Experimental Lens

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About Experimental Lens

This is a forum for the discussion and sharing of photos taken using "experimental lenses," that have the following qualities:
1) Using any sort of secondary lens - plastic, glass, water, ice (yes, you can make a lens with ice) that is held in front of or attached to a regular camera lens, and has magnified or distorted the image in a significant way;
2) Photoshop and other post-processing should be kept to a minimum, i.e. contrast, white balance = fine... But, the selective focus and/or distortions, light flares, etc. shouldn't be "created." This group is about making it happen through a spontaneous creative process, not simply post-processing an effect.
3) A commercial "selective focus" lens has not been used, i.e. "Lensbaby," or a "tilt-shift" lens. Exception:Using an extra commercial lens inverted / held in front of your camera lens. For example, holding an inverted 50mm lens up to an 18-55mm, experimenting with the extra magnification.
4) If you're interested in sharing pinhole aperture photos here, don't. There are all sorts of groups for that (search "pinhole" under Groups).

The more home-made and experimental, the better. This is a group to share ideas, discuss techniques, and have fun with images that revel in the joy of "accidental beauty" found in experimenting, not simply creating selective depth of focus with a commercial lens (or photoshopping the effect).