A Walk In the Park (w. the Lensbabies)

[Photo-John]

Yesterday I went to a nice dog park, with the 10D and the Lensbabies. I put the camera on aperture priority (because the aperture on the Lensbabies is just a plastic disc with a hole in it) and went to town. Yesterday was the first time I felt like I had any flow going with the Lensbabies lens. I think Lela (the doggy) was a good subject, and the flowers are going nuts this spring. I'm going to add some of these to the Toy Camera Gallery, too.

Flowers, first. Minimal cropping, lots of levels and saturation adjustment. Why not?

[Photo-John]

And here are a couple of super-sexy Lela.

[mjs1973]

Hey PJ, a very neat effect from the Lensbabies. From what I have read about them (it's been a while) I thought that it was a little tricky to nail the sweet spot with these lenses, but it looks like you got it down pretty good. Didn't I also read that they came out with a newer version that was suppose to have a larger sweetspot? Are you using the originals or the newer version? Just curious.

[Photo-John]

The Lensbabies is a plastic lens made to fit digital SLRs so that you can achieve that crappy, low-budget arty look that Holga photographers are so proud of. But you can do it with far superior and much more expensive gear. It's got super high-tech accordian focus actuation and a wonderful sweet spot, surrrounded by a lot of not-so-sweet area. It's an expensive way to make your digital camera into a POS. And I like it

Here's a link to the most recent Lensbabies press release:

Lensbabies 2.0 - Press Release

[Photo-John]

It is tricky to use. It's more "flexible" than a Holga (that's a joke for those of you in the know). I'm using the original Lensbabies. And I just posted a link to the most recent press release, with information on Lensbabies 2.0, which is supposed to have a sharper sweet spot. Mine is pretty sloppy.

[MJS]

I liked the way it picked up the grays in the flowers!

[opus]

I have a lensbaby, I love playing with it! I haven't done a lot with it over the winter, but I plan to take it out again as soon as the leaves pop out around here.

Why are you posting it in the toy camera section? Can I post my shots over there too?

[jar_e]

Wow, put all that money into an DSLR and then you can make your pics turn like that! What a great feature! Saracasm aside, I love the pics. The flower one is great, great use of that effect.

[Photo-John]

Why are you posting it in the toy camera section? Can I post my shots over there too?

Of course you can post your Lensbabies photos in the Toy Camera gallery. The whole point of the Lensbabies was to give us analytical digital SLR users a way to achieve the mediocre results of a Holga. Toy camera is attitude, not equipment!
;)

[shrapnel]

Toy camera is attitude, not equipment!
;)

Well i've never shot from the hip with a two pound DSLR and lens but i'll give it a shot!!!

[megan]

It's not just pride... it's an OBSESSION!

[almo]

You know, I have been hearing about this lens for about a year now, and I have seen some images, but I just went to their website and now I am soooooo jealous! I WANT ONE......WAAAHHHH

[Peter_AUS]

Those photos weren't good for my health PJ, made me feel all funny in the head and out of balance. Has to do with Vertigo and Inner Ear effects. Going to have to make sure I don't look at those again.

I am being serious about this, just thought others should be aware that these sorts of images can effect some people differently. Certain things can trigger known medical conditions so people need to be aware of that.

Certainly the dog one most effected me too.

I have thought about one of those leses as there is a new one out now, but think I have just changed my mind.

[Asylum Steve]

Ok, I don't want to be a killjoy, and after all, it's a free county (unless, of course, you fit the, eh...profile, heh heh), but I gotta tell you I HATE those things.

A Holga or other toy camera is one thing, but the effect from a lens baby is IMHO so lame and so ridiculously easy to do in photoshop, I just don't get why anyone would pay money for it...

Plus it's a permanent manipulation of the image, whereas a "straight" shot can be edited in ps any way you want and the original stays untouched.

Ok, rant over. Go have fun...

[Mig]

Hey now, it's not just about digital - it nicely cheapens my EOS 3 in addition to my 10D.

Danielle

[Mig]

Heh. [whine]But Steve! Photoshop doesn't let me play with a neat little accordion thingy.[/whine]

If I want a straight shot I take a straight shot, then I pop the lensbaby on and play. I like taking the picture I want right then - I would rather play around with the effects outside while shooting than on the PC. Of course, I suppose I could drag my laptop outside......... But, no I love my lensbaby.

