Bokeh of a vintage lens

A 50 year old vintage lens from Germany is my favorite one for close-up photography.
It renders the out-of-focus areas with a creamy bokeh and tends to create "bubbles" on the highlights.
Mounted with extension rings it is often used hand held on my mirrorless cameras.



Often images look closer to watercolors than photographs; the shallow depth of field has blurry backgrounds with edges that seem to "bleed" softly into the next color.



The Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9 is a manual focus lens, very small in size compared to modern lenses. Not exceptionally sharp, it might not please the perfectionist wanting to achieve details in every twig or grass blade but it is the lens that I regularly take on my outdoor trips to recreate the "feel" of  a place more than just accurately record it.



Somebody once said: I am not interested in image quality, I am interested in quality images.

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Dragonfly

Standing in the creek laying eggs on a log just under the water's surface.


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

Only in Australia

Only in Australia you will have wild kangaroos keeping you company when fishing on the beach :-)


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9  @f5.6  1/500 sec

Tender parenting.

Almost human like, the kangaroo's relationship with its youngster seems so tender.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9  @f5.6  1/125sec

This mob lives by the sea, feeding on very lush grassy fields. The wet climate makes their life much easier and with very few predators to fear from they are particularly tame despite being wild and free.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9  @f5.6  1/125sec


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9  @f5.6  1/125sec

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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)

Flower bugs

It's only now that I pay closer attention to flowers that I notice a world of bugs living in them.
Some of them are tiny, hardy visible to the naked eye.


Helios 44-5 58mm f2  @f5.6  1/1000sec


Helios 44-2 58mm f2  @f8  1/125sec


E.Ludwig Meritar 50mm f2.9  @f8  1/250sec


Helios 44-2 58mm f2  @f5.6  1/500sec

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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Old scars

Bearing the scars of a life subjected to beauty.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm F2.9 @f8  1/90sec

Born not to grow free its body shaped to please, now paying the toll.
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Leaves

It has been years, actually more than a decade, that I took a visit to the botanical gardens, however I clearly remember that photographically I could not "see" the beauty around me then.
This time the shapes and light on the little things caught my eye much easier.

Blood leaf, Iresine species

Helios 44-2 50mm   f2  1/1000sec

Never Never Plant, Ctenanthe species

Zenit Helios 44-2  58mm   f4  1/180sec

Shape, light and color

Not all photographs have to tell a story, show a place or record an event; there are some that appeal to me purely from the aesthetic point of view.
Shape, color and lighting can be the only drawing elements, and images that first appear abstract but reveal themselves when observed for longer hold a special interest.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f4 1/180sec



Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm   f8 1/750sec

Feels like Xmas

These small plants remind me of Christmas.
Maybe is the glowing look of the tiny balls-like structure on the stem shining in the morning light, or do they look like snowflakes?


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm   f4(?)  1/350sec

Dreamy

In the late afternoon the color of the light changes, calling me to photograph.
A vintage lens with peculiar perspective ads a dreamy look to the tiny wildflowers.


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


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm  f4(?) 1/500sec

Lilly leaves

Somehow I was more interested in the shape and color of the backlit leaves than the flower itself.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm   f5.6 1/180sec

End of winter

The last frosts are just about gone and the days are getting warmer.
Soon the dry winter grass will be replaced by fresh new sprouts.


Lumix G 14mm   f6.7  1/125sec


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm   f2.9  1/180sec


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm   f2.9  1/180sec

Paper daisies

The shape, color and structure of paper daisies has always intrigued me.
An extremely resilient flower that seems to tolerate dry and hot places.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm  f4.0  1/350sec


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm  f5.6  1/180sec

Spring wildflowers

Only a few flowers were still blooming, I missed their peak in late August.
Spring comes early in South East Queensland even if frosty nights are common.
Wildflowers are tiny but the smell can be pervasive.


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


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


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm  f4  1/350sec

I challenged myself to use a vintage lens that I adapted to fit onto my modern Olympus camera.

There is no autofocus and the lens is prone to flare; getting a sharp image was a combination of luck, careful selection of subject and lighting. As the lens was placed really closely to the flowers I moved my camera back and forward to obtain focus on my subjects. I am not a fan of tripods as the moment and light usually pass while setting one up. I prefer free-hand allowing me to quickly position the camera in unusual spots.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm  f5.6  1/750sec

Bubbles in the creek

There is a creek that I like to visit on my backpacking trips.
This time I looked closely at the bubbles formed by the cascading waters.


Meyer Optik Görlitz 50mm     f2.9  1/6000sec
 
Glistening in the afternoon sun, small and insignificant while floating by but mesmerizing nevertheless.