AGeoJO wrote:
I spent over 2 hours at a site of burrowing owls without anything to show . Only a few fight shots but not even close in quality than what I already had from earlier outings. That's the drawback of wildlife photography. Oh, well.
Here are images of a juvenile falcon from last weekend where I had more luck. You need at least 1/1000sec but preferably 1/2000sec to get sharr in-flight images. FYI, the images were not in a single sequence.
HelenaN wrote:
Some from my Russian Monocles. The 26mm is pretty extreme on FF with huge distortion and very soft sides, so I rarely bring it. However, I like dreamy and mystical photos and sometimes the results can be interesting, but I understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea, so I don't expect a lot of likes.
(When taking the ones with the girls by the window I only had a few seconds before people walked in and ruined the scene, so I didn't have time to get the exposure right and burnt out the light from the window.)
Picture #2 has an eerie, almost spooky mood, I think. It's almost like a ghost following the girl. Well done!
You say these images might not be everyones "cup of tea", but I suppose it's perhaps difficult to find motifs and light that suit the Russian monocle lenses rendering. They certainly can allow some fantasy, like my associations on picture #2.
The houses look traditional, are they in Norway or Sweden?
Ronny, the colors in that Iceland image are just sublime. Could be my favorite of yours from there.
HelenaN, I like the moodiness in these monocle shots. I do not know the lens deisgn, but I wonder what you happen if you unscrewed the lens front and flipped over the front element and put it back together. I am curious, because one can obtain a similar - but less dramatic - effect by taking a Russian Helios 44 series lens (58mm f/2). The latter lenses are reasonably sharp but have swirly bokeh normally. With the front element flipped, they turn much more defocused and impressionistic. Just wondering if your monocle has a more tame option that you could access in addition to its blurry one. Might allow you to merge two shots of same scene shot each way, for instance.
Some close up impressions...
Jim
Leica R 100mm f/2.8 AME + Sony a7Riii: Fractal beauty by Jim, on Flickr
This one is pretty wild, even for me! It's a backlit patch of Bee Balm flowers (Monarda), which the Voigtlander 35/1.4 Nokton Classic (E-mount) has transformed into brush strokes that remind me of Van Gogh. On A7RIII.
I've been cleaning out my lens cabinet for the last few weeks, and had considered selling my Contax C/Y 100mm f/2 MMJ. It is one of the "best" lenses I have ever owned, and was "the last lens I'll ever sell", but I hadn't used it much recently, so it was in jeopardy. I searched for C/Y 100/2 images in my Lightroom catalog, and was blown away by the incredible Zeiss 3D look and color. This lens is not going anywhere!
Today I took the 100/2 out for a little spin.
I use my Contax lenses with a Fotodiox "DLX Stretch" adaptor, which adds 8mm of adjustable "extension", and that allows the 100/2 focus quite a bit closer than standard, making it a very good "all-around" lens.
West Elm store window.
Classic NYC Summer scene. Brooklyn Bridge Park.
This guy sunbathes nearly nude all summer long in an area where hundreds of families from al over the world visit every day...
Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 2 Roller Rink attendant.
A "Macarena" dance lesson going on under the Pier 2 awning at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
This guy plays his tenor sax at this same spot most weekends. He doesn't seem to want money. Just doing it for the fun.
You can get FREE hot dogs from this funky hot dog truck all summer!
And lastly, "Some folks like to sail away, take a holiday, from the neighborhood..." (Billy Joel - New York State of Mind)
Today I took a drive up the coast side of the Olympic Peninsula, to the Hoh River area of Olympic National Park. Walking around the trails at the Visitor Center.
Not even from my cold, dead hands...that is when my Contax 2/100 and I will be parted.
Activatedfx wrote:
I've been cleaning out my lens cabinet for the last few weeks, and had considered selling my Contax C/Y 100mm f/2 MMJ. It is one of the "best" lenses I have ever owned, and was "the last lens I'll ever sell", but I hadn't used it much recently, so it was in jeopardy. I searched for C/Y 100/2 images in my Lightroom catalog, and was blown away by the incredible Zeiss 3D look and color. This lens is not going anywhere!
Today I took the 100/2 out for a little spin.
I use my Contax lenses with a Fotodiox "DLX Stretch" adaptor, which adds 8mm of adjustable "extension", and that allows the 100/2 focus quite a bit closer than standard, making it a very good "all-around" lens.
bjornthun wrote:
Picture #2 has an eerie, almost spooky mood, I think. It's almost like a ghost following the girl. Well done!
You say these images might not be everyones "cup of tea", but I suppose it's perhaps difficult to find motifs and light that suit the Russian monocle lenses rendering. They certainly can allow some fantasy, like my associations on picture #2.
The houses look traditional, are they in Norway or Sweden?
Thank you very much for the nice and interesting comment! Yes, old style subjects work best and nature in soft light. I have tried them in town sometimes but rarely with good results, but I have seen others create great photos in urban environments (mostly dark and moody stuff with light and shadows though), so I'll keep trying.
The houses in the last two photos are in Leksand, Sweden. The rest are taken at the open air museum here in Trondheim.
Grenache wrote:
HelenaN, I like the moodiness in these monocle shots. I do not know the lens deisgn, but I wonder what you happen if you unscrewed the lens front and flipped over the front element and put it back together. I am curious, because one can obtain a similar - but less dramatic - effect by taking a Russian Helios 44 series lens (58mm f/2). The latter lenses are reasonably sharp but have swirly bokeh normally. With the front element flipped, they turn much more defocused and impressionistic. Just wondering if your monocle has a more tame option that you could access in addition to its blurry one. Might allow you to merge two shots of same scene shot each way, for instance.
Interesting! Worth looking into. Mine are from a guy in Russia who makes them from older lenses. Monocles/Monolenses were the main tool during the Pictorial movement more than a hundred years ago and somehow they have stayed popular over there. A Russian friend who lives here in Trondheim introduced me to them. The most well known monolens shooter now is probably Georgy Kolosov.
AGeoJO wrote:
I spent over 2 hours at a site of burrowing owls without anything to show . Only a few fight shots but not even close in quality than what I already had from earlier outings. That's the drawback of wildlife photography. Oh, well.
Here are images of a juvenile falcon from last weekend where I had more luck. You need at least 1/1000sec but preferably 1/2000sec to get sharr in-flight images. FYI, the images were not in a single sequence.
HelenaN wrote:
Some from my Russian Monocles. The 26mm is pretty extreme on FF with huge distortion and very soft sides, so I rarely bring it. However, I like dreamy and mystical photos and sometimes the results can be interesting, but I understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea, so I don't expect a lot of likes.
Very nice! This monocles thingy is awesome.
Every single picture could pass for a black metal album cover - example
Joshua: That tree frog shot is amazing, as are the falcons.
Bob: I really like the mood of that monochrome beach shot from Island. It's a pity that a photo trip to this island is out of my reach.
Helena: Beautiful soft look in that series on the previous page.
Wonderful colors, Ronny.
Rene: Amazing mountain vista. Just wondering, was that a panorama shot?
Geoff: Impressive work with the a9, but with you, it doesn't matter whether you use a D500, or 1DXII or a9, the wildlife shots are always of great quality. I don't think that I've ever seen an owl in the field more than once.
. Only a few fight shots but not even close in quality than what I already had from earlier outings. That's the drawback of wildlife photography. Oh, well. 
