Bokeh 2

Here's one more from the Italian Garden that shows the slightly "swirly" kind of bokeh that is characteristic of the Helios 58mm lens.

Bokeh

I mentioned in a previous post the term "bokeh". For the non-photographers among visitors to this site, "bokeh" refers to the out-of-focus areas in a photograph, the blurry areas. I like nice crisp images but lately I've begun to appreciate the blurry parts of the photo as well. Different lenses produce different kinds of blur, some more pleasing than others. One of the reasons I like this Helios lens I've been using lately is because of the bokeh it produces. In today's photo I've thrown caution to the winds and used bokeh to more accurately express the experience of a hot summer afternoon in the Italian Garden at Hatley Castle, the way one is thrust into an overpowering profusion of shapes and colors. Wikipedia has a good article on bokeh HERE.

Hatley Park Italian Garden Flowers 2

Here's a few more blossoms from the Hatley Castle National Historical Site Italian Garden. For those who are interested in the technical side of things, all yesterday's and today's flower shots were taken with the Russian Helios 58mm lens I mentioned a few days ago. It continues to impress me with its sharpness and interesting bokeh.

Backyard Jungle

I've been experimenting with old lenses this week - today's photo and yesterday's were taken with a lens that is about 60 or 70 years old and proudly proclaims itself as "Made in USSR". It's a Helios 58mm lens I bought in a thrift store for $10 and I'm thinking it's probably the sharpest lens I own.

Helios -44-2 58mm f2 Lens

We're having very blustery, changeable weather lately. Victoria has a weather pattern of cloudy/rainy mornings followed by clear, sunny afternoons and lately we've seen some ramped up versions of this with very cloudy stormy mornings followed by brilliantly clear windy afternoons. I took advantage of this weather yesterday afternoon to try out a little lens I got some time ago, a Helios 58mm f2 screw mount lens about 50 years old. This is a Russian made lens, all manual. I am impressed at this $10 item. The photo above has got lovely color a is very sharp - the 100% crop below will give you some idea of how sharp this lens is. It also has a beautiful and unusual bokeh I'll show you next week.