The fire and the ghosts

When I see an image that doesn't just clinically depict a subject or a location my mind is left free to imagine what it could be.
Blurs and bubbles of light play with my creativity and I imagine things beyond of what I can see.


refitted projector lens 35KP-1,8/120    1/100sec

So, what good is that?
Well, it's no different than a book that vaguely sets a scene allowing the reader to create his/her own vision of the story. Some say that they prefer the book to the movie :-)
Images that don't state the obvious feed my dreams.


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Closer look at the bark

The simple natural beauty of a tree, looked up closely.


refitted Hexanon 45mm f1.8 (from rangefinder camera) 1/160sec

There is great variety of trees in my part of the world and the bark is most intriguing at times.
I particularly like the shape and texture of some gumtrees that shed the bark and reveal a smooth and colorful new skin. The "exfoliation" seems to be constant and the colorful patterns revealed are most abstract.


adapted Pentax-110 50mm f2.8   1/100sec

Often when having a close look I notice a miniature world of ants and insects that are often hidden to the casual passer-by


refitted projection lens 16-KP 50mm f1.2   1/100sec

And then everything suddenly changes; the fire completely alters the look of a once smooth bark and creates new textures.


adapted Kodak Cine 63mm f2.7   1/640sec


adapted Kodak Cine 63mm f2.7   1/60sec


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The judgement

"Yes, but that is Photoshopped..."  with a consternated tone of voice.


refitted projection lens Will-Wetzlar Maginon 85mm f2.8   1/125sec

So, if those images were created in camera, would it have more value?
If one works magic with in-camera settings, plays with lenses that are unusual, uses unconventional angles and cleverly crops an image, is then held in higher esteem?

I have that discussion often when on topic of editing: some are up in arms that images are manipulated but perfectly accept black and white ones :-)
To me however sounds like ignorance and laziness; somebody's defense for unskilled results.

*PS for the record, above image was created in camera....

About the house

I am still not sure if this has more to do with my previous post or actually has substance, but I just can't help myself experimenting with unusual views of everyday objects.


adapted projection lens Cabin 75mm f2.5



adapted composite lens: optical block from a compact Canon 38mm f2.8 inside the body of an Industar 50-2



adapted lens: optical block from a point-and-shoot Canon 110ED

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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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Lost lives

I don't like war memorials as they only remind me of the lives that were lost fighting for a cause that was never truly disclosed.
Visiting one just recently I was confirmed of the absurdity.


Adapted 16mm film projection lens Bell&Howell 2" f1.6   1/640sec




Adapted reverse optics from a vintage Canon 110ED: 26mm f2.0   1/160sec

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Frozen explosions

A very rusty old shipwreck caught my attention on the beach.
I became intrigued how salt over time can weaken and destroy even the hardest steel.
I love the great display of warm colored shades.


Pentax-110 70mm f2.8(fixed)  1/800sec
Details on rivets and fixture appear as a frozen explosion about to burst.
Like the layers of an onion the structure of the steel is revealed after all these years.


Pentax-110 70mm f2.8  1/80sec



Pentax-110 70mm f2.8  1/640sec


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Shadow running

Late afternoon, along the river, it's his way to keep fit.


Argus Cintagon 35mm f4.5  @f8   1/200sec

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Rainforest trees

In the dense subtropical rainforest the trees are overwhelming; I rarely see the whole tree.
The close proximity of the giants keeps my view focused at the base of their trunks, observing the intricate shape of the roots and texture of the bark.


G-Lumix 14mm f4.5  1/4sec

The light is diffused and the moisture allows for vines, lichens and mosses to grow, sometimes creating abstract paintings on their bark.


G-Lumix 14mm f4.5  1/15sec

And the root system is at times rather bizarre, nothing like I have ever seen in a European forest.


M.Zuiko 9-18mm f4.5  1/15sec

Detail in orange

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


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9 

Beach puddle

Every tide shapes the beach with new sand waves, renewing the shore to a new texture.


PEN-F Zuiko 38mm f1.8  @f5.6  1/15 sec

Beach combing

Sand patterns on the foreshore

A stranded jelly fish looks like an glass art object

M.Zuiko 40-150R   f8  1/350sec

The aimless trail of a sea snail reminiscent of Nazca desert drawings

M.Zuiko 40-150R   f8  1/180sec

Big boulders

Dwarfed by the sheer size of the boulders the tree looks like a bonsai.

Lyrebird

I was very excited when I came across this feather on my trip.
I often hear the lyrebird singing and mimicking other birds but they are very elusive and they are easily startled.  Feeding on the ground of the canopy I see their digging looking for insect and worms but only twice I have managed to spot them.

The structure of the lyrebird feather, close up, is fascinating
It seems that the combination of fluff and stiffer feather might be from a juvenile bird.


SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4  @f8  1/30sec


SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4  @f11  1sec

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