Thursday, February 03, 2011

Getting close with a mirror

I'm looking again at the city sights, now through the eye a 500mm f8 cheap mirror lens.

Here's a Buceo Harbor pilot launch, going fast to meet an incoming ship. It is fighting the waves, at a few hundred meters from the camera.

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An experienced line fisherman gets a very close portrait.
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You can explore the details of a fishing boat, anchored 15 m away from the camera. That is, if your hand keeps steady. This is not a lens for nervous photographers.

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Highlights, out of focus, turn into rings. Looking at the sun reflections on the water produces a kaleidoscope of rings, alive with movement and tones.

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Film: Ilford Pan 400, exposed at EI 200, developed in ID-11 1:1.

2 comments:

  1. What an excellent and powerful series this is. I hope you will continue to work with this lens and train it on a variety of subjects. That last marvelous shot of the reflections makes me think that it might be perfect for capturing your city at night. Of course, I could be completely wrong since I have no similar experience, but we won't find out unless you try.

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  2. Thanks, Mike! I indeed have in mind some night shots of neon-lighted areas, looking for abstracts.

    It is a challenging lens, which is all the better for surprises. You need a lot of light and contrast to get anything. It is hard to hold steady. As for focus, think of it as a 50 mm f/0.8 at max aperture. Scary.

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