Gathering Dust

My guess is that many of you reading this blog are old enough to remember the typewriter. Most of them looked just like this Underwood. You may have even had one in your home. I remember growing up and using the typewriter. I remember hitting the keys to make them spring up and slap the inked fabric ribbon. I remember the “thwack” noise as the keys and ribbon hit the paper as the words advanced across the page. I remember the “ding” when I got to the end of the line and had to return the carriage and paper to the beginning of the next line until we had completed the task. This process was all manual. Today, there are plenty of Underwoods to be found in antique and thrift stores. Before arriving there for sale, they were likely stowed in a basement or attic or storage area “gathering dust.”

This typewriter got me thinking about what photography equipment I may have stowed in a bag or box or cabinet that has not been used in some time and that may be gathering dust literally or figuratively. These would be items that I may have forgotten I even had or things I put way on the back burner for one reason or another. At some point, I thought I needed them, but maybe at the time I just wanted them. Of course, the possibilities are endless, but in this pondering, I realized that I could put my hands on at least three things to focus on rather quickly. All three require “all manual” movements (focus or placement) to be used, similar in that respect to the Underwood.

These three things are: 1) my Nikon 70-180mm micro lens, 2) the Lensbaby Twist 60 optic that fits in the Composer; and 3) the Lensbaby Omni creative filter set. My reasons for the dust gathering of these three in the end now feel pretty lame, and I will share and explain them one at a time. I will explain the dust-gathering why’s for each. They are different for each and, for me, they are enlightening.

Tree Frog in Red with Nikon 70-180mm micro, circa 1999, slide film

THE OLD FAVORITE NIKON 70-180MM MICRO LENS

Without going into deep detail, this is a wonderful piece of equipment with many advantages for a macro photographer. In fact, I believe it was the first zoom macro ever made and was released in 1997. I believe I bought mine in 1999. By adding supplemental close-up diopters, I can get even more magnification, which I love. Doing the quick math, I’ve had this lens almost thirty years. It has long been my favorite “go-to” lens for nature, especially flowers and other “smalls.” I began the relationship with film and carried through into the digital world. It was my most favorite lens, truly, from film through around 2020, when I switched to mirrorless and – silly me – I lost autofocus capabilities. That’s it. That’s the truly lame reason for setting aside my favorite lens – when it became an “all manual lens.”

Hens and Chickens handheld with Nikon 70-180mm at Longwood

Keep in mind, I have been shooting and playing with Lensbabies in the neighborhood of twenty years. They are all manual. What prompted me to revisit this old favorite came in an old cemetery in Charleston during my workshop in March. One of my clients was shooting a tombstone covered with incredibly beautiful lichen. As soon as I saw the lens he was using, my eyes lit up. I recognized it immediately. This moment in March sparked a desire to reacquaint myself with this special lens in April. I still LOVE this lens, even though it is now all manual. Why? First, as a zoom macro lens, it offers flexibility in composition. It has a tripod collar, making it easy to refine compositions and angles in the frame without moving the tripod. And, while I don’t have autofocus with it, I do have focus confirmation with the traditional solid ball at the bottom of the frame in the viewfinder, and the focus point box turns green when I’ve achieved focus where I want it. Besides that, it’s beautifully and solidly made, and, yes, a little heavier than most would want. I also have a collection of the Nikon 6T dipoters that I can attach to the front of the lens for life-size or closer focus when I want it.

Peony Center in Close on back patio (70-180mm)

Anemone on the back patio (70-180mm)

This lens didn’t “actually” have dust settled on it, but over five years is a long time for it to have sat waiting for me to use it and show it some love again … and I have. This lens will never be put up for sale. I will be using it more often in the coming days and months and years. The only caveat for me is that I don’t bring it out when autofocus is needed. I will likely use it much more at home playing with petals and other small things. The beauty of that? I will slow down, take more time with my subjects and will leave with images that are sharp and soft where I want them to be. There will be no more dust gathering on this old, faithful friend.

Ranunculus on back patio (70-180mm)

LENSBABY TWIST 60 OPTIC

For those who may not know, I am a Lensbaby Trailblazer (one of 25), and I have been using Lensbaby products for many years. I either love or like them all to varying degrees for different reasons. When it comes to the Twist 60, the reason for spending most of its time in the cabinet is a little different from that of the favorite macro above. For starters, I have many, many Lensbabies, almost everything that they have ever offered. However, I have a few, all-time favorites – the Velvet 56 being at the top of the list. ALL Lensbabies are ALL MANUAL. So, this was not the issue. I think in this case the dust gathering was more about my not spending enough time with the Twist 60 to recognize the unique swirly bokeh and not finding enough of the “right” subjects to be able to learn where and how I could make it and my subjects shine. Each Lensbaby offers unique effects; and because I just wasn’t getting the look that made me excited, I put the Twist 60 down. I shut it up in the cabinet, destined to gather dust while I went and played with my favorites.

