Save Your Film, Save Your Camera!
Care in The Summer Sun
Sand
Sand can be fun to play in, but it will wreak havoc on your photo gear. If sand gets in your camera or lenses, stop using them immediately and get them professionally cleaned as soon as possible. You don’t have to be on sand to be a victim of it. Wind can blow it on you and your camera if you are anywhere near a beach or sandy area. This is why it is good to have, and USE, a camera bag or pack. Keep only the lens and gear you are using exposed and secure the rest away.
Water
If you have not already done so, when photographing near or on water, such as from a boat or bridge, put a polarizing filter on your lens. This wonderful filter will protect the lens from moisture, such as sea spray, which can damage the lens. It will also cut down on the reflective glare that sun causes on water. A polarizing filter also renders the sky and water a pretty shade of blue, which is a nice effect, as strong sun can ‘wash out’ color.
Other People
Other people are one of the biggest threats to your camera! Kids rush around and bump into things, knocking over camera equipment that has been carelessly left on tables and benches. They love to play with cameras and often have wet or sticky hands which can easily smudge your camera’s lens or worse, drop and break your camera altogether.
A camera and its related equipment is not a toy, and this has to be firmly established around all children, especially when you use a digital camera that produces an image on a small screen after a shot has been taken. Children love to see the pictures that result from snapping the shutter, however they should be taught to ask to be shown the images and to never to touch your camera.
When photographing around other people’s children, promise to send copies of pictures taken and then get the kids involved in setting up shots and being a ‘photographer’s assistant’ or a ‘model’ rather than a photographer. Kids love to play and love to pose, and shooting of a few frames of other people’s children, even if that wasn’t what you intended to photograph, is a nice gesture and a real great way to teach kids to respect your camera gear.
