Lensbaby Magic Lesson 1 “When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision.” -Edward Weston Welcome to my Lensbaby Magic Class! The Basics Craig Strong invented the Lensbaby when he was trying to find a different look for his images. He was looking for a way to be able to do this in-camera, instead of spending hours sitting at his computer. He wanted to combine the soft, imperfect look produced by Holga film cameras, with the convenience of digital imagery. He says that the Lensbaby he developed gave him some options to match a certain mood in a theme, or to render an image the way he envisioned it. With the trend these day being the most refined, precise, high speed automatic lenses, the Lensbaby is a refreshing Lensbaby Magic Kathleen Clemons 1 step backwards. It’s sort of an odd combination of an old, manual focus lens where you had to do it right the first time, and a modern day video game joystick. The original lens models are mounted on a plastic bellows, which allows you to manually focus by pushing, pulling and bending. A selected part of your image will be in focus, and you control just where that ‘sweet spot” of focus will be by manipulating either the bellows section (the part that looks like vacuum cleaner hose) on the Muse and the original models, or the focus ring on the Composer, which has a ball and socket type design. The remaining areas of your image are softly and gradually blurred, creating unique, eye-catching images. The lens opening, or aperture (f/stop) is controlled by the set of aperture rings that comes with your Lensbaby unless you are using the Sweet 35, Edge 80 or other optic which allows aperture changes via a dial on the optic.The aperture will change the size and sharpness of your sweet spot of focus. I will admit it, I am a Lensbaby Addict, I LOVE my Lensbaby lenses! I have done some of my most creative work ever using them, and I really love the originality they bring to my images. Being able to interpret a scene, decide what I want to highlight, and focus on just that part of the scene is a refreshing change. This lens challenges the idea that everything in an image must be perfect, and perfectly in focus. Over the years, my work has shifted from the literal to more of an interpretive nature, and the Lensbaby fits in perfectly with that change. I first discovered Lensbabies on an Autumn Workshop in New Hampshire with a group of photographers. When we all shared what we had been shooting, one woman wowed us with her amazing foliage images, all done with a Lensbaby. I think I had one ordered the day I arrived home from the workshop. Here are four images from my very first walk around my neighborhood with my Lensbaby, fresh out of the box. I didn’t quite get the focus I wanted on all of them, but I was hooked by the blur and bokeh. All of these images are right out of the camera, resized only. Lensbaby Magic Kathleen Clemons 2 Lensbaby Magic Kathleen Clemons 3 The Lenses-The Early Models Lensbaby Magic Kathleen Clemons 4 Though there are different models of Lensbaby lenses, the image concept remains the same. Choosing a model really depends on your personal taste, needs, and the type of results you are seeking. The first 3 lenses are no longer being produced by Lensbaby, But many of us still use and love them! Many stores still have them available, and I frequently see them on E-Bay. The Lensbaby Original (LBO) has one single uncoated lens element and an aperture range of f/2.8 to f/8, with a focal length of approximately 50mm. It utilizes a retaining ring to keep the aperture rings in place. The sweet spot of the LBO is a bit softer that the other models, and there will be more diffusion in the highlights when you use it at the wider apertures. Used wide-open, your images will have a very impressionistic appearance. If a soft, dreamy look (similar to a Holga or pinhole camera) is what you are after, this would be a good choice. It can also provide quite a nice sharp sweet spot of focus when you use the smaller apertures. It makes a great portrait lens with the softer sweet spot and gradual sweet spot to blur transition. The Lensbaby 2.0 (LB2) has a coated double glass lens, and a very sharp sweet spot of focus, even when used wide open without an aperture ring. Bent highlights will take on an oblong shape or streak near the edges of the frame. The aperture rings are held in place with a magnet system. This lens is sharper and faster than the LBO. If you want your sweet spot to be really sharp, this lens is a better choice for you. The Lensbaby 3G (as in 3rd generation, LB3G) also has the coated doublet lens that the LB2 has, as well as 3 additional f/ stops- f/11, f/16 and f/22. This version is basically a Lensbaby 2.0 that allows you to lock your focus and do separate fine focus adjustments and fine tune your sweet spot placement. A button on the top right allows you to lock the lens once you have it in the position you want, and two knobs at the bottom release it. There are also three round knobs for fine focus adjustment once you have locked it down. Three metal threaded rods stick out from the front of the lens and allow you to fine tune “the bend” once it’s locked. This model is pretty funky looking, and almost always attracts questions from people who see it on my camera. If you need repeatable results (for product photography, for example), the ability to fix the position of your Lensbaby and fine tune the adjustments, this is the lens for you. This lens is also best for long exposures, bracketing difficult exposures, capturing movement, and night shooting. It does take some time for the LB3G controls to become intuitive, I still find myself fumbling for knobs at times. I find this model much easier to use mounted on a tripod, I feel like I need an extra hand for adjustments if I try shooting handheld with it. (Note! Do not store your LB3G in the locked position, you could permanently bend the bellows section!) Lensbaby Magic Kathleen Clemons 5 The New Generation Lensbaby- A Lens System photo by Lensbaby.com In the fall of 2008, Lensbabies introduced 3 new models, The Composer, The Muse, The Control Freak and an Optic Swap System that can be used with each of the new models. This optic system consists of separate optics which can be purchased as a set, or individually. They basically give you the benefits of a whole new lens, with just an inexpensive optic change. They have since added even more models. The new lenses are: The Composer was an entirely new concept of Lensbaby, with a ball and socket design, which stays where you put it when you aim the front element at your subject. It came with the Double Glass optic installed. If you have this model I suggest you use that optic when just starting to use your Lensbaby, it’s much easier to focus with that element. Recently discontinued but you can still find them. The Composer Pro has the same design as the regular Composer, but it’s a little smoother in terms of the ball and socket and focus. You can buy it with either the Double Glass optic, Sweet 50 or the Sweet 35 optic. Any of those are fine for the assignments. The Muse resembled the Lensbaby Original and 2.0 in design, and came with either the Double Glass or the Plastic Optic. Though it’s not the easiest to learn/use, I do love it! Please use the Double Glass optic at first if you have it. Recently discontinued but you can still find them. The Scout is Lensbaby’s only straight lens, this one does not bend, so your sweet spot is always in the center. Though limiting, it’s great for the Fisheye optic! Recently discontinued but you can still find them. Lensbaby Magic Kathleen Clemons 6 The Spark- This Lens resembles the Muse, but is made with a fixed aperture of f/5.6. If this is all you have, it’s fine to use it for the assignments. The Control Freak- An updated version of the Lensbaby 3G for very precise focusing, no longer in production. My least favorite model ever. The Optic Swap System: (More on Optics later in the course too) The selective focus optics are: Double Glass - sharp and crisp, 50mm. Apertures are changed manually with a collection of aperture rings included with the optic. Single Glass - soft and diffused, the effect is much like the original Lensbaby Plastic - soft and dreamy, Holga type effect, a little harder to focus but the results are lovely, 50mm, Apertures are changed manually with a collection of aperture rings included with the optic. Plastic- the softest of the selective focus optics, a dreamy effect, 50mm, apertures are changed manually with a collection of aperture rings. The Edge 80- This optic creates a slice of focus across your image, 80mm. I would prefer that you not use this optic for at least the first three assignments.