Seasons of Change

As I write this, Spring has sprung on the coast of Maine. The last of the snow is melting, small sprouts of green are pushing through the wet soil in my gardens, and the songs of the returning birds fill the air. I don't do as much shooting in the winter, so the anticipation of getting back to my daily shooting routine makes me very happy!

I am looking forward to new subjects, new locations, and also some that I shoot every year. The challenge becomes photographing those things and places in new ways, and it is a challenge I welcome.

If you have a favorite shooting location, try shooting it at every season, the changes are wonderful!  I have a road near my house that I shoot often. I love seeing the seasonal changes, as well as the changes that occur at different times of day, and in differing weather conditions.

So, get out there and shoot, that's where I'm heading!

Happy Spring!
Kathleen

A New Lensbaby Optic!

I started beta testing a new Lensbaby Optic a few days after Christmas, and from the moment I started using it, I was hooked! It's been so hard to keep it a secret! The Sweet 35 optic is the first optic Lensbaby has created with an internal, adjustable aperture system and it's amazing!  All you need to do is rotate the dial on the front of the optic to change the aperture from f/2.5 through f/22.  You can easily see the size of your sweet spot of focus change right through the lens, no more changing magnetic aperture disks!  This is wonderful for fine tuning the sweet spot of focus, and getting just the right amount of blur in your photos. I like to work my subjects, so being able to shoot with different apertures so effortlessly is definitely an improvement in my workflow.

Though this optic isn't compatible with the Macro Kit (my favorite Lensbaby accessory), I found that I could get quite close to my subjects, about 7 inches away with my Composer lens and as little as 3-4 inches away with my Muse.  The 35mm focal length is also a change, and I found the wider view quite versatile for lots of different subjects. The optic is also compatible with the Lensbaby Scout and Control Freak models.

Here are some of the test images I made with the Muse:

Just when I think I couldn't love my Lensbabies more, they come out with something even better. I can definitely recommend adding this optic to your Lensbaby gear!


Happy Shooting,
Kathleen