That was harder than it should have been

[olivermoss]

I've done two more Lensbaby night photography walks. One without a tripod, and one with! I went to Mount Tabor last night and getting up to my shooting locations kicked me butt more than it should have. I went up the west side to a viewpoint, which is up about 200 steps of stairs.

Here are the stairs:



*squints* In retrospect that would have possibly made a cool Lensbaby shot. I may have to go back and shoot that. Fortunately that is the bottom of the stairs, not the top. Unfortunately, I need to do those stairs a bunch. Elevation change like that shouldn't kick my butt.

Also, even with a tripod, focusing was a struggle. It's very hard to make fine adjustments with the lens and that is exponentially more of a problem the farther I am from the subject. My lens is a very old version 1. I wonder if the current version is better? When I wanted to try a Lensbaby I figured that since they are local, a lot of people here likely have some laying around. Photogs are notorious for buying things and letting them collect dust. So, I posted to Craigslist saying I'd buy any cheap lens from them if it fit my system. So, I picked it up for about 35 bucks in a parking lot way out west from the city. It was in perfect shape, which surprised me. For the price I was worried it would be beat up. The shot that is hands down my favorite shot ever was taken with this lens. I love it and I love that I got it for very little... but some of the Lensbaby shots I see on Inta just might not be possible with my gear.

Anyway, need to keep working with it and seeing what I can do. Hopefully, I can edit the pics tonight.

Comments

[mxcatmoon]

Sounds like you're having fun with your new lens. That was a great deal! Wish I saw deals like that around here, but the stuff I eye is usually out of my range even used. LOL.

I haven't picked up my camera in a long time. I feel ambivalent about that. I'm doing a lot of writing at the moment though, so I won't stress over it.

[olivermoss]

Oh, I picked up the lens in 2017 or thereabouts. I am just out of practice with it. My favorite shot that I was talking about is the top one here. The lens can focus very sharply, but I am starting to wonder if it can't in some light conditions because of how light diffracts within the lens.

I would much rather be getting writing done, but when I spent time on photography I am always productive in one way or another, but with writing I'm not.

[mxcatmoon]

Interesting shots, very surreal and otherworldly.

Yeah, that's true about writing. It can often involve long periods of staring into space and/or getting distracted by YouYube videos, or needing to research something and falling down the rabbit hole for 3 hours... At least that's my experience. LOL.

[olivermoss]

I can get into bad mental circles when writing. When that happens it's just better to stop.

I wish all my experience points were spent in writing, but I can always be productive with photography, whether it's shooting, organizing or other stuff.

[mistressofmuses]

I'm a wiiiiimp about elevation change, so that looks like hell to me, lol.

Bummer that it's still been a bit of a struggle to work with. The inability to do fine adjustments sounds like it would make a lot of this kind of shooting extremely difficult!

[olivermoss]

Yeah, the stairs here can be spicy. I have a book of stair-centric hikes in Portland, like the Alameda ridge on which is about 1,485 risers. I need to do that again soon and see if I survive.

It's a struggle. I have a feeling that it's a fixed issue on the V2 version. Still, gunna see what I can do with this.

[mistressofmuses]

Those stairs do look spicy, lol.

I live right near the foothills, and there are loads of hikes around here that have serious elevation gains... and they always kick my ass. My endurance is garbage, I'm afraid. (I guess being at 6000+ feet doesn't help, but I feel like I should be used to that part!)

Holy hell 1485 risers sounds like a MONSTER. I'd be wheezing after a fraction of those.

Wonder if anyone would sell you a newer version for $35 in a parking lot? :)
I imagine you'll find ways to improve with this incarnation! Still, it sounds like a rough learning curve.

[olivermoss]

I usually think of 1.2k feet elevation change as in my happy range, but also I am at sea level. Altitude kicks my butt.

I've done the Alamedia Ridge stairs loop a few times. It's a challenge. It'll be a good measurement of how I am doing.

I've checked the used markets a few times since the pandemic started. I should check weekly. A lot of people got out of photography in the last two years since a lot of markets for it collapsed. I'd love to pick up a Velvet if I can.

[mistressofmuses]

We did a set of pretty steep stairs today that absolutely kicked my butt, ha. And that was nowhere near 1000+ stairs, eesh!

Good luck if you do go at those stairs anytime soon! It definitely sounds like a challenge.

So much of finding a good deal on something (especially something relatively specific, like equipment) is just "right place, right time." Checking frequently is a good idea, and hopefully you wind up finding something!

[olivermoss]

Yeah, that's the problem, I need M43 gear specifically. Lenses for Fuji cameras and the like would be sub-optimal. Since it's full manual I could use an adapter. There is nothing electronic to hook up, but that would still be annoying.

[mistressofmuses]

Oof, yeah. I imagine that means you do have to do a fair amount of wading through stuff.

[bluedreaming]

I love this shot! It's so atmospheric.

[olivermoss]

Thanks! It was just a quick cell phone grab. I should take it again with my actual camera.