Danielle

[Photo-John]

I know what you mean, but...

It's the process that achieves the effect. I couldn't make the same images if I just shot a straight photo and then manipulated it in Photoshop. I need the restrictions of the Lensbabies, while I'm shooting. The same thing is true of infrared and black-and-white film. Although it's possible to make good digital conversions, you approach photos differently when you commit to a certain effect. You know I'm a totally devoted digital photographer. But it's sometimes technical restrictions make you work differently. And that can be a good thing.

[opus]

Heh. [whine]But Steve! Photoshop doesn't let me play with a neat little accordion thingy.[/whine]

If I want a straight shot I take a straight shot, then I pop the lensbaby on and play. I like taking the picture I want right then - I would rather play around with the effects outside while shooting than on the PC. Of course, I suppose I could drag my laptop outside......... But, no I love my lensbaby.

Danielle

Yeah, when I'm in photoshop I rarely even think about looking at my photo in such an altered way. But through my lensbaby, I see the world differently. I look for shots I would have never even thought of otherwise. It's all experimentation of course, but it expands my imagination, which I find at times to be frustratingly limited.

Plus I really love the high key and contrast it automatically provides. Again, it's not an effect I would ordinarily apply to an image along with a blurred out background.

And, I like the challenge it provides for my fine motor skills.

[Asylum Steve]

John,

I would never rag on someone's method of creating, no matter how different than mine, and (of course) my LB rant was only half serious. Truth is, any tool that makes you look outside the box can be very valuable.

Still, my background (and whole photo philosophy) is in taking an original source image or group of images and using them to create my final work. IMO, it is how you use them, not how you get them, that's important...

For quite a while in high school and college I actually wanted to be a print maker, primarily photo-silkscreen, and if you've ever done that process it is almost all post production. You start with a photo image, DECONSTRUCT it (density seperations to make the screens), then RECONSTRUCT it (layers of screened ink).

This is still the way I think. I have never felt the shooting process was paramount, but rather the way you used an original image: treated and edited it for the final piece.

To me, this is even more so with the miracle of the digital darkroom, and now all my originals can be totally sharp, totally in focus, and high resolution, and I can make of them absolutely ANYTHING I want, including degraded, sweetspot/softspot, off color/on color, selective focus and sharpness, pinhole-like and holga-like...

It is completely intuative to me, and yes Kelly, I visualize and do this stuff to images all the time. The first thing I think when I open an original in ps is, "what the heck can I do to this pic to change it around".

BTW, and again maybe it's just me, but I don't see the LB images as anywhere close to Holga-like. Holga pics are very often very cool degraded images, almost an homage to the early, low-tech photo processes.

Lensbaby stuff strikes me as kind of silly and gimmicky, almost like in the old days when we smeared vaseline on a clear Cokin filter and stuck in front of our $600 lenses.

BTW, you can still do that, and it's a LOT cheaper for the same effect...

[opus]

Steve, I'm just explaining why *I* like my lensbaby. I wish I had your intuitive abilities, I admire your work so much.

Of course, I also just like gadgets, period. You should see my kitchen! A juicer and a MixMaster and a Vitamix and a rotisserie and a fuzzy logic rice cooker (BEST gadget ever!) and a crock pot and...

I even have a tortilla press!

oops, this post belongs on the off-topic thread now.

[Photo-John]

I guess I'm only speaking for myself and how it's working for me. While I know I could do the same things with a straight image, in Photoshop, I just wouldn't. I don't think in this style with Photoshop. So the only way I'll get images like this is if I start out with the lens limitations and commit to them.

I do agree that the Lensbabies aren't reallly anything like the Holga. The distortion is much more pronounced and even obnoxious with the Lensbabies. Holga images are much softer and more subtle. The Lensbabies image are almost crass. But like I said, I'm starting to feel it and having fun with it. And I feel like it's encouraging a new way of shooting and thinking. And that's a good thing. Maybe I'll even come full-circle and start doing the same kind of thing in Photoshop. Regardless, I feel like the process is a good thing for me.

[mtbbrian]

All Of It!!
;) ;) ;)
Face it.. Holga's Rule!
Brian
;)
Oh and.. I am glad it is doing something for you creative process John, which is a GOOD thing.. I am also glad you are enjoying it and having fun, which is WAY important!