Recently I submitted a photo to a contest hosted by Kelbyone.com and won! The focus was macro shots, and when they contacted me, they asked me to describe my creative style in three words. After some reflection and consultation with a few friends, explore, inspire, and experiment emerged.
The winning image shot with Lensbaby Velvet 56
It fits in so many ways. My walks are explorations for images. I love exploring my city and neighborhood for compelling images. Many photographers and artists personally inspire me, and I hope that my photos inspire others. Finally, I love to experiment with different subjects, lenses, and editing techniques. My thirst for learning and growth underpins my work.
In addition to experimenting with different subjects, such as miniatures, I am playing with a new Lensbaby pinhole lens called Obscura, released last month. After the launch, I bought the Obscura 16mm for my Canon EOS R mirrorless camera. This has certainly challenged me as it does not have a focus ring and only three aperture settings: f22 (zone plate), f45 (sieve), and f90 (pinhole). That's right. An f stop of 90! The sieve and pinhole create the most detail, due to how much light comes through the pinholes.
To best describe Obscura, I have borrowed from Lensbaby's website description: “A zone plate is a series of clear circular rings surrounding a center hole, with each of the clear zones equaling the area of the pinhole in the center resulting in increasingly thinner zones as you move away from the center of the zone plate."
Obscura f22 - zone plate
“A pinhole sieve is a field of pinholes, with the center pinhole being the largest and increasingly smaller pinholes radiating away from the center.”
Obscura f45 - sieve
"A pinhole is not, technically, a lens but is a clear, round hole in a thin piece of material, usually metal.”
Obscura f90-pinhole
I have been using this lens for about three weeks, and it has required that I do some things differently, such as look for higher contrast subjects, shoot in brighter light, and boost my ISO to increase the amount of light entering my camera. I have also had to embrace a higher level of noise and deep, darker colors in my images. I have also found that black and white photos work well.
Kerry Park, Seattle’s iconic view f90
I am often pleasantly surprised by the images that I have taken when I get back home on my computer. Here are a few examples. I admit that I tend to favor the sieve (f45) and pinhole (f90), but occasionally I find an image where the zone plate works wonderfully.
Kerry Park, a view of the Needle f90
Seattle Center’s Eraser Sculpture f90
Seattle Center’s entrance to the 1962 World Fair’s Monorail still in operation f45
Walking under Mercer Street f90
South Lake Union’s Historic Boats f45
The Center for Wooden Boats on South Lake Union f90
Seattle’s Fremont District near the Canal f90
Seattle’s Fremont District f90
Seattle’s Fremont Troll located under the Aurora Bridge f90
If you are curious about Lensbaby lenses, take a look at their website, and if you are inclined to take the plunge, use my Lensbaby Ambassador code (wVipperman) for a 10% discount. 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 have any questions about this journey with Obscura or photography in general, I would be pleased to answer them.
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One last photo. This one looks like a selfie since my shadow is in the image, but I think it works.
Fremont District, painting by Henry. f90