However, that changed in early April when a client met me in the gardens for a session with a goal to become more “tuned in” to what she could do with her Twist 60. We spent the entire morning using our Twists. Not surprisingly, we both added the macro filters in order to shoot some of the flowers up close. The minimum focusing distance for this optic is 18”, which is fine if your “star” is larger, but not so fine if your ”star” is larger but not so fine when your bloom is only a few inches wide or tall in the frame. My tendency is to move in close, so it is likely I will very often add a close-up filter or two or three. With the Twist you get the most obvious swirly bokeh effect when the background area is busy and has a lot going on, and when you choose wider apertures (f/2.5-5.6 max). The beauty of all the Lensbabies has always been that you see what you’re getting through the viewfinder, and there is minimal post processing needed.

Spanish Bluebells with the Twist 60

Anemone surprise with the Twist 60

I spent another several hours in Longwood Gardens using only the Twist 60 for more practice and have really begun to enjoy it. Because it is light and small, this, too, will find a place in rotation in my bag and on my camera. We are now friends. To be clear, for anyone who has this or other Lensbaby lenses or optics, there is a learning curve for everyone. You need to accept that you will take more images that you don’t like or that don’t work while you play and practice. However, the more you shoot with this or any other lens, the more success you will achieve and the more comfortable you will be using it. Translation: With practice and play, you will like more of your images and you will have a better feel for how to use it and what subjects and situation works best. This won’t happen if the dust layers continue to pile on.

The Twist 60 at Longwood Gardens

LENSBABY OMNI FILTERS

Now we come to the Omni, a creative filter kit of all different shapes and sizes and colors that can be used with any lens. Yes, any lens, meaning that you can use lenses with autofocus! Woohoo! On this one, I have to be honest, I have almost every piece that is included in the Omni system (probably no surprise there). I have had them for a very, very long time. Over the course of my possession, I would try to use them. I was quite unsuccessful. They rode around in my car for a long time. Eventually, they made their way into that same cabinet destined for dust after I made what I felt were enough valiant attempts to use (not even master) any of them. Truth is, I sucked at getting creative with the Omni, so I gave up. Admittedly, this is not necessarily the best response, but sometimes it’s better to put things aside for a while …

So, how I came back to the Omni to experiment and play with something I wasn’t good at is slightly amusing. As I mentioned, I am a Lensbaby Trailblazer. I love my Lensbabies, but I definitely have my favorites. You’ve probably guessed it, Omni was not on the list, not even close. However, I was tasked with beta testing the Omni Neon, an unusually vibrant neon piece with lots of shapes cut out of it that provide gaps for light to play with the color. You place this in front of the lens for different effects. I was not sure how I would even begin to “master” or even be slightly good at what I had not been in the past. And, that is where the challenge began.

Henbit with Lensbaby Omni Neon – the new beginning

Hellebore and Lensbaby Omni Neon

From there, I was motivated to blow off the dust and begin experimenting and playing with not only the Neon (which was a must) but with the other many pieces within the system. I had some success with what I call the “mirror paddle” and some colored films and some of the crystal wands. If all these sound foreign to you, no worries. They are just a wide array of tools that you use in front of your lens to change the look and feel of your images in a creative way (your way). Most of them add color or sparkles or reflections and are best used with wider apertures and a good amount of light. That was my mistake when I first tried them … not wide enough apertures and not enough light.

Here I will share some of the images I’ve made with the Omni’s that have encouraged me to use them more. They do not have to become my favorites, but I do think there’s value in using them more to know when they are the right tool for a particular image I might want to create. As a result of the “neon push,” I see myself using these tools more to see what we can do together. As with anything, I’m sure I won’t like every piece I have or every image I make, but I do see myself, now, developing a mental list of Omni favorites down the line. These, too, will no longer gather dust, even if they are not used as often as some of my other photography lenses and accessories may be.

Walk in the woods with Lensbaby Omni crystal

FINAL THOUGHTS

Something I’m learning, slowly, is that there is no need to hold onto something that you no longer use or have never used unless you can articulate the value it adds to your life for the space it takes up by holding onto it. This can be said for camera gear, clothes, furniture and so much more (I’m thinking of my collection of photo props, but particularly my even larger collection of “dead stuff.”) At some point, we need to blow off the gathering dust and either ruse the things we keep or decide that they no longer hold the value they once did and “let them go.”

In this blog I’ve used three examples of photo gear that had gathered dust, each one for different reasons. By following my own advice above, I was able to rekindle and revie interest in three very different tools for three very different reasons. Each one serves a particular purpose and fuels my creativity in different ways. They have been moved out of the dark and up in the ranks. (It could have gone in a very different direction, and that would have been okay.)

New life for the Lensbaby Omni crystal at Longwood Gardens

What’s in your closet? Maybe, if you open the door, let in some light, you will find a long-lost friend that you’d enjoy spending time with. Pick one item. Give it a chance, a fair one. Afterwards, if you feel that you no longer see value in whatever it is, maybe it’s time to part ways. However, imagine the delight you will experience if it turns out that your interest is revived and that you’ve re-discovered a new, old friend. Have fun blowing off the dust!

An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.

– William Bernbach

Columbine with the Twist 60

Ranunculus with Nikon 70-180mm

Ranunculus with the Lensbaby Omni film

The Underwood gathering dust in the thrift store