Lenses that inspire you to take photos

[Fedro]

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6 hours ago, Dennis said:

I hope this lens will inspire me a lot to take photos 😎

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c'mon, tell ..

[jaques]

There are many ways to skin a cat...

 

a few people on this thread have talked of 'the masters' and 'the tricks'. I wonder what their studies have produced? Great photography by numbers? Shame none of them have shown us the results of their emulations... there are so many guitarists busking on the streets- they can play all of Jimi Hendrix! But not one of them is a Hendrix. Xerox machines. We could all paint a stripe on our studio wall but it won't make us a Disfarmer.

 

one of my favorite photos was in my back yard- of my cat. How boring and how trite. But I really like it. It's my cat- I know her well- and the photo has captured (for me) some of her essence.  It was the lens that did it. We cannot all be HCB. Same scene, same cat- different lens- likely as dull as dishwater. A lucky accident. Having made that accident- I could apply what I learned if I was so inclined.

biotar 75/1.5:

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Who knows though? They say Van Gogh was actually a terrible painter who did learn to paint by numbers- but was too lazy to stick to the grid. Accidental genius? Now you can buy a kit and paint his paintings by the numbers. Only should you be lazy or follow the rules/tricks strictly?

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by jaques

[ianman]

39 minutes ago, jaques said:

one of my favorite photos was in my back yard- of my cat. How boring and how trite.

Your photo is neither boring nor trite. It’s a lovely photo, even for others who don’t know your cat. You saw the scene and captured it perfectly. Your choice of lens demonstrates your knowledge and ability to choose the right one. Yes, the lens has rendered the scene with its unique qualities. But was it the lens that inspired you to take a photograph of your cat? Or was it your cat?

Knowing your tools, being able to choose the right one and using them well does not take away the fact that you took this photo using a lens that you master..

[jaques]

well- what came first- the chicken or the egg?  I got out the Biotar because it inspired me, I wanted to find what it was good for- then I went out, to find a subject. The cat was there and the rest is history. Other subjects looked like crap. I find the type of thing I think it’s good for. It’s a cat lens 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by jaques

[ianman]

Obviously you are not going to buy a lens that you hate and don't see it's potential. You got to know it and found a subject that works for you and the lens. You write yourself that - for you - it's only good for cats... so it's clear that it's not so much the lens that's the inspiration, it's the cat.

[a.noctilux]

Short answer for me

...

every lens

[tiffany.watt]

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33 minutes ago, Steven said:

Why can’t some of you accept that for some us, a piece of gear can be inspiring ? Some of us like beautiful objects that can create beautiful thing. Some watches inspire to read the time, even if they all read the same time. Some cars inspire to drive, even if they all take you to the same destination, and some lenses are inspiring to shoot with, even if they all tell the same story. That’s it, end of the story.

It doesn’t mean that we don’t care about light, about composition, about story. It doesn’t make us stupider than those who don’t care about which lens they use, whatever HCB or cappuccino, and all the other great masters of the universe say. 

I read it as a compliment.

[a.noctilux]

 

7 minutes ago, Steven said:

I wish I could say the same. But a big and heavy 24-70 f2.8 lens wouldn’t inspire me at all. It would turn me off. 
 

anything longer than 50 as well. 

 

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You are right Steven,

definitely,

not one of those beauties of the past 😁

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by a.noctilux

[ianman]

3 hours ago, tiffany.watt said:

I read it as a compliment.

Yes indeed. I thought that praising the photographer's knowledge and ability, and his photo, rather than the inanimate object was a bit a of clue. But what can you do?  "Some of us" understand that, some of us don't... end of story

Edited June 5, 2021 by ianman

[ianman]

23 hours ago, pippy said:

Thanks for the replies!

I might keep half an eye open. Peter Loy had a CL / 40 Summicron pairing for sale recently for around £550 (if memory serves) but, truth be told, the lens wasn't in all that great cosmetic condition - if that matters.

Sellers on eBay however - especially those in Japan - seem to be asking crazy prices. I've just had a quick look and an example of the Summicron on its own in very good nick commands somewhere around the £600 - £700 / $850 - $990 range(!). By the time I would have to add import duties and VAT it would end up costing somewhere in the region of £950 / $1,350!!! As I say; crazy money.

I know where there's a mint one... cheaper...

PM sent

[Gobert]

3 hours ago, Steven said:

I wish I could say the same. But a big and heavy 24-70 f2.8 lens wouldn’t inspire me at all. It would turn me off. 
 

anything longer than 50 as well. 

