Please click on the thumbnails for a bigger image.
A few years ago I had a love affair with the Lensbaby. It was only the 2.0 version, that you had to bend to find your sweet spot and the only available extras were the 4X and 10X filters to stick to the front.
They liked and used one of my images, a peacock in display extensively for advertising.
Then life got in in the middle of our relationship in the way of long and heavy lenses, getting up at the wee hours and traveling to far away places in search of exotic bird species.
Canon 1d4, 70-200/4 with two 25mm extension tubes.
Well, we are a bit tired of that, let’s say that our light does not shine there anymore.
At least for now.
We have gotten rid of most of the heavy duty stuff, keeping only the 7D and the 100-400L that would be enough for our birds needs, should they arise.
And as part of our replacement equipment, I turned my head back to old trusty Lensbaby and was very happy to see how much the company has improved their lenses, much better build quality and a lot of optics to choose from.
Got us the Composer Pro with the Sweet 35 installed, the Edge 80 and the Macro converters.
I must say Lensbaby has come a looooooong way and I still have a learning curve to get to be familiar with the new system. Now you can dial in the f/ stop instead of changing the ring inside and with the live histograms, no more guessing at the exposure, since there is no communication between the camera body and the lenses.
In our NEX-7 camera, there is a setting that will let you release without a lens attached, and it needs to be enabled to be able to shoot.
We went to Epcot Center for a few days right before Christmas, and got a chance to use the Sweet 35 in a lot of creative ways. Creativity is not an option, but a way of life, they say. And there is nothing more liberating than not to have to live up to your old standards and have the freedom to experiment without pressure and be as free as a child in expressing yourself as an artist. I don’t have to fill my shoes anymore.
I wished I had used the optic for people more often than I did, just decided to do so on the last day and loved the effect. I can see myself really liking the effect, exaggerating the focusing ring effect and only working wide open, at f2.8.
Mind you, taking candids and getting used to a creative optic at the same time is a learning curve and not always easy. But there is lots of room for improvement and the road to getting there is going to be a lot of fun.
I think I’m going to like the Edge 80 too, but one optic at a time, please. Their behavior is different. Sweet 35 , as described by the manufacturer:
“The Sweet 35 Optic is a 35mm selective focus optic with a 12-blade adjustable aperture that creates a tack sharp Sweet Spot of focus surrounded by blur. Experience an unprecedented level of creative control over the size of the Sweet Spot.
The Sweet 35 Optic boasts the widest focal length of any selective focus Lensbaby optic and features close-focus capabilities.”
In this article, I will only use images taken with it and will try to get more familiar with the Edge, which has a flat plane of focus, more like a Tilt and Shift, and is supposed to be great for posed portraits. I haven’t gotten that far. I should say YET.
One of the most amazing things with this lens is the bokeh, an I love to use it backlit for maximum effect. If you keep the optic straight, the bokeh is beautifully rounded. But if you bend it, Oh la la, you get crazy slanted effects. Up to you. Will also try to experiment with other apertures to get more defined point of focus.
As for editing, you can do as little or as much as you can. Most of them require very little, Clarity works well, or maybe getting rid of a distracting white spot. Or sometimes go all they and mix two exposures. Whatever fits you, you are the one in charge.
CasaForns Blog 
Very nice read and images Fabs. I always followed your CS skill “courses” on the Nature photography websites like Birdphotographers.net I thought they were well explained ..shame they are not there to be found anymore! Have a fab(s) 2013. Rene de Heer
Thanks much, Rene, I may be doing them in our Blog.
Fantastic write up… boy i really never understand this little jewell…. Hope you are able to return to the cs skills… fabulous ,and priceless!! Happy new year!!!
Thanks, Don!
There will be more to come next year.
Beautiful images, Fabs. Looks like a new chapter is opening, or reopening, for you 🙂
Merci, Monsieur 🙂
Thanks for all the info Fabs. I love the flower picture. Beautiful. Nice touch, the snow!
Mike
Thanks, Mike!
I remember way back when you wrote the article for the PSA Journal on the lensbaby, Fabs. You have come so far (in so many ways) since then and I’m very pleased to see you back in the creative mode. I love the two large images–the first because at first I think it is an OOF face till I scroll down enough to see it as a silhouette; the second because of the awesome beauty of the bokeh and the flowers. I’m hungry for more!
Thanks, Michael. You have come a long way too 🙂
I’ll be writing for PSA again.
Amigos
what can I say
Al
The birds will miss you & Al..I think Al should stay with birds or better FlatCats:)
Bad girl 😉 Thanks!!!!
…. I knew the FlatCats had to work itself somehow 🙂
You’re getting lovely results from your new toy Fabs, always a pleasure to see your new work my friend. All the very best for the year ahead :^)
Much appreciated, my friend. Thanks!!
Fabs…. for the last image of two images blended in CS6, could you explain what you did? Thanks.
Jim, I pasted the flower image on top of the bokeh image, created a layer mask and erased the original image to let the bokeh come through.
Hope this helps, if not, please feel free to ask again. I had an out of focus image where I burrowed the bokeh from.
Thanks for the info Fabs. happy New Year to you and Al.