For phone orders, Jim will be glad to transcribe your short
message. For PayPal orders, you can type the text of
your message into the box that they provide for comments. Be
sure to specify the card that you would like: Rose, Shorebird, X-mas Tree, or
Menorah. If you would like a gift card sent with an order
made through the
BAA On-line Store, please e-mail
Jim the text to
staffbaa@att.net within one hour of placing
your order. Be sure to include your order number and again, be sure to
mention the card that you would like: Rose, Shorebird, X-mas Tree, or
Menorah.
INTRODUCING LENS
CLENS
I have been using Lens Clens to clean my gear
for about 15 years. Their #1 version is designed for coated
optics. That is all that I use and will be the only Lens Clens
product that we carry. I try to keep a bottle on my desk to clean the
laptop screen, a bottle in my X-tra Hand vest for use in the field, a bottle in
the Think Tank Rolling Bag that holds an amazing amount of my gear
most of the time (including the time that I spend on planes), and a bottle in my
laptop bag and my luggage for emergency use, i.e., when I can't find one of the
other bottles (which is often).
In the field I put a few drops of Lens Clens on the
absorbent cotton that I keep in my vest, clean the front element of the lens
that needs cleaning, and then use a second dry piece of cotton to polish the
surface. If I am cleaning the lenses inside at home, I use an old cotton
undershirt. If I am in a motel I use a dirty cotton
undershirt. I moisten one part of the shirt, clean the front
element, and then use a dry portion of the shirt to polish it.
On rare occasion, I actually do clean the outer surfaces
of camera bodies and my lenses, especially if I have abused them with dirt
or mud. Same deal except that I put more of the Lens Clens fluid on the
the undershirt than I do when cleaning the front elements of the lenses. I
also keep a few Q-tips in my vest. I moisten one end of a Q-tip to clean
the viewfinder. Then I polish it with the dry end. Lastly I break
the cotton off one end, wrap some cotton or a corner of the undershirt
around the shaft, and finish polishing the viewfinder at the same time as I get
into the corners. For the laptop screen its moisten the undershirt
time again.
Not only is the stuff designed to be 100% safe with all the
glass and all the surfaces of your gear, it will get your stuff cleaner
than you have ever seen it since it came out of the box. And it dries in
seconds. (Do not of course be tempted to use it on the sensor of your
camera; that's what Lens Pens
and Sensor Scopes
are for.)
I began to investigate the possibility of adding Lens Clens
to our mail order line-up as it met the two major criteria: I use it all the
time and it works. The final straw was a comment by IPT veteran Myer Bornstein
at Nickerson Beach after I loaned him a few drops (generous fellow that I am
; actually, a few drops is all it
takes). He said something to the effect that the Lens Clens worked about a
hundred times better than the stuff he had been using.
Lens Clens product
shot, Indian Lake Estates, FL
Image Copyright 2010: Arthur
Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 24-105mm IS L lens (hand held at
70mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop:
1/50 sec. at f/11.
Even with what seems like a nothing image there are lots
of lessons to learn: 1: Be creative, all the time. 2: Avoid making
images indoors if you can do them outdoors. Why? Natural light is nicer
and light levels are higher during the daytime. I took one of the two
cases of Lens Clens out to the driveway.... 3: Know your gear. With
the lens that I was using I knew that sharp at 1/50 sec. with a bit of extra
d-o-f was child's play.
.....
We are pleased to announce that we have two cases of Lens Clens
available as follows:
One 1 3/4 ounce
bottle: $10.99 plus
$7.00 S&H to all US address via Priority Mail = $17.99
Two 1 3/4 ounce
bottles:
$9.99 each plus $7.00 S&H to all US address via Priority Mail =
$26.98
Three or more 1 3/4 ounce
bottles $8.99
each plus $7.00 S&H to all US address via Priority Mail = you do the math
A bottle or three would be the perfect holiday gift for any photographer.
Fall Color rainbow
blur, shot, Indian Lake Estates, FL
Image Copyright 2010:
Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens
with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 50. Evaluative metering
+2/3 stop: 1/4 sec. at f/14.
With the recent cold snaps, the single deciduous tree in
my driveway had some nice fall color a few days ago. I had wanted to go
down to the lake that morning to try for some birds but it was 100% foggy.
By 10am it had brightened just a bit so I popped a Delkin 32gb flash card into
one of my Mark IV bodies, mounted the 70-200 f/4L IS lens on it,
and made the short trip to the end of my driveway. I made about 60
images and kept one. Creating pleasing blurs is like playing the
lottery. For this one I did a diagonal pan blur with a bit of jiggle on
the way down. To learn this technique and dozens more, check out A
Guide to Pleasing Blurs.
) 
. This book is about the passion,
the thrills, the journey, and at times, the danger that leaves the reader aching
to get into the field with their gear as quickly as possible. 