One of the reasons I left Nikon. Those bulky zoom lenses..,

[Dennis]

10 hours ago, Fedro said:

c'mon, tell ..

Fredo, it's a 35/1.4 Nokton II MC. A friend of mine was supposed to bring it to me this month, but his plan changed. 🤷‍♂️ So I decide to buy it at BH. After a few weeks or so out of stock, I received the email alert that it was backing in stock. I bought it, now it's out of stock again. It looks like they make it possible just for me. 😜
Of course, I'm super excited about the lens; I heard many good things about it. Time will tell. 

But so far, I can assure you that (to keep it on-topic). I'm already inspired ( and with expecatives) by this lens, even without story, light, or composition 😆

[pedaes]

29 minutes ago, Dennis said:

now it's out of stock again

Did you get yours ok? Robert White has plenty https://www.robertwhite.co.uk/optics/shop-by-brand/voigtlander/voigtlander-35mm-f1-4-vm-ii-nokton-classic-mc-lens.html

[ianman]

34 minutes ago, Steven said:

In that case let's stop debating film vs digital too.

Now that is an excellent idea

Dude, you really need to lighten up a bit 

[Fedro]

34 minutes ago, Dennis said:

Fredo, it's a 35/1.4 Nokton II MC. A friend of mine was supposed to bring it to me this month, but his plan changed. 🤷‍♂️ So I decide to buy it at BH. After a few weeks or so out of stock, I received the email alert that it was backing in stock. I bought it, now it's out of stock again. It looks like they make it possible just for me. 😜
Of course, I'm super excited about the lens; I heard many good things about it. Time will tell. 

But so far, I can assure you that (to keep it on-topic). I'm already inspired ( and with expecatives) by this lens, even without story, light, or composition 😆

nice, congratulations and look forward to seeing some photos!

Fedro

[Dennis]

Just now, Fedro said:

nice, congratulations and look forward to seeing some photos!

Fedro

Thank you. For sure, you can count on this.

4 minutes ago, pedaes said:

Did you get yours ok? Robert White has plenty https://www.robertwhite.co.uk/optics/shop-by-brand/voigtlander/voigtlander-35mm-f1-4-vm-ii-nokton-classic-mc-lens.html

Thank you! I already bought it. A week and it will arrive ( I guess). Crossed fingers.

[Dennis]

And by the way. There is not an official open-thread about he CV 35/1.4 Nokton II MC ... Someone who knows well how to start such an important thread, especially w/ such unique lens. "A lens that inspire us to take photos" . Many people here have one.

I'm just suggesting 🙂  

[pippy]

7 hours ago, Steven said:

...The OP asked which lens inspires us to shoot.........Let’s focus on the topic. 

Three times this afternoon I've tried to address the question posed in the thread title and each time I've written screeds of stuff only to delete it all as 'not comprehensive enough as an answer' so have decided that, for me and the way I shoot, I cannot answer the OP.

Essentially, though, I feel there is usually a mix of three aspects to the picture making process. Inspiration which comes from within; Inspiration which comes from the subject matter and Inspiration which can come from the choice of equipment being used.

That's as precise as I can be when explaining my experience when snapping.

The first two aspects are 'a given', of course, but I do also completely understand Steven's passion for using truly wonderful pieces of kit and the pleasure which one receives from the experience and, furthermore, note that 'truly wonderful' does not neccessarily translate as 'expensive'.

Philip.

Edited June 5, 2021 by pippy

[pgk]

12 minutes ago, pippy said:

Inspiration which comes from within; Inspiration which comes from the subject matter and Inspiration which can come from the choice of equipment being used.

My feeling is that if I am interested in my subject matter it helps. This probably links one and two. The choosing the right equipment to produce the image I want helps. But its secondary and has to be for me. I work better with equipment which suits my way of working. I also work best using tools (camera and lenses best suited to the subject matter and lighting). But the whole interaction of all is what produces a final image. I enjoy using lenses, am interested in the way they work and produce images, but am not inspred by equipment. It remains a means to an end.

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[ianman]

3 minutes ago, pgk said:

My feeling is that if I am interested in my subject matter it helps. This probably links one and two. The choosing the right equipment to produce the image I want helps. But its secondary and has to be for me. I work better with equipment which suits my way of working. I also work best using tools (camera and lenses best suited to the subject matter and lighting). But the whole interaction of all is what produces a final image. I enjoy using lenses, am interested in the way they work and produce images, but am not inspred by equipment. It remains a means to an end.

I very often agree with you but you always express things better than I can ever do 

Maybe I should have written that of course there is pleasure in using great gear. I seriously enjoy making images with my old Thambar and Summar, but that was not the question.