Texture and patterns in the bokeh

I am drawn to the abstract pattern that a lens can create when the the whole subject can not be in focus resulting in some areas of the image blurred.
Much can be said about bokeh and it's rather impossible to be fully quantified or describe it but most purist cherish the "smooth" out-of-focus backgrounds.
I, on the contrary, prefer to find lenses that offer "texture" in the blurred areas of my images.


refitted projector lens 35-KP 1,8/120   1/640sec

I do understand that such traits in these lenses are not so well suited for subjects where the attention should remain in the in-focus areas but a lot of my photographs are often of close-up and semi-abstract subjects where a "busy" bokeh might be the crucial component of an image


adapted Pentacon 50mm f1.8  1/1600sec

Initially my visual adventures were concentrated on "bubbles" in the bokeh; now I am pursuing the textured, busy and "weird" bokeh.
Some lenses are specifically sought after for those incredible traits and unfortunately my favorite looks are out of my price range (like the Dallmeyer Super-Six 102mm f1.9 lens)

Slowly I am starting to understand which subjects, what patterns and what light will be a suitable theme for my experiments. Repetition of small objects and lines, combined with the correct subject/background ration and lens will reveal surreal images.
And it's a look that the mighty iPhone has not conquered yet :-)


adapted Kodak Cine 63mm f2.7  1/50sec



refitted Helios-89 30mm f1.9 (from FED Mikron)  1/4000sec



refitted Russian projector lens 35KP-1,8/120  1/800sec


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Beach kangaroos

A storm has been brewing for a few hours and the dark clouds started gathering and moving in.
I headed for the beach trying to capture the dramatic sky when I noticed a few kangaroos grazing on the dunes.
Just as I was photographing the shore a couple of kangaroos hopped right down to the water's edge wanting to dip their toes. A few minutes later a few more came and soon there were twenty or so.
In a rather bizarre moment they all lined up and started to wade, mother with joey in pouch, letting the spilling waves lap up to their bellies


adapted Jupiter-11 135mm f4  1/4000sec

The dark sky served me a surreal scene with the parting clouds and the bright sun complements to the moment. I stood in awe and observed what was going to happen next.
Some hopped around, some just let the waves wash them a bit to then gather again and slowly retreat to the dunes again to forage.


adapted Jupiter-11 135mm f4  1/2500sec

The evening brought some very soft light where I could capture them again in a large grassy field.


adapted Jupiter-11 135mm f4  1/100sec




adapted Jupiter-11 135mm f4  1/500sec

These are wild kangaroos, free to roam without enclosures, as nature intended.
I can not bring myself to enjoy observing wild animals in any other way...

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From the beach

The long weekend holiday made most places swarm with people; I needed to escape and have a bit of green time instead of screen time. Luckily my favorite beach was rather quiet.


Helios 44-7 58mm f2   1/640sec



Zuiko OM 200mm f4   1/2500sec

With my friend Melt, I walked the beach at low tide, each of us interested in different beach-combed treasures, laying low on the foreshore exploring and capturing the light.


Zuiko OM 200mm f4   1/1250sec



Zuiko OM 200mm f4   1/100sec

And just like fishermen trying to harvest from the sea we chased the sun, instead of fishing rods we had cameras in our hands.

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Invasion of blue aliens

At low tide an army emerges from the sand and invades the edges of the shallow ponds.

Kodak Cine Anastigmat 63mm f2.7 1/1250sec

In their impeccable blue uniforms for a few hours they work hard at making "cannon balls".

Kodak Cine Anastigmat 63mm f2.7  1/800sec

But as the tide floods again their conquered beach they retreat underground once more.

The relentless life of a soldier crab.

Kodak Anastigmat 63mm f2.7  1/1600

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Dragons at sunset

The Westerly wind blew in kitesurfers to my beach.
Like dragons with colorful wings they scooted along the shore occasionally taking flight.


refittted Russian projection lens Triplet 78mm f2.8  1/1250sec


refittted Russian projection lens Triplet 78mm f2.8  1/3200sec



Cintagon 100mm f3.5  1/60sec


There was an angel among them and at the end of the day she carried her wings when the wind dropped.


