First back at the farm

My summer break from Ouseburn Farm started a few weeks early this year so I’ve been away a lot longer than usual and to say I’ve missed visiting there would be an understatement. I’ve been keen to try out that lens with the reversed elements so I arrived early and had a look round the garden.

The swirly patterns and distortion in the bokeh* really show up in this photo. Remember, this isn’t a special filter or photoshop, this effect is created in camera.

*Bokeh refers to the out of focus areas of the image.

The glow on the subject and swirly bokeh creates an ethereal effect.

Another example of the effects created.

I tried my luck with a chicken

and a duck.

Moving subjects are difficult as this is a vintage manual focus lens.

We were creating some cyanotype images in the session today. We went for a walk to find some materials to use.

The Bentley Flying B mascot on the bonnet of a vintage car. The distortion from the lens and shallow depth of field means you can’t really see the two Rolls Royce in the background.

Using some of the leaves collected we exposed some images under a UV light.

The images were rinsed in sink to remove the chemicals and stop the developing process.

Here’s a few of the images created by the group.

First session back at the farm and we produced some great cyanotype images where the placements got hands on with a technique that was invented in 1842, long before mobile phones and even pre-dating the Kodak, the first successful hand held camera that was launched in 1888.