts that I spoke with, the biggest mistake photographers make when trying to clean their lenses is they don’t blow them off first. Often a lens can be covered with is a microscopic layer of dust that can quickly turn into fine grade sandpaper when attempting to clean it. To remove this layer of grit, you should blow off the glass or give it a light dusting with a soft brush.
How I made this portrait: The vivacious Pam Simpson looks great wearing red. She really pops out of the background when photographed in my 11×15-foot home studio against a Savage Focus Grey seamless paper backdrop hung from JTL background stands. Lighting for this shot could not be simpler: The one-light set-up uses an 60-inch white parabolic umbrella mounted in shoot-through mode onto a monolight that was placed at camera right. A 30-inch Westcott Basic 5-in-1 Sunlight reflector is placed at camera left as fill.
Why Not Use a LensPen!
To keep my lenses clean, I prefer to use a LensPen for cleaning smudges of any of my lenses or filters and keep one in each of my camera bags. A LensPen has a retractable natural hair brush that’s useful for knocking off chunks of dust from your photo gear and has a soft chamois-like tip on the other end to remove smudges from a lens. The carbon based cleaning compound that it uses reduces electrostatic charges that can attract dust to a lens surface and it replenishes itself after each use. Since a LensPen doesn’t require cleaning fluid or lens tissue, it creates no trash, so its ecologically friendly. Beware of imitations and fake copies of LensPen products sometimes have nothing on the cleaning tip so they can damage the lens and LCD surfaces they are meant to clean.
You can use the LensPen on all optical lenses, LCD, plasma and glass surfaces. It’s perfect for cleaning camera lenses, binocular lenses, small aperture spotting scopes and telescopes, eyepieces. A LensPen measures 4.33-inches (11cm) long with a round cleaning tip measuring slightly less than on-half-inch (12mm) in diameter and has a non-liquid cleaning element that’s designed never to dry out. It slips into a pocket and it’s easy to use. Here’s how:
- Use the retractable brush to lightly remove any dust from your lens
- Twist off the cap and move the cleaning tip in circular motions to clean the lens. If any smudges remain, gently breath on the lens and repeat.
- LensPens are designed to be used with dry, optical glass surfaces; Do not use on wet or plastic lenses. I know they’re out there.
Best of all an original LensPen only costs $12.95, so you too can afford to put one in each of your camera bags. And with Valentine’s Day coming up. a brand-new LensPen makes a perfect gift for your favorite photographer!
LensPen is a long-time sponsor of my sites and blogs but I was using their products long before I even had a blog. My wife bought me my first LensPen in 1994 just after I acquired a Nikon N90s film-based SLR! I would like to thank LensPen for their continued support.