Neosymbolism 199 Chapter 14 Selective Focus One of the ways to pull your photographs out of the ordinary is to adjust the focus over the image so that only some areas are in focus, and others are blurred. This can be done in Photoshop or Elements, and there are lenses you can purchase that provide a lot of focus flexibility. The most well-known of these lenses are the Lensbabies (). A number of them are shown in Figure . Figure This is the lineup of Lenbabies. From left to right, middle row (front row is lens caps): Original, Lensbaby , Lensbaby 3G; back row: macro lenses, telephoto, and wide-angle add on lenses. The funny shaped objects with the round gray film canister lids next to the Lensbabies are the tools and holders for the aper- ture disks for each of the Lenbabies. 202 Alternative Digital Photography The differences between a normal photograph and a Lensbaby photograph are shown in Figures and . Both images are straight from the camera without any adjustment. The Lensbaby photograph is using the Lensbaby Original. It produces a softer, dreamier look, similar to what you might get with a Holga or pinhole camera, than either the Lensbaby or 3G. The Original uses a single-element uncoated glass lens. That is why you will get some flare (diffusion in the highlights) when using it. That is part of its charm. The and 3G models both use coated glass doublet lenses. This means that they are both sharper and faster than the Original. All of the Lensbabies use aperture disks that are inserted to use different f-stops. The and 3G start at , and the Original starts at , one full stop slower. Both the Original and focus by pressing in or pulling on the flexible lens housing. The 3G is similar to the except that the three knobs lock the lens in its bent posi- tion. This is a great feature if you are working on a tripod photographing still lifes. It allows you to adjust thing
