Outdoor Portraits | Experiments in Freelensing | Vancouver Portrait Photographer

It was the first really beautiful weekend here in the Vancouver, and it was also a long weekend. When I have the opportunity to operate at a similar pace to the rest of the 9-5 world, I seem to go with that flow. I don't leave my desk very often (it's creepy, don't judge me) if I'm not out working or running errands, but I knew that it would be unhealthy for me if I didn't get out of my house on such a nice day! These long weekends as of late I've been able to take time off from my regular work to do some experimenting.

I've been interested in tilt-shift lenses for a while but I can't quite seem to justify the expense. Maybe one day, or perhaps I'll rent one to test it out and decide. I can (and did!) however try something called "freelensing" which produces a similar-ish result. Literally, you hold a detached lens up to the body of the camera where you would normally mount the lens, set the focal length to infinity (most of the time unless your subject is quite close), and try your best to shoot something that looks awesome but has the parts you want in focus! 

The first few shots in this series I used my Canon 70-200mm (recently replaced after the theft, oh how wonderful it is to have back!) on my camera body, but the rest I "freelensed" using a vintage Yashica manual focus 50mm 2.0. Of course, I like to approach these things with zero expectations and a curiosity and lightheartedness about it all. Who wants to be disappointed? But I like that everything turned out a bit abstract and fuzzy - almost dream-like. Most of the work I do is inspired by fantasy and daydreams, so naturally I was positively amused by the results!

I should really get out and play more!