Monday, July 21, 2008

does he need sensor clean or a Black & Decker dustbuster??

Ack!! Sensor dust. Please clean the sensor or use the clone/healing brush...

This photo actually brings back a story when I was in the Adirondacks for the 4th of July. After the fireworks we were inside at the local (mobbed) ice bream stand. There was a lady with a digital SLR who was chimping big time -- ooohh oohh aah ahh -- athe back of her camera, showing her friends the fireworks photos that she had just shot. I always have my eye out for chimpers, but this one was unique -- because she had no lens on her camera! Here she is with nothing on and waving the camera around and showing people and talking with her hands

Thinking that I was doing her a favor and helping to avoid those awful sensor dust bunnies I walked over and started talking to her, gently educating her to sensor dust (much like Rich Asarisi did at Garden in the Woods years ago when I changed the lens on my first digital SLR the same way that I used to change my film SLR. I was grateful that he told me about sensor dust and savbed me much grief. This lady was NOT grateful and informed me that her body cap was back at home and that her camera bag did not allow her to put the camera with the lens on back into it so she just put the camera into her dreadfully looking bag with nothing covering the sensor.

anyway -- check out this website (a great photographer but badly dusted sensor) ttp://www.follmiphotographer.com/

This was from the pixelated image website...

first the disclaimer (posted later on their website)

*This post sent alot of traffic to Follmi’s site and I’m a little embarassed. I agree with all the comments, his site is tough (ok, impossible) to navigate, and the sensor dust is truly unbelievable. It’s hard to post something like this without feeling a little guilty. So in the interest of re-stating things more clearly, the reason I was initially going to his site was to show my students examples of some excellent images that have resonated with me. The presentation on this new site is what threw me, and all I’m saying is “don’t do it like this.” You may now return to gawking at the hideous dust spots, but don’t forget to appreciate Follmi’s images for what they are.

I was stunned to see Olivier Follmi’s new website today. I’m teaching students in Hawaii and when I brought up Follmi’s new site my jaw dropped. I don’t know if Follmi, whose work I generally like a great deal, has his ear to the ground on a new trend, but if the “crappy, I’ve never cleaned my sensor” look is the next big thing then I’m trading in my spot removal tool for a brand new bag of dust. Amazing. Amateurs, consider this a cautionary tale. The rest of you, go clean your sensor. Link to Follmi’s site HERE. (You’re looking for the larger image of the one shown above, and you’re looking at the dust spots.)

Link to Visible Dust products HERE. Unless you’ve got dust like Follmi, in which case go to Home Depot and get a Dust Buster.

I keep hoping this is some horrible error or prank, but this is not what marketing folks call “your best foot forward.” Don’t let it happen to you.

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