Expanding My Perspective

Carol Vipperman
Oct 8, 2017
2 min read

As most of you have probably noticed, I love using my Lensbaby lenses to take photos of flowers, and I have been worrying that I will have to put them away soon. Then something wonderful happened! Lensbaby started a closed Facebook group called Lensbaby Unplugged, and I was invited to join!

Over 1,000 people from all over the world post their photos, ask questions, and give useful feedback. I love seeing how others use their Lensbaby lenses to capture interesting photos of landscapes, people, and other subjects in addition to flowers. That inspired me to go out and see what I could capture.

I took the above image with my Velvet 85 lens. I like the front focus mixed with the background blur. The one below was also taken with the same lens through a restaurant window.

Since most of my walking is in my neighborhood, I look for shots of everyday things that I like. Lola, our neighborhood dog, is always a good subject. I took this image with my Lensbaby Sweet 50 lens.

I experimented taking a few landscape shots. The morning sky was quite dramatic, which was captured nicely with my Velvet 85 lens.

The sun did come out and I was drawn to this golden light and shadows.

There is one house that I pass that has a number of statues that I love to capture. I took this image with my Velvet 85 at f2.8, which gave it a dreamier look.

And as I made my way around the hill, I captured a couple of other neighborhood scenes using the same wide-open aperture. I think they worked.

Trying out new subjects, lenses, and ideas helps expand our view of the world. The members of the Lensbaby Unplugged Facebook page have helped me to get out and experiment. I now feel less concerned about the flowers disappearing because I know I can use my creative lenses in different ways, but I will always look for that flower to capture. I just can't help myself.

I love to hear from you, so comment below, post on our Facebook page or send me an email. Grab your camera, a different lens, and go out and experiment!