Pentax-110 50mm f2.8  1/60sec


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Same place: 3 different moods

I was hoping for a fiery sunset that evening.
All week long the sky has been turning spectacular with powerful red skies; but I was stuck in the city.
Now it was Saturday and I headed to the beach: it was going to be low tide at sunset.
But one thing it's sure with outdoor photography: I can't control the light.
What I thought was going to happen didn't: there was no fiery sky, no dramatic clouds.
The sun lowered to the horizon and then it met low dark clouds. The light went from soft warm to steel cold and flat.

I had a few vintage lenses with me, none of them really designed for my camera. One was a slide projection lens from a Kodak Carousel that I mounted on some macro bellows to be able to focus and certainly the hardest lens to use. Very low contrast, not very sharp and rendering highlights with a glow.


Kodak Ektanar C 102mm f2.8 slide projector lens  1/4000sec

As the light quickly changed I suddenly was faced with a very blue light that robbed all the typical colors of a beach at sunset. What it gave me instead is the opportunity to create a different look, of a more somber and pensive style.


adapter lens from miniature SLR system Pentax-110: 70mm f2.8 (fixed aperture)  1/640sec

Eventually the light faded away and just as I was heading back I notice the mangrove tree silhouetted against the sky.


adapter lens from miniature SLR system Pentax-110: 18mm f2.8 (fixed aperture)  1/200sec


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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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Beach dream ride

The mesmerizing feeling of riding your horse on an empty beach at low tide; like in a dream.
Horse or horse-power; to each their own.


Steinheil Munchen Cintagon 100mm f3.5     @f5.6  1/1250sec

January late afternoon on the beach

While some of my friends are enjoying (or hating?) winter in the Northern hemisphere I get the pleasure to walk barefoot on a sandy beach in Queensland.


Vivitar 135mm f2.8  @f5.6  1/125sec

I never tire of a walk before dark, sometimes I am gifted with a spectacular sunset.


G-Lumix 14mm    f5.6  1/10sec 


Vivitar 135mm f2.8  @f5.6  1/350sec


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Details of nature

I see beauty in the mess that old tree trunks can create.
At closer inspection there are details that are intriguing, almost man made.


Vivitar 28mm f2.0   @f4.0   1/500sec

High tide tangled some grass around this old trunk. It almost seems that somebody has carefully knotted the straw around the bleached wood, but it is indeed the waves that managed to tangle it.


Industar-61 50mm f2.8 @f4  1/15sec

The insects have been working under the bark of the fallen tree; now the weather has exposed their tunnelling.

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Piercing blue eyes

A unique puppy caught my attention; I could not help but stare at his eyes.


M.Zuiko 40-150mm R   f7.1   1/400sec

Husky/poodle mix.

Before the rain

There was rain in those clouds but nothing could get in the way for an evening run on the beach.


M.Zuiko 17mm f1.8  @f5  1/2500sec

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The orange bag

It sticks out, bright.
Not originally intended as a camera bag, with a custom insert it now serves very well for a kit of a couple of camera bodies and several lenses.
Ah yes, those are Micro Four Thirds cameras, not big monster DSRLs :-)

Around the city:


Vintage manual lens: Nikkor 105mm f2.5 rangefinder  @f5.6  1/500sec

Early morning beach walk on Xmas day.


Nikkor 105mm f2.5 rangefinder  @f2.8   1/3000sec

On the golf course, trying to get a low angle shot.


Industar-61,  50mm f2.8  @f5.6  1/30sec

Moon-rise at the beach, again.


Sigma 60mm f2.8 DN  @f4  1/10sec

The stretchy dress dress and the camera bag seem to live in symbiosis: best combo for outdoor warm weather photography.

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Last catch

They dragged the net into the sea one more time and then gathered to see what they caught.


Sigma 60mm f2.8 DN  @f5.6  1/180sec

Australia Day weekend attracted a lot of people to spend time with their family, outdoors.

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Fluffy and Tiger

Time over I have observed a similarity of appearance between dog and owners.
This scene seems to fit  :-)


Nikkor 105mm f2.5 RF  @f2.5 1/6000sec

Company

Photography for me can be an almost spiritual experience.
When the light is soft in a calm setting I get to experience a dream.
Looking down on the screen of my camera I create images of moments that later I can relive.


SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4  1/6000sec

I love to have company with me, to share the experience and later recall it.

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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

Bee in pigface

Flowering pigface (plant) on the beach attracting bees.


F.Zuiko 38mm f1.8 PEN-F  @f11  1/500sec 

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

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