The Traveling Lensbaby Project

Hello Storyteller is excited to continue with our next installment of the Traveling Lensbaby Project! We have several Lensbabies circulating around the globe. Our Hello Creatives are excited to use these lenses and share their unique art with our community. Our next submission is from the incredible Alyssa Ahearn with the Lensbaby Sol 45!

“I have never used a Lensbaby before so this was such a fun project to join and be a part of. I’m truly grateful for this opportunity! I had such a blast with the Lensbaby Sol 45, I didn’t want to give it to the next person (oops, my bad, I kept it for soooo long!) which is why you’ll see some Christmas images mixed with Spring like images.

 

 

One thing I loved about the lensbaby is that, although getting things in focus was a challenge and a learning curve, I felt like it was forgiving. I didn’t have to get it perfectly in focus. In fact, it just added to the story if the slice of focus was slim. In the early years of my photography, I used to freelens. And it was very hard. I never felt like I got what I wanted in focus (I’m Nikon so it’s definitely a challenge!). But with lensbaby, I didn’t feel like it was as much of a challenge. And I ended up walking away with images that I loved 90% of the time. Whereas with freelensing, it was about 15% of the time. I love that I can get a fun, blur effect without the risk of damaging my camera as well (kudos to you freelensers out there, I really look up to you! You are amazing!). All in all, having this lensbaby handy has really been what I needed artistically. I felt like my work wasn’t going anywhere. This little lens brought creativity back into my work.

 

 

I mostly take images of my kids, but before them I loved to dabble in macro/nature photography (and I still do). This lens was perfect for taking pictures of everyday life moments along with taking images out in nature. I was able to take this image with me to the Phoenix Botanical Gardens and had a lot of fun playing with it there. I felt myself grabbing for it quite often while taking images in nature. The bokeh effect with lights in the background was amazing. You’ll see in a few of my images. It truly creates something magical with bokeh. I also really enjoyed using it for some self portraits!

 

Want to Learn More About Shooting with Lensbaby? Check out our Language of Lensbaby course!

I would say my best advice for learning this lens is take it slow. It is a learning curve. Practice on a subject that will sit still. I practiced a lot on my daughter when she was sleeping. I also opened up live view to see how it affected my image and what part was blurry. It was easier to see on live view. I also found that, while having good light is important for all photography, it’s extremely important with a lensbaby. I am always drawn to lowlight places and images and it was quite the challenge since the aperture is fixed at f/3.5. However, that being said, I was still able to achieve the look I wanted in dark places. Just keep in mind when you’re first starting it, it might be better to play with it in light you are comfortable in, and preferably, where there is plenty of light.”