So, having successfully opened up a Helios 44-2 and reversed the front element using a newly purchased lens spanner (blogged here), I decided to attack another couple of lenses this week. Things went pretty well initially but, I learnt a tough lesson through inexperience with these older lenses.
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Having scoured so many vintage lens blogs and watched hours of vintage lens YouTube videos over the last few months, I was aware that lens elements could be reversed to achieve some quirky effects. It was something I hadn’t considered trying until I stumbled across Nadin Thomsons wonderful photography blog site. Here’s a link to Nadins site, it’s well worth making a visit – nadinthomson.co.uk
Continue readingI’ve written recently about my interest in vintage lenses and how much I’ve enjoyed using them. It’s very rare that I use my modern Fuji lenses these days. So, having convinced myself that using vintage lenses is not just a passing fad I decided to enhance my use of them by investing in a full frame camera.
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I’ve been shooting on and off with vintage lenses for a couple of years now. I always enjoyed using them but I didn’t really stick with it. I think it’s probably because I was prioritising shooting stock images, which need to be tack sharp. To that end using my modern Fujifilm lenses, with auto focus and coatings that have superb flare and glare control made more sense. There’s more on my drift into using vintage lenses in a previous blog – Vintage lenses and Flickr
Continue readingFollowing this weeks Lens-Artist Challenge on WP I was scrolling through some of the challenge posts. One of these was from /ˈsnæp.ʃɒt/. On Keith’s blog (it’s well worth spending some time there) I found a reference to taking pictures with a Game Boy console using a Game Boy Camera.
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Tina over at Travels and Trifles has led this week’s Lens-Artist’s challenge. I’ll echo everyone else and say how this was a really tough challenge. It would have been easier to duck out completely but I thought ‘No, I’m going to do it’. I’m posting late because we’ve been away.
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I’ve enjoyed using my vintage lenses with my Fujifilm X-T cameras over the last few weeks. It’s been really good to slow down, using manual focusing, and I like the colour rendering and sharp images my Auto Takamar 35mm F2.3 lens has produced (it’s a 50mm lens on my crop sensor Fuji cameras). The other vintage lens I’ve been using is my Pentacon 135mm F2.8 – known as the bokeh monster, with good reason.
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I’ve had this Auto Takumar 35mm F2.3 for a couple of years now but I’ve never really used it that much. Having been out and about and used it all day today that will be changing because its a superb lens.
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On into April 2014 and the wedding of Andrew and Jennifer. They were getting married in their local church, where they were members of the congregation, and then holding a reception at Thornbury Golf Club. Jen’s mum and dad had been married in the same church, on the same date, thirty four years before.
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Into July 2013 and the wedding of Frank and Tina. We were back at Arnos Court Hotel in Bristol. Unfortunately, as far as outside wedding shots were concerned, it rained pretty much all day. Other than the bad weather though, another lovely wedding day, that ran quite smoothly for me.
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Steve Hyde 