It was about eighteen months after purchasing my first mirrorless camera roughly six years ago, I read an article about the possibility of using lenses from SLR cameras with an adaptor, I was intrigued to say the least, another chapter in my photography journey was to begin.
Typically of anyone into photography, my collection of old glass grew quite quickly, a range of 50mm lenses from 1.4 to 2.8 some other wider primes and a couple of zoom lenses, all bought at reasonable prices online, or the odd charity shop.
Many of my original purchases have since been sold again or passed on to friends, the few that remain are favourites that are about to experience a new lease of life in 2020
Today’s choice was a Prakticar 80-200mm F4.0 – 5.6 lens, not the fastest lens ever but the early part of the day was offering bright sunshine, ideal for capturing any squirrels or bird life that I might see on today’s quick outing.
After a patient wait, I see my first subject matter, my lack of practice with a zoom lens shows in my first few shots, blurry and not in focus, also trying to remember lenses as old as this one are inherently softer at the upper reach of the zoom.
After adding a few more nuts to the already healthy squirrel picnic, one seems happy enough with my presence to carry on eating his fill.
From here, the River Exe is just a five minute walk, the ever present gulls line the railings by the river bank, I get as close as I dare to try a few more shots.
Just a few minutes after the gull shots, the heavens decide to open and I take shelter under one of the bridges spanning the river, it would appear that I could be here for a while, the rain is getting heavier but I am dry here, so I look for more photo opportunities, what can I get with my zoom?
From my shelter, I spot the water teeming from the bridge, might look good in black and white?
A single leaf from a bush at the far extreme of my shelter…snap
I watch the pigeons and gulls at the edge of the pathway, unfazed by the teeming rain they continue their day.
I am not expecting today’s images to have the sharpness of my Fuji glass, yet they have a character of their own that I really like, especially in the monochrome images.
It is so easy to become distracted with the need for sharpness, sometimes it is the imperfections that make us look in a different way.
Perfect or not, I have had another enjoyable few hours out, doing what I enjoy most.
Andy's Photography blog 