Floral, Macro, Landscape, etc…

My original intent for Saturday was to drive to Ithaca, NY and explore some of my favorite state parks. That plan changed when I woke up and saw the email from FedEx indicating my package, originally scheduled for delivery on Monday, would be arriving between 10:20am and 1:20pm. This would be the new lens kit I mentioned the other day. I couldn’t have it sitting on the front stoop, baking in the sun waiting for me to return… so, I stayed and worked on the garage cleaning I have been avoiding.

I have been checking out the Lensbaby website for a few months, playing my normal head game of should I or shouldn’t I. Do I really want the new lens. Do I need a new lens. Which lens is the best “bang for the buck”. All my normal crap leading up to my eventual purchase. Still haven’t learned how to stay out of my own head. And then, boom! There is a sale! For those interested, here is a link to the kit I purchased: Soft Focus II Optic Swap Macro Kit.

Late in the afternoon, as the temps started to drop, I went over to the Sculpture Garden to play with my new toy. There were some flowers calling my name…

The first lens I tried was the Sweet 50, which as the name implies is a 50mm lens with an adjustable center focus area and a surrounding blur. This is a manual focus system and the slight breeze did challenge me with attaining good focus in the sweet spot.

I wasn’t getting the images I wanted. The focus length is around fifteen inches which wasn’t allowing my to get the close-ups I desired. The lens adjusts the “depth and size” of the center focus by adjusting the aperture. As you can see above, the f/8 setting let me have more of the subject in focus but left the remaining area visible. The image looks cluttered.

What am I missing?

These don’t look like the examples.

Do I need to return this kit?

The macro filters! Totally forgot about those. The kit has three filters to allow macro shots, actually to shorten the focal distance. Time to walk back to the car.

Much better! I started with the 4X filter. You can stack them to decrease the distance even more. As you stack the filters you reduce the amount of articulation the lens can perform. The movement allows the sweet spot to be moved around and changes the blur effect as well.

I had been playing among the flowers for over an hour. My stomach was complaining as it was nearing 7pm and way past supper time. I made a command decision to stop at my favorite place for a sandwich and a cold one. So worth it…

After refilling the fuel tank I wanted to try out the other lens in the kit, the Soft Focus II. This lens is also 50mm and as the name implies an adjustable soft focus effect. You can play with the aperture again to achieve the amount of focus you want. The image will have an underlying sharpness with the softness layered over it.

I had already played with the flowers. The sunset was looking good. Yep, you guessed it, Delta Lake State Park was my destination to end the day. The sun was slipping away so I stayed on the beach and played. I think there will be opportunities with this lens as well…