Fuzzy, Yet Somehow Viewable

A new edit. Nikon D90 with AF Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G. A long time ago.

Nikon D50 + AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 set at maximum aperture.

I took the photograph into the early morning sun using an old Nikkor-H Auto 300mm f/4.5 lens on a Nikon D2Xs. There is a lot of flare but I like the compressed perspective and muted colours. This is a fresh edit of the photograph I posted six years ago. I have increased exposure, particularly in the shadows, and made other minor changes. The subject is the flight of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal at Caen Hill, near Devizes. There are 29 locks providing a rise of 237 feet in two miles.

Wafaa belly dancers taking a break.

Nikon D2Xs + AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-210mm f/4 lens.

I made this photograph by holding a Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm Tessar lens tight up against a Nikon D50. It's a bit Heath Robinson, but it is possible to get a picture via this technique. This is straight out of the camera.

Just another assignment. A Tuesday, I think. A Tuesday in January. Bloody cold in that old Manor House. And the car wouldn’t start. Don’t know how I’ll get back. What’s that? No make up? OK. Let’s get on with it. You stand there. By the window. Look out. Look wistful. Can you do bed hair? That’s nice. Sorry it’s so cold. No heating in these old places. Thank God that’s finished. I didn’t like the look of that chair where they put my clothes. Still, too cold for fleas this weather. I hope. He could have given me a lift. The bus is late. Wonder what I’ll have for dinner tonight. Must get some warmer shoes. They say it’s going to snow.

Nikon 180mm AF ED f/2.8 lens on a Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro SLR. 100 ISO; f/5.6; 1/180th.

Nikon D2Xs and Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR LD lens. The poor focus is due to using too slow a shutter speed, but the hats made the scene compelling.

It's out of focus, yet it has some mystery and charm.

Nikon D2Xs and Nikkor-O.C Auto f/2 35mm converted to AI capability. This particular lens was made sometime between 1973 and 1975, and the design was in use unchanged from 1965 until 1981 in various mount configurations. It is known as the 'bokeh king' and its close focus performance is outstanding. The contrast is excellent, and Thomas Pindelski remarks, 'this lens is fully the equal of any Leitz or Leica 35mm Summicron on a Leica M' - see pindelski.org/Photography/2012/05/05/nikkor-o-35mm-f2-lens

It is out-of-focus. It was not supposed to be out-of-focus. However, I think it is probably more interesting than it would have been had it been sharp.

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro + Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED lens.

Many Zenit cameras were supplied with a Helios-44 lens of 58mm focal length and a maximum aperture of f/2. This lens was a Soviet copy of the Carl Zeiss Biotar lens and had distinctive bokeh characteristics. So Helios = Zeiss. Possibly. This photograph was made with one of the original Helios-44 lenses from the KMZ factory - not one with -2, -3, -4 or M after the "Helios-44". It has a preset diaphragm where aperture adjustments are made at the front. The handling is dreadful. But the results are rewarding, save for the high rate of attrition through bad focusing and wrong exposure (both being my fault, not the fault of the lens).

Photographed from the south side of St Edmund's church in Salisbury. The church has been decommissioned and is now an arts centre. The focus here is not good, but I nevertheless like the result. There are several 18th and 19th century houses in Bedwin Street, but this pair of cottages under one half-timbered gable are much earlier, probably 16th or 17th century. Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro and AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 G ED DX lens.