Lensbaby Composer Pro ii and Sweet 50 Optic

aussirose · Jan 28, 2023

I have just recently purchased a Sweet 50 optic for my Lensbaby Composer Pro ii Tilt Shift camera attachment. Also, along with that I bought the Omni Creative System and Colour Expansion Pack.

The lensbaby Sweet optics are designed to create a sweet centre spot with a circular bokkah surrounding. When you use the tilt shift, it seems to create more bokkah so it takes some practice to get it right.
Lensbaby lenses are designed for creative people like me. :icon_biggrin:

So here are some photos using the sweet 50 optic and the stretch glass Omni crystal wand. I went into town and sat down in front of some little kangaroo paws and had a play.

No. 1. Started out with just the Sweet 50 Optic.

No. 2. Now getting a bit used to the Sweet 50 Optic, I think I nailed the sweet spot. This is turning out to be my favourite shot of the day. What do you think?

No. 3. Now I decided to add some crystals to the photos for some creative bokkah.
I added a dangly crystal light catcher in front of the top of the lens. I have used this crystal light catcher before I purchased the Omni crystals.

No. 4. Time to pull out a Lensbaby crystal wand. I chose the Stretch Crystal Wand because it looked kind of difficult to master.
So this shot was created by placing it on the left hand side of the lens. I like that I was able to capture the flower reflection like a soft mirror.

No. 5. I like how this one turned out. When I placed the Stretch Crystal Wand down the bottom on the left hand side, it created nice streaks of light.

Red Wolf · Jan 29, 2023

Nice stuff.

I think #2 is also my favorite, but #5 is excellent as well. In both cases I felt the subject still drew my attention but the surrounding were textured in a way that added visual interest as a framing device.

VERY NICE!

Ironically, unrelated to reading this, I was looking at Lensbaby stuff today and put them on my "wishlist." Nice to stumble on this post and see some samples, and lovely ones at that. You do great work. Love your posts. These are nice and thank you for sharing them.

I'm brand new here but so far your stuff is really catching my eye.

RAZKY · Jan 29, 2023

aussirose said:
I have just recently purchased a Sweet 50 optic for my Lensbaby Composer Pro ii Tilt Shift camera attachment. Also, along with that I bought the Omni Creative System and Colour Expansion Pack.

The lensbaby Sweet optics are designed to create a sweet centre spot with a circular bokkah surrounding. When you use the tilt shift, it seems to create more bokkah so it takes some practice to get it right.
Lensbaby lenses are designed for creative people like me.

So here are some photos using the sweet 50 optic and the stretch glass Omni crystal wand. I went into town and sat down in front of some little kangaroo paws and had a play.

No. 1. Started out with just the Sweet 50 Optic.

View attachment 263501

No. 2. Now getting a bit used to the Sweet 50 Optic, I think I nailed the sweet spot. This is turning out to be my favourite shot of the day. What do you think?

View attachment 263503

No. 3. Now I decided to add some crystals to the photos for some creative bokkah.
I added a dangly crystal light catcher in front of the top of the lens. I have used this crystal light catcher before I purchased the Omni crystals.

View attachment 263502

No. 4. Time to pull out a Lensbaby crystal wand. I chose the Stretch Crystal Wand because it looked kind of difficult to master.
So this shot was created by placing it on the left hand side of the lens. I like that I was able to capture the flower reflection like a soft mirror.

View attachment 263504

No. 5. I like how this one turned out. When I placed the Stretch Crystal Wand down the bottom on the left hand side, it created nice streaks of light.

View attachment 263505

" create more bokkah??" Thanks for the laughs. Please educate yourself as to what bokeh actually is before spreading such misinformation!

smoke665 · Jan 29, 2023

Interesting creative set. I've almost bit on these, the tilt shift capability would be nice. I wonder how this compares with the other Tilt shift options out there. Have you ever tried Free Lensing? Free-Lensing: Turn Your Old Lens Into a Tilt-Shift Lens I tried it a few years ago, it worked but like a lot of things requires more time and patience than I have. The other effects wouldn't benefit me much, as I've been doing sweet spots for years with everything from saran wrap to Vaseline, and creative Bokeh shapes with diy custom shape Bokeh filters

Red Wolf · Jan 29, 2023

RAZKY said:
" create more bokkah??" Thanks for the laughs. Please educate yourself as to what bokeh actually is before spreading such misinformation!

We tend to think of bokeh only as the shape of an out of focus highlight or point source, but every point on every non-black object that is out of focus produces a bokeh, they just blur together on top of one another so they are not individually discernible. AussiRose is not incorrect to refer to an out of focus area as bokeh, we just don't normally think of them that way. And in any case, it's still a lovely picture.

Bokeh - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Bokeh

In photography, bokeh (/ˈboʊkə/ BOH-kə or /ˈboʊkeɪ/ BOH-kay; Japanese: [boke]) is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image.

RAZKY · Jan 30, 2023

Red Wolf said:
We tend to think of bokeh only as the shape of an out of focus highlight or point source, but every point on every non-black object that is out of focus produces a bokeh, they just blur together on top of one another so they are not individually discernible. AussiRose is not incorrect to refer to an out of focus area as bokeh, we just don't normally think of them that way. And in any case, it's still a lovely picture.

Bokeh - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Bokeh

In photography, bokeh (/ˈboʊkə/ BOH-kə or /ˈboʊkeɪ/ BOH-kay; Japanese: [boke]) is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image.

Wikipedia's definition is widely accepted, hence my comment.

smoke665 · Jan 30, 2023

The opinions of what bokeh is are varied and a source of debate among photographers. My personal understanding is bokeh comes from the Japanese translation meaning blur and quality of blur, in the OOF areas of the image. That could be a creamy mix, shapes or both. The shapes we see in an image are the visual rendering of the circles of confusion of specular highlights. Depending on abberations in the lens, design of the elements, aperture and blade design of same, it creates specific shapes. I have a legacy 135 f1.8 that produces beautiful big bokeh balls. Interesting footnote because of its ability to rapidly adjust DOF the human eye doesn't see bokeh shapes.

jeffashman · Jan 30, 2023

Very interesting shots! This is not an area I've looked into. Still trying to make sure I'm looking through the correct end of the lens...

CherylL · Jan 30, 2023

The color background adds to the foreground. Working with a manual focus lens has its challenges. Thanks for sharing your process and lenses.

Red Wolf · Jan 30, 2023

RAZKY said:
Wikipedia's definition is widely accepted, hence my comment.

My apologies then as perhaps I misunderstood your original meaning. Were you only refering to the spelling? I thought you meant what she was talking about were not actually bokeh. Sorry if I misunderstood.