What can I say?  I love this place.  It makes such a great learning laboratory. I am planning on doing a weekend BIRDS AS ART "The Art of Nature Photography; It Ain't Just Birds!" How-To Seminar in Albuquerque on the weekend of November 11-12.

Here are the dates and information for the two Bosque 2006 IPTs as well as some additional and relevant information. 

Bosque #1: "The Fall Color IPT"  NOV 14-16, 2006.  Slide Program on the evening of NOV 13.  3-DAY: $929.  Limit 14.   This IPT should feature a better chance for a day or two of the rare south winds that drastically improve flight photography and will definitely feature the brightest fall-color cottonwoods. 

Bosque #2:  "The Pre-Thanksgiving IPT"  NOV 19-21, 2006.   Slide Program on the evening of NOV 18.  3-DAY: $929.  Limit 14.  This IPT and the next IPT have sold out for the past eight years.  In 2006 I shall once again be hosting a Thanksgiving day luncheon buffet; turkey guaranteed.  Folks will need to reserve a spot and pay in advance.  Details TBA. Dinner will be strictly limited to 50 folks.  This IPT will feature increasing numbers of geese and cranes with lots of great opportunities.  

Seminar: NOV 11-12, 2006.  BIRDS AS ART "The Art of Nature Photography; It Ain't Just Birds!" How-To Weekend Seminar in Albuquerque, NM.  Details TBA. 

To register for any of the Bosque IPTs introduced above, you can send a $200 deposit check made out to "Arthur Morris" to us at: BIRDS AS ART, 4041 Granada Drive, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855, send us a Paypal (use any Paypal link on our web site), or call 863-692-0906 with your credit card info.  

#6: Snow Geese, "Red-Slash Sunrise," Bosque Del Apache NWR, New Mexico

Image copyright 2005: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

LENS PENS FOR SENSOR CLEANING; THE ANSWER!

FACT:  BIRDS AS ART Mail Order will do more than $300,000 in business by the close of business 2005. 

FACTS:  Our mail order business succeeds for several important reasons:  #1: Low prices.  #2: Amazing service and customer care.  #3: We sell only items that I use and depend on pretty much every day.  #4 (and most importantly):  We do not BS folks.  I know my equipment well.  I use everything that we sell.  I have tested every single item that we carry and know when and how best to use it.  When I tell folks that the Mongoose M-262 is the best tripod head for intermediate telephoto lenses we sell the heck out of them and everyone is happy.  And often amazed.  But after a while folks come to realize that we do not deal in hype, we deal with solid products that do what I say they will.

OK, you are asking by now, what the heck does the above have to do with Lens Pens and sensor cleaning?  Here is the short answer:  The problem of keeping the sensors of digital cameras clean is and will continue to be a huge problem.   When I optimize an image, I often spend twice as much time dust-spotting than I do on the rest of the workflow.   We now have the solution:  Lens Pens. 

Here is the long version:  For years I used the wet/spatula/Pec Pad method (as described in the Bulletin Archives) with some success.   I cleaned my sensors hundreds of times without damaging them.  Next, we tried the sensor brushes that were generously provided to me for testing.  Again, I had some success at getting my sensors clean, but was unable to achieve the fantastic results described on various web sites.  Now I got these brushes for free, but I never told you about them because they did not work to my satisfaction.  On the Silver Salmon Creek trip Robert O'Toole offered to clean a few folks sensors with his Lens Pen Combo kit.  It took him seconds and the results were amazing.  He provided me details and I immediately purchased 300 Lens Pens Combo Kits.  Before I ordered the Lens Pens I learned that a major camera manufacturer purchases huge number of Lens Pens each month to use for sensor cleaning.  They use the Lens Pens to clean both lenses and the sensors of digital cameras but they don't tell anybody about using them for sensor cleaning because like all of the other methods, cleaning the sensor on your own voids the warranty if you damage the sensor or even worse, the shutter.  But the fact is that nobody can afford to send their digital cameras in twice a week for a sensor cleaning...

Robert was kind enough to teach me his technique which included the first and all-important step.  (If you do not know this step or you forget to do it, you just might ruin your sensor.)  We are now offering the Lens Pen Combo Kit for sale for $20.00 plus $2.00 shipping.  Florida residents need to add $1.40 per kit sales tax.   We will be glad to provide detailed instructions for using your Lens Pens to clean the sensors of your digital cameras with each order.  The file will include directions for using both the small and the large Lens Pen.  We will send the file only by e-mail so be sure to include your e-mail address with your order.  We accept credit cards by phone, Paypals, or checks made out to "Arthur Morris."  Another web site that is pitching the Lens Pens is selling only the smaller Lens Pen for $12 (without our instruction file).

Your Lens Pen combo kit should clean your sensors well for more than a year.  Some folks like to order two Combo Kits.  They use one of the larger Lens Pens to clean the front and rear elements of their lenses and the rest they save and segregate for use on their digital sensors.  Take a buck off of your total for every kit that you order after the first one.

Yikes, I almost forgot the most potent marketing info.  When I demonstrated the Lens Pens at Bosque to my three groups, I sold all 45 that I had brought.  Ilya Raskin had a 10D that was absolutely filthy.  It looked as if it had had a vacuum cleaner bag dumped on it.  After one cleaning with the two Lens Pens 99.8% of the dust was gone. 

#7: Cottonwood blur, Bosque Del Apache NWR, New Mexico

I swung my rig vertically downwards on the Wimberley head during the exposure.  I worked in Tv Mode to ensure total control of the blur speed.

IPT UPDATES

Both the Post-X-mas SW Florida and the San Diego IPTs have openings.  If you are interested in joining us, please call (863-692-0906) or e-mail us to learn about our Late-Registration or Weekend Only Discounts for these two IPTs.