Celebrating and Exploring

March 1, 2020 Carol Vipperman

Last week today I celebrated my birthday by spending the day exploring the city with my still new to me Canon mirrorless EOSR camera and my Lensbaby Burnside35 lens. The weather cooperated (no rain), so I wandered through the Seattle Center, the downtown core, visited our impressive library, and ending the day in the Pike Place Market. It was a full day.

I started my walk from the top of Queen Anne with this view of the city from Kerry Park.

The sky was fantastic looking through these solar sculptures at the Seattle Center.

After a quick two-minute ride on the Monorail I made my way to our fantastic library.

It is an architectural wonder both inside and out.

On my way to the Pike Place Market I came across the Hammering Man, a very tall sculpture in front of the Seattle Art Museum.

The Pike Place Market and the famous flying fish stand.

Plenty of fruit and vegetables among many other things.

I stopped for lunch at Maximilien’s for some great food and a wonderful view. (taken with my iPhone)

On my way to the Great Gum Wall of Seattle I encountered some interesting art.

The gum alley is both disgusting and a fun place to capture images.

Finally, I made my way back to the Seattle Center in time to catch a few photos of the International Fountain.

I had a great day celebrating my birthday and capturing some interesting images. I ended up walking 9 3/4 miles by the time I got home. Needless to say, I was tired, but happy. I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com.

If you would like to receive my blog posts please send me your name and email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.

Walking the Arboretum with two lenses

October 31, 2019 Carol Vipperman

We are quite fortunate to have many great parks in Seattle, but one of my favorites is the Arboretum located near the University and Lake Washington. Although it is always a wonderful place to walk, this time of year is special with all of the luscious fall colors. A week ago I took my Lensbaby Burnside 35 lens with me to capture some shots, and returned this past weekend with my Sol45. Here are some of my images of the same place but captured with two different lenses.

It was fun walking through the Arboretum a week apart and seeing how using two different lenses transforms the images I captured. Each of them told a different story, and it is one of the reasons I love Lensbaby lenses. I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com.

About Lensbaby Blog Circle: Once a month photographers from around the world post their Lensbaby photos and comments in a blog. Take a moment and read Birgit’s post. It is a great read and you can keep following the Lensbaby Blog Circle.

If you would like to receive my blog posts please send me your name and email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.

All Things Dahlias - A Workshop

September 30, 2019 Carol Vipperman

Last month I had an opportunity to participate in a four-hour workshop with Kathleen Clemons and Lensbaby at Swan Island Dahlia Farm in Oregon. Lensbaby filmed the workshop for a Lensbaby University course that will be aired later this fall. To make it even more interesting, we were challenged to use five Lensbaby lenses to capture images: a Velvet 56 or 85, the Sweet 50, Sol45, the Twist 60, and Burnside 35. Here are a few of my images from that workshop, which was terrific!

Velvet 85 - This is my go to lens when I think about taking images of flowers, so this was a familiar lens to start the workshop.

Composer Pro II Sweet 50 - Although I have many of the “sweets,” I haven’t used the Sweet 50 for a long time. Kathleen was determined to have me fall in love with this lens and she was successful!

Sol45 - I use this lens primarily for landscape shots, but with the addition of a +4 diopter filter, I was able to get close up to the flowers. I love the blur along the edges and in the background.

Twist 60 - I don’t often think of using the Twist for flowers, but it was fun to capture the background swirl with a focus on the main flower.

Burnside 35 - This is a very versatile lens. I use it on my walks to capture landscapes and other subjects, but because you can get up close and personal (6 inches) it is an excellent lens to use with flowers. I added a +2 diopter filter and that allowed me to get even closer.

Although it was only four hours, I learned so much from Kathleen’s coaching and from experimenting with the five lenses. I fell in love again with all of my other lenses, so that was a gift. Thanks Lensbaby and Kathleen for a great experience.

I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com.

About Lensbaby Blog Circle: Once a month photographers from around the world post their Lensbaby photos and comments in a blog. Take a moment and read Birgit’s post. It is a great read and you can keep following the Lensbaby Blog Circle.

