Vintage Lenses – Helios 44-2 with a reversed front element

An early shot with the modified lens. I took the lens out with us to grab some shots this morning but we were unlucky with the weather and walked straight into a monsoon like squall. Thinking of my wife and dogs welfare I agreed to put the camera away and go for a coffee until the squall blew through. I know, I’m a good guy. Actually, the truth of the matter is I was more worried about getting my vintage lens and Sony A7 wet!!

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

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Photography – Nikon NIKKOR-S.C Auto 50mm f1.4

I shot this in my garden. I pulled the Danbo out of retirement for a bit of foreground interest but what I was really trying to do was create some round, soap bubble, bokeh balls. That worked well with the sun creating nice bokeh ball highlights off the leaves on a bush in the background.

I bought, yet another, vintage lens from Ebay last week. I’d read a favourable review of the Nikon NIKKOR-S.C Auto 50mm f1.4, a 1970’s classic and decided I’d like one. It’s still widely available and I bought a copy, in mint condition, for £100. I’ve never owned, or used, a Nikon lens before but I’m suitably impressed. The build quality is superb and it’s a dream to use.

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Lens Artists Challenge #380: What’s Around the Corner

John Ateyo. A 1950’s Bristol City FC legend. We walked through the soccer stadium grounds on route to the harbour and the view of the suspension bridge.

Well this is really spooky. This week Anne challenges us to post images from photo opportunities we’ve stumbled across on one particular walk. I’ve done exactly that today, before I knew what was coming with this weeks challenge! Here’s the story of that walk.

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Photography – New Vintage Lens Additions

Canon FD 55mm f1.2 – A photography book Christmas present I was given this year.

Following on from the success and enjoyment I had using my vintage lenses in Marrakesh (blogged here) I decided to invest in a few more old lenses. I’ve spent hours researching on YouTube channels, blogs and Flickr and came up with a short list of lenses that might compliment those I already owned.

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Vintage Lenses – Auto Takumar 50mm F1.4 (8 Element Version)

Auto Takumar 50mm f1.4 – Shot at F5.6 earlier today.

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

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Street Art – ‘Wonder’ by Sophi Odling

The ‘Wonder’ Mural by Sophi Odling

Three weeks ago, whilst we were on a walk about in Bristol, we wandered into the Upfest Street Art shop in Bedminster. We’d been drawn in by a framed print in the shop window. The artwork was called ‘Wonder’ by Australian artist, Sophi Odling. Linda, my wife was particularly drawn to it and after a very brief discussion we bought the framed limited edition print and it’s now hanging proudly on a wall in our lounge.

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Travel – Marrakesh 2025

Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35mm F2.4

We took advantage of some really good, late booking, holiday package prices to take another trip out to Marrakesh last week. For us, November is a great time to visit Morocco. The temperature is a really nice 21C during the day. We needed a jacket in the early morning and evenings but we had clear blue skies most days with a bit of cloud bubbling up in the late afternoon. The cooler weather means less visitors so, although the main tourist attractions could be busy, generally everywhere was a bit quieter than in the warmer months.

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Photography – Vintage Lenses and Flickr

One of the first images taken with a new Auto Takumar 50mm F1.4 – 8 Element version. I went looking for lens flare and bokeh balls and found it in my local woodland.

My digital photography story started back in 2007 when I completed a short Open University course called ‘Welcome to Digital Photography’. Over ten weeks the course covered the photography basics but also introduced me to Flickr.

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Vintage Lenses – Auto Takumar 35mm F2.3

My Auto Takumar 35mm F2.3 on my Fujifilm X-T2.

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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Vintage Lenses – Pentacon 135mm F2.8

My Pentacon 135mm F2.8 plus FX Adapter on my Fujifilm X-T2

Back sometime in 2022 I decided I’d try out a few vintage lenses with my Fujifilm camera’s. I’m not sure why. It was probably following something I’d read on the internet but anyway, I decided to give it a go and invested in an K&F M42 to Fujifilm X Adapter. They sell for £16.99 from K&F.

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