Cleanliness is next to Godliness.... An adventure in DSLR cleaning.

My friends Rob and Dan are big sticklers for cleaning their gear. If Dan's not shooting something he's cleaning a lens almost OCD-ish but look how clean this images are. Rob can tell you tales of being sprayed with champaign after a Cardinals win and taking weeks to clean his camera.

Me, I like to clean everything when it gets to the point of bothering me. You know, when I'm spending to much time in Photoshop cleaning up dust spots or removing hair. This behavor is changing and I'm getting so sick of it that today I pulled out my hodge-podge sensor cleaner stuff and did my best to clean up my D3.

It's not the easiest camera to clean plus I'm horrible at removing dust bunnies and the more I swipe the more they populate. I soon had enough - Aaarrrgghhhhh!!!! ( Charlie Brown style screams)

I haven't worked in the past month( long story, involving Alien invasion to overthrow earth porting through my foot ) so taking it to a shop to get cleaned is out of the question.

I started looking on the intrawebs about cleaning and remembered the success I had when Rob showed me how to clean my sensor and that I needed better cleaning equipment.

Thought bubble: isn't it funny how photographers will cheap on everything but lenses, light and bodies? "but we're resourceful! We utilize things laying around!!" = BS!

So off to Denver Pro Photo to pick up some real cleaning supplies.

It took 20 min to clean my sensor and all my lenses once I got back and had the right stuff. Cost me two hours of time being cheap to learn this lesson.

So here's a bit of fatherly advise I have been told a time or two. "Get the right tool for the job! It'll make your life easier." lesson learned.







Now with this stuff, maybe I'll be cleaning my gear more often? I know I'll be spending less time in PS - bonus!!!

Kauai Anniversary Vacation part 1

Yesterday was the first day of my 10 year Anniversary vacation with my lovely wife Athena. We decided to take a trip to the garden island of Kauai. The flight here is truly ridiculous. Almost six hours in a seat with nothing to look at except blue sky, white clouds and blue water.




It takes it's toll on a person.



I couldn't imagine flying here from the east coast that's three extra hours of traveling. I guess the road to paradise has got to be grueling because once you get here it's.... Well paradise!

After some much needed sleep we met up our long time friends Dan and Marta who moved here a year and a half ago. They either are the craziest people we know or the smartest. In 2009, they sold all their belongings left their family and moved to an isolated island in the pacific to follow their dreams and leave the lifestyle of consumption. Marta will tell you tales about how it's hard here.. The island will spit you out if your not kind to her. They've seen several people move here expecting to make it and end up with broken dreams and life's broken apart like a shipwreck on the rocks.

They have made some hard changes from having excess money and buying comforts everyday to growing their own food at organic farms and working hard at accepting the their new lifes, so far the island is welcoming them.






Yesterday they took Athena and I to the local farmers market where we met some of their friends and got a bounty of great fruit which we get to start eating today!!!! FRESH HAWAIIAN PINEAPPLE




Here's some of the other fruit we got....


Marta knows all about food and writes several articles for weekly newspapers and local blog/websites. Dan has recently started a new chapter of his life as a photo tour guide taking people around the island stoping at great hidden spots so the tourist have amazing photos to go back home with.


After the farmers market we went to the beach to go snorkeling but the waves were really choppy and we decided to go to another beach. Athena and Marta laid on the beach while Dan and I ran around shooting photos of the waves crashing against the black lava rocks.









As you can see this place is amazing and I can't wait to see what the rest of our time her will bring.

Mahalo

Denver Fireworks July 4th 2011 with Illuminate Workshops night walk.

I went shooting fireworks over the Denver Capital building last night with Efrain of Illuminate Workshops.



Before the fireworks started I grabbed a quick snapshot of Efrain. I pulled out my SB-26, umbrella, PocketWizards and stuck them on my light stand. I put the SB-26 on and 1/8th power and had Efrain stand in for his portrait.



Soon the symphony started playing and the crowds started getting closer to capital and the stage for a better view of the soon to come fireworks. So I took down the light stand and just had my Fuji X100 on the tripod.


Once the fireworks started it was amazing being right under them. I snapped off several shots and them started running around sitting down snapping off long exposures as the light streaks raining down over head.



I hope you enjoy them.








Oh yeah and here's a shot of me.