Focus, focus, hocus pocus?

I have Little Richard doing some yard work. He can't get onto the porch, but he can crop the longer grass near the porch. Since he wasn't doing well on hay, I decided to move him around the yard spaces to crop up the long bits of grass growing up.

He is doing a pretty good job too.
[Photo taken in the late afternoon when it got sunny!]

During the morning sprinkles of rain yesterday, I headed out to the creek to check on a few things. I was pleased to see that the Ramps are poking up through the debris on the ground.

Each year, I only dig a few up in two different places on our land as they take so long to regenerate if you dig up most of the patch.

I like a challenge. So I decided to try and work with my Lensbaby lens. Everything has to be done in manual. Manual focus, manual ISO [unless you use Auto which some Lensbaby folks say works well]. It is frustrating because it looks in focus but...dang it, it isn't always in focus.

There is something called focus peaking in most modern cameras that can assist with that. But by golly I hadn't figured out exactly how to do that with this lens yet. Of course, here I was in the light rain sitting on rocks, trying to get a manual focus. It isn't easy when you are crouched down on wet rocks in dull light....but....

I missed slightly but still love how the photo turned out.

This is Hammie in the Hamster costume holding a fallen bud from a maple tree. He is overjoyed that spring may actually show up! I was pleased with the Lensbaby effect and that I got pretty close on the focus.

My other 'story' shots turned out miserably.

So before I left, I stopped and did one last try at the mossy log. It worked, I lucked out and got what I wanted in focus! 

I almost never climb over this log without stopping to see if the moss has something new to offer.

When I got back home, the rain turned to snow so after fixing Rich something to eat I started an internet search on how to get focus peaking on a vintage lens that doesn't communicate with the camera. Specifically for the camera I had. 

My Olympus E-M5 iii is my super lightweight camera that I take out on most hikes. I've never had a lens that didn't communicate with the camera before so this was a first for me.

The continual search eventually paid off. Olympus now OM is notorious for having sub-menus hidden in the menus. I fiddled with this and that while watching and stopping a video on this subject.

Eventually I landed on the solution! So I tossed on my coveralls and stocking cap.

I got down on the ground to look at my sad little crocus plants. They've been beaten on by snow, ice, and heavy rain. This was their last gasp.

But the daffodils near the house are getting ready to open their buds so I can go enjoy them in a few days.

I couldn't help but try a few more shots with focus peaking. The one below doesn't have any real importance, it was just a test shot. But the figures are in focus with an f stop of 11. The Sweet 50 allows one to change their f stop whereas the Sol 22 only shoots at f 3.5.

I swapped to the Sol 22 when I got indoors and thought I'd try a shot of Charlie [who is back to himself after his vaccinations 🙌].

I was really pleased with this. Now I can shoot...hopefully, with a bit more accuracy.

However ....

My vote for the day was the Hammie photo. That little figure's expression and happiness is infectious. Even in a drizzly, cold, day, I was able to make myself smile. That shot reminds me of Happiness....

Sometimes you can find it for just a moment anywhere if you look hard enough.

I also found a great use for the Sol 22. 

Portraits! Here is hubby looking out the window deep in thought? No not really, just watching not worrying, not thinking, just...being. Even though he has a nasal cannula on, I think this is a great little portrait of him.

Today is another day. More digging and transplanting is on the schedule after CrossFit. Maybe a quick walk into the forest to look for something interesting.

After all, I have some adventures in mind for my surprise minifigs for celebrating spring.

It looks like midweek will be rainy. I love rainy days too. How about you?

Like it or hate it...I'm having a blast.

I'm not very good at making my figures fly through the air but I thought I'd try a leap.

The easiest way to do this, is put a small piece of wire up their bum and position it so it isn't too obvious. Then take it out in post process. You can actually see it a bit in the upper shot, but it looks so close to the grass I decided just to get rid of the obvious bit.

I am however one of those that are always curious no matter what. I recently got a great deal on something called a Lensbaby. This is considered an 'Art' Lens. These lenses have always fascinated me and I've always wanted to try one. I went with a used Sol 22. It is tiny and it can be a real pain or really cool.

It is a manual focus lens with only an f3.5 aperture. In short, it demands your attention when using it. Many photographers don't see the point of this kind of lens and then there are those who absolutely are wild fans of them. Many say ... well I can just do this post process!

But what it you don't have to do any fancy work? What if it is enough to challenge yourself and try something out of the norm?

All I did here was crop the photo just a bit. The orangish color is from the Ulanzi lights I used to help set the mood to a color to highlight the feeling of rusty junk behind Wall-E and Eve.

I picked these 2 up at a Dollar Store over a year ago and couldn't for the life of me figure out what I wanted to do with them until I felt like experimenting with the Sol 22.

The lens let me make Wall-E the focus of the subject matter with his sad looking face. Eve is obviously there and comforting Wall-E. She is part of the 'story' yet not the main focus.  Anyway, that is how I see it.

This next shot is of Donder. He is a Luggan and I really am not sure what his back story, but he comes labeled as a Luggan from 'Acid Rain'. Apparently in the future, the world as we know it is washed away and destroyed by Acid Rain. There are a lot of figures created around this story.  Donder was interesting and bizarre enough to catch my attention.

In my story... Donder hooks up with the MiniBots to create or find a way to get out of horrors of the world that has gone nuts. 
He and the MiniBots find worm holes and rips in time to transport themselves and anyone else who is willing to pay to leave.

Of course worm holes and rips in time aren't things you can predict....but Donder doesn't really care.

I thought I'd use the Sol 22 with Donder and try something out of this world for lighting. The Lensbaby would focus on Donder and the rest would ... well you can see...

I had a crazy idea of using bubble wrap with mini lights taped to it as a background.

The result was so amazing, that I had to use it in a few more scenarios.

Here is my favorite shot of the experiment.

I used side lights of a yellowish glow to highlight Ailie.

Ailie and Rabbit at the Worm Hole... [not shot with the Lensbaby lens]

One thing led to another and now I'm taking this mini lens with me to figure it out. Manual focus can be hard as well as composing with this lens. In fact there are a LOT of times I wouldn't use it, but it is great for slowing down my thinking process and making me more aware of compositions while using it.

Last but not least. A landscape shot with it.

I didn't like it at first. But it does give me a feeling of huge expanse of the ridge I visit often.

I am embracing this new challenge. Quite fun.