"Sharpness is a bourgeois concept"

Beach combers in the wind​
DSCF0280.jpg

Fujifilm X-T2, Fujinon XF 16-80mm f4 lens
Astia film simulation
August 2023 - Miura Peninsula, Japan
Image is lower resolution than original​
 
Street;
Colorado Bl,

the Hidden vendor

Pasadena, Los Angeles County, USA

Img taken by Taipei-metro

Panasonic G6,
Olympus OM 50mm F1.8 a fullFrame Lens made in Japan
lower Res to fit RFf
 
Erik van Straten said:
This one seems to be more "close up" than 1m. My version of this lens (the black collapsible) focuses only to 1m.

Erik.
Click to expand...

Erik, I have a much better answer for you this time.

Today while I was waiting for the train your question and my somewhat lame response was nagging at me, then it popped into my head; I was using a Voigtländer VM-E Close Focus Adapter to mount the HELIAR 50mm f2 to my Sony A7II. That significantly changes the minimum focus distance.

HELIAR 50mm f2 without the VM-E Close Focus Adapter ∞～100cm
HELIAR 50mm f2 with the VM-E Close Focus Adapter ∞～47.7cm

So, there you have it, a perfectly good answer to your question.

Sorry it took me a while to put the pieces of the puzzle together for you.

All the best,
Mike
 
I have posted this on RFF in another thread already. I cannot say by any means that this is sharp - and it is my fault, I fear, I missed focus. But that is the luck of the draw when shooting with vintage lenses on a digital camera and there is no time to confirm focus. Never the less I like the shadows and tones in the shot and in particular the way light and shadow model the subject's face. Sympathetic lighting can make up for a multitude of sins particularly with portraits (and environmental portraits like this one) where too much sharpness and be a deficit.

Back of House by Life in Shadows, on Flickr
 
Photographing someone who is walking rapidly towards you when you are using a vintage lens is a hard "ask". Especially with a longer lens, and more especially when shooting wide open - which I too often do (its a failing of mine). In this photo I paid the price for my failure with a blurry main subject, though other than this I liked the composition, colors and details. So, I decided to go with the inevitable and instead of fruitlessly trying to sharpen the subject, I thought I might explore making the whole image even more blurry and infused with grain, so the photo becomes even more impressionistic and painterly. I am moderately happy with the result, especially knowing that the result would have otherwise meant "binning" it.

PS Is anyone other than me also minded of a certain horror movie.............(Look at the shadowy figure bearing a briefcase in the background to the left of centre). https://shorturl.at/fmqwB

Impressions of the Street by Life in Shadows, on Flickr
 
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peterm1 said:
Photographing someone who is walking rapidly towards you when you are using a vintage lens is a hard "ask". Especially with a longer lens, and more especially when shooting wide open - which I too often do (its a failing of mine). In this photo I paid the price for my failure with a blurry main subject, though other than this I liked the composition, colors and details. So, I decided to go with the inevitable and instead of fruitlessly trying to sharpen the subject, I thought I might explore making the whole image even more blurry and infused with grain, so the photo becomes even more impressionistic and painterly. I am moderately happy with the result, especially knowing that the result would have otherwise meant "binning" it.

PS Is anyone other than me also minded of a certain horror movie.............(Look at the shadowy figure bearing a briefcase in the background to the left of centre). https://shorturl.at/fmqwB

Impressions of the Street by Life in Shadows, on Flickr
Click to expand...
Well, it's an interesting backstory, but unnecessary! The image is superb on its own, and works because of the blur, not in spite of it. Well done!
 
I am a world class expert at making unsharp photos. (Nine times out of ten it is inadvertent and not intentional though :D :D )

This I think is one such inadvertent unsharp image. But I liked the subject's face and decided that is might look good if reworked into something similar to a photo made by the Pictorialism movement photographers of the early 20th Century. Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. :LOL:

New "old" Portrait by Life in Shadows, on Flickr
 
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