[2025-12-23] Christmas Photoshoot by Angel Bunaoski

Finally got to use the Lensbabies again for a proper photoshoot, but this was also the last time for The Scout. Fortunately, the Sweet 35 optic that it contained was still okay, but I'll now have to swap optics instead of simply switching between The Scout and Composer Pro II since Lensbaby no longer sells the former.

Diwata

Having enjoyed only 6 hours of sleep from Friday and none at all the night before the event, I had second thoughts about joining the shoot last Sunday. Once I pulled the camera out of the bag though, there wasn't any room left in my mind for fatigue.

It could have been worse

This was probably the most eventful shoot I've had to date. Incidentally, this was also the first shoot wherein I went all out with 3 lenses (standard zoom, fisheye, and a Lensbaby) and the flash + Rogue flashbender combo.

Sunshine raining on our parade

Given the weather for the past week and the name of the photography group ("Tropang HABAGAT", lit. "monsoon group"), I was actually hoping for the rare opportunity to shoot some portraits in the rain. What we got instead was an overcast sky followed by a blast of sunshine later in the afternoon.

The best-laid plans of mice and men...

Smile Service: Openshoot for a Cause

This photoshoot marked my first use of the Nissin 866 Mark II for portraits. By then, I had already recognized the tremendous potential of using external flash, but this event also reminded me of how limited my current knowledge is.

Fashion Funshoot (2012-09-30)

Carrying several pounds worth of equipment on the right shoulder for 6 hours was tiring and painful.

Using a Lensbaby for most of the shoot was fucking inconvenient.

Identifying all the people involved was time-consuming.

Another round, please.

Ride the Lightning

Just spent the past hour staring out the window.

Ate Judith's wedding

So...

After months of preparation, sleepless nights, and emptying of pockets for everybody involved; my sister finally got married last weekend.

The Walking Man (volume 2)

In contrast to my previous solo photowalk which involved a single zoom lens (the EF-S 18-135mm), this collection was taken using only prime lenses (specifically, the cheapshit EF 50mm f/1.8 and the Lensbaby fisheye with the f/8 aperture).

Also, these were taken over several days instead of in a single session.

Although I also had the Lensbaby Sweet 35 in the bag, I had not encountered any subject recently which really begged to be taken with a selective focus lens. That piece of glass has rather limited use outside of portraiture.

Incidentally, I need to do a thorough check of the camera after this batch of photographs. Frequent switching of lenses is a recipe for stubborn dust on the sensor.

Black Hole Sun

"Black hole sun,

Won't you come

And wash away the rain?"

Second attempt at time lapse.

The past 24 hours has had a couple in interesting phenomena, both meteorological and astronomical. Sun showers, dark halos surrounding clouds, and, just this morning, a setting moon coinciding with a rising sun. Also the first time in weeks that I've seen several hours of clear sky. It really does give one the impression of a restless sky father messing around with the heavens.

How shallow can you get? — Messing around with lenses

Just before midnight, I took a look at my bed and tried to figure out whether I should blame entropy or Murphy's Law for the current state it was in. It then struck me that this mess was suitable for demonstrating several properties of camera lenses.

So I upped the geekiness in the room by a notch and brought a few figurines out of their boxes to experiment with varying focal lengths, levels of magnification, and degrees boke.

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

18mm, f/3.5

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

48mm, f/4.5

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

135mm, f/5.6

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8

50mm, f/1.8

(1) 
Although prime lenses are nowhere near as convenient as zoom lenses when it comes to framing subjects, they're still irreplaceable when it comes to capturing boke. Having a larger maximum aperture means that a shallower depth of field is possible, allowing better isolation of subjects in the photograph by blurring out unnecessary/distracting details in the background or immediate foreground. Here, the lowly EF 50mm f/1.8 easily outperforms the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 which was set to 48mm.

For those who insist on using zoom lenses with relatively smaller maximum apertures, the only option available for forcing boke of noticeable quality would be to back away from the subject and using the longer telephoto end of the lens. As demonstrated by the first 3 photos, the background gets blurrier as the focal length of the lens is increased from 18mm to 135mm.

Lensbaby Sweet 35 optic on the Composer Pro

35mm, f/2.5

Lensbaby Sweet 35 optic on the Composer Pro

35mm, f/8

Lensbaby Sweet 35 optic on the Composer Pro

35mm, f/22

(1.1)
Conversely, switching to a smaller aperture (ex. from f/2.5 to f/22) will result in having more objects in focus.

Here, even the Lensbaby, which is specialized for producing blur, can have sharp details in the background and immediate foreground if the smallest aperture is used.

Lensbaby Fisheye optic on the Muse

12mm, f/4

Lensbaby Fisheye optic on the Muse

12mm, f/8

Lensbaby Fisheye optic on the Muse

12mm, f/22

(1.2)

Switching to a wide angle lens such as the fisheye makes capturing boke difficult, if not impossible. This can be a blessing for casual camera users who have no intention of dealing with the complications of focusing.

Lensbaby Fisheye optic on the Muse

12mm, f/4, minimum focusing distance

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 on reversing ring

50mm, f/1.8

(1.1) explains the inherent limitations of using a reversing ring. Although it is, hands down, the cheapest option for macro photography, most of the cheap setups do not allow manual or automatic adjustment of the aperture. As such, cheapskates such as myself are stuck at maximum aperture of the lens (f/5.6 in this case), and the resulting depth of field is razor thin. Simply put, moving the subject by a few millimeters is enough to throw it out of focus.

Besides the closer minimum focusing distance, another feature that sets dedicated macro lenses from other lenses is the minimum aperture size. Whereas most lenses could be stepped down to f/22, macro lenses could go all the way up to f/64. This means that more of the subject could be kept in focus even at the closest focusing distance.

Lensbaby practice (Eastwood Mall, 2012/01/24)

Took my Lensbaby Sweet 35 (who the hell comes up with these girly names?) for some practice at Eastwood Mall, a day after Chinese New Year.






Using full resolution for this particular lens is downright pointless since this piece of equipment was never intended for image sharpness anyway.

Again, the challenge of manual focusing became evident here.

Their pose was significantly better a few seconds ago, but the poor focus left the resulting image unusable.

The Lensbaby effect, while interesting, is like spice or sugarcoating: stick to it for too long and it gets sickening after a while. Use in moderation.