Back-lit plants

More and more I dwell on the shapes and highlights that plants produce when viewed back-lit.
I used exclusively Pentax-110 lenses adapted from a miniature SLR system of the 70's to produce this set.


Pentax-110 50mm f2.8  1/3200sec


Pentax-110 50mm f2.8  1/25sec + adapter with 2-blade aperture control


Pentax-110 50mm f2.8  1/320sec


Pentax-110 50mm f2.8  1/2500 + adapter with 2-blade aperture control

At the same time I had with me a native auto-focus lens for my camera but I failed to produce any images that I liked.
For static subjects, where the bokeh is important to me, the modern lenses just can't give me what I look for. With a modern lens, as I compose my image I never really know what it will look like until the image is taken as the camera will close down the aperture of the lens only then and not show it while I compose. I find that for critical work that is not how I want to take my  photographs.
Manual focus and manual aperture glass on the other hand shows me that very instant I touch the lens how the final image will look like, no guessing or chimping after the shutter was released to see if I "got it".

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Rain droplets

Summer's humidity and heat has now engulfed my subtropical city.
The drizzle and cloudy sky allowed me to explore the possibility of a vintage lens adapted to work on my modern camera.


Vivitar (Komine) 28mm f2.0
The close-up capabilities and focusing really please me.

Weathered snow gum

The winter storms on the Australian high country Snowy Mountains create a harsh environment for trees to survive.
Only the hardy evergreen Snow Gums have the ability to adapt; the wind bending their trunks and branches, they often root themselves to a cluster of granite boulders.
A bed of daisies keeps them company.


G-Lumix 14mm f2.5   @f4  1/30sec

The hardy flowers

Most of the ground flowers have finished blooming and I could see pods of seeds where before there was color.
The delicate soft petaled flowers were gone as the heat of summer is now present most days.
New flowers, much more hardy, are now appearing.


SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4  @f4 1/6000 sec

This one remind of the typical high-mountain Edelweiss with its velvety petals


SMC Takumar 50mm  f1.4  1/8000 sec


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Park session

Only now that I am rediscovering the joy of manual focus lenses I started to seek locations where action is not the essence to create an image.


Russian lens, Jupiter-9 85mm f2  (@f5.6)  1/180sec

The hidden natural little gems of the numerous parks in my city allow me to explore the creativity and challenges that vintage manual focus lenses offer.
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Beach flower

Is this plant representing the Australian spirit that bewares the sun? It faces its flowers away from the harsh rays, exactly the opposite of a sunflower.
Maybe there is different reason, something to do with pollination? but I was struck by the flowers all facing away from the sun.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9   @f4  1/350sec


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9   @f4  1/350sec

Detail in orange

Maybe is the color what drew me closer to the shape of this paper daisy.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9 

Flowering jacaranda trees.

The parks and streets are dotted with purple color: one could compare the jacaranda trees to the cherry blossom in Japan.


Lumix G 14mm  f4  1/125sec


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9  @f4  1/750sec


Lumix G 14mm  f6.7  1/90sec


E.Ludwig Meritar 50mm f2.9  @4  1/90sec  (motion blur from the wind)

Scottish thistle

Often despised because of its prickly nature, the Scottish thistle can show its beauty in the right light.


E.Ludwig Meritar 50mm f2.9   @f4 1/4000sec

Water lilly

I often admired these beautiful flowers on some of my kayak outings; now I managed to photograph them.


E.Ludwig Meritar 50mm f2.9  1/1000sec



E.Ludwig Meritar 50mm f2.9  @f5.6  1/250sec



E.Ludwig Meritar 50mm f2.9   @f5.6  1/250sec

Tree flowers

The spring manifests itself best with the flowers in the trees.
The fields are usually bare where I live but the trees can really put on a wild display.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9   @ f4 1/1000sec


Helios 44-2 58mm f2   @ f8 1/350sec


Helios 44-2 58mm f2   @ f5.6 1/1000sec

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