I wear a black shirt and a pair of jeans almost every day of the year. I hope it’s not because I am boring. I’d like to believe that it is a sign of intelligence…you know, not having to think what I am going to wear because I am saving my brain power for other important decisions and ideas throughout the day.
I also hate buying clothes, thinking they are cute and either never wearing them or wearing them once and deciding that I really just want to wear a black t-shirt. In college, when I would buy clothes, it was not uncommon for them to hang in the closet for over a month before I decided to wear them.
This kind of behavior can be found in other areas of my life. Like going to Bruster’s for ice cream. Oh, what should I get?! The answer is most always Graham Central Station. What should I have for breakfast? A banana and peanut butter. Where do I shop? Aldi, Target and Amazon. What lens is on my camera? The 35mm (that might not mean anything to you, but a 35mm is the focal length of the lens.). It fits the way I see and like to capture my life.
Usually photographers collect lenses, find the one they use all the time, and let the others accumulate dust. Just like not wanting clothes in my closet that I do not want to wear, I do not want a bunch of lenses in my collection that I do not use. In addition to that 35mm lens, I have an 85mm lens that I use at sessions. But at the end of 2020, I took an advantage of a sale and bought myself a new lens. A Lensbaby Sol45.
Lensbaby is a brand that has unique lenses that create special, different, swirling, and blurring effects. I have had my eye on their lenses for over 3 years but the hesitation to have a lens that collected dust kept me from buying one. I mean I had my “good black shirt”, did I need something else?
Well, I bought that lens because it was on sale, I had a 10% off coupon, some Christmas money, and the desire for something different (I will liken it to a solid little black dress). When that baby arrived in the mail one Saturday afternoon, I put it on my camera and played. I was like a kid with a new toy and I was in love.
I decided to shoot with it for 30 consecutive days (but I will definitely be putting that lens on my camera often enough that it won’t be collecting dust!). Below are the images from the first 30 days I had the Lensbaby (if you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen me use the hashtag #thirtydaysoflensbaby for a good part of January and February) plus a few more pictures because, I haven’t stopped using the lens and I just can’t stop sharing!
This is one of my favorite images captured this year so far. I love the silhouette, the rim light, and the softness of the edges. It is not the first picture I took with the new lens, the SOL45, but it is my favorite.
Above is the first “in focus” picture I took with the Lensbaby Sol45. It is a manual focus lens which means you have to manually focus…the camera does not do it for you. It can be kinda tricky but that’s part of the “fun.”
The blurry edges give some of the images a “foggy memory” kind of feel.
I love the bokeh from our Valentine tree in the background.
I mean, check out the portrait of Mr Rooster.
I love how the lens makes my driveway look magical. Also, check out the picture Lilly took of me! She is also a fan of my new lens!
I love this silhouette by the front door. I also love these hats their aunt gave them.
Another one of those memory feeling images. Winter memories.
I adore this image. She is a calm painter and the softness of the edges matches the feeling of watching her.
Thank you for reading and looking at my pictures! Enjoy this day!