If you would like to receive my blog posts please send me your name and email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.

Playing with Lensbaby Omni Creative Filters - a Lensbaby Blog Circle Post

July 31, 2019 Carol Vipperman

I wasn’t sure whether or not I would find much use for Lensbaby’s Omni Creative Filters when they came out last month, but after seeing the images that others were capturing I decided to give them a try. I quickly fell in love with them, although I must admit that there is a bit of a learning curve.

First shot using the stretched glass Omni filter.

Since most of the photos I take are along my walks, I tried them out on my normal subjects - flowers and my normal neighborhood views. Although I took a number of shots, there were many that didn’t work, but those that did, I loved!

Lucky for me that these people stepped into my shot! Shot with the stretch glass filter.

I am still trying to figure out the angle to position the filters to get the best effect, but I suspect that will take some time to master. The rainbow film made my favorite tree pop.

What surprised me was how great flowers looked using the filters. They created interesting images and backgrounds.

I found that the distorted light improved even my normal neighborhood subjectst. The stretched glass felt like it was bringing energy to our neighborhood Buddha.

I haven’t had a chance to try out the filters with people shots, but I look forward to doing so. Some of the images I saw that others captured were fantastic. I am glad that I added these Omni filters to my camera gear. Although I primarily use Lensbaby lenses these days, I love that they can be used on any lenses. Thanks Lensbaby for helping me push my creative boundaries once again.

I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com.

About Lensbaby Blog Circle: Once a month photographers from around the world post their Lensbaby photos and comments in a blog. Take a moment and read Gizella’s post. It is a great read and you can keep following the Lensbaby Blog Circle.

If you would like to receive my blog posts please send me your name and email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.

NW Michigan Explored - A Lensbaby Blog Circle Post

June 27, 2019 Carol Vipperman

I visited a friend in NW Michigan in early June, the first time I have been to that part of the state in many decades. I wanted to travel light, so I took my Canon 6D and two Lensbaby lenses. I intended to bring my Burnside 35 with me, but discovered when I arrived that I picked up my Velvet 56. This is the second time I have pulled the Velvet instead of the Burnside, but it performed well for me. I also had my Edge 35.

I was amazed by Lake Michigan. It is huge! It seemed like an ocean, and the sunsets were superb! I got lucky with the image below when the bird flew into my shot.

I was told by my friends that the image below is “so Michigan.” People sitting on the beach wrapped up in blankets to keep warm. I had just traveled from Washington, D.C. where the weather was heating up, so I appreciated the moderate temperatures.

I did not know this, but Lake Michigan has some steep sand dunes. We took a look at the lake from the top of one of its most famous ones, Sleeping Bear Dunes. The sign on top of the viewpoint said, “Enjoy the view from here, or expect a two-hour hike back up or a sea rescue.” Needless to say I stayed at the top.

There were a few people who decided to walk down the dune. You need to look closely, because they look like miniatures in contrast to the size and steepness of the dune.

The lake’s water was an interesting combination of blues and greens. It was so impressive!

On another day we went to the State Hospital in Traverse City that has been shut down for many years. It is being converted into shops and condos, but they have a tour of one of the buildings that hasn’t been renovated and the steam tunnels. I took my Velvet 56 along with me.

The steam tunnel was interesting and challenging to capture images due to lack of lighting. I was impressed with how my Velvet 56 performed.

I had a great four-day break in NW Michigan and look forward to coming back again to explore the upper peninsula, which I am told is a photographer’s dream. I loved capturing images with two favorite of my favorite lenses the Velvet 56 and Edge 35. Perhaps I will be more careful when I dip into my drawer of Lensbabies and take the Burnside 35 out for a spin. It must be feeling a bit neglected.

I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com.

About Lensbaby Blog Circle: Once a month photographers from around the world post their Lensbaby photos and comments in a blog. Take a moment and read Janet Broughton’s post. It is a great read and you can keep following the Lensbaby Blog Circle.

If you would like to receive my blog posts please send me your name and email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.