Twilight in Greenwhich
It was a rather murky twilight moment in Greenwich. That’s all.
Looks rather normal picture was taken by so-called Fun Lens. Fuzzy images were taken by the Gaudy Lens, and if it was very fuzzy, they were done by the Mag Lens —– but I don’t think you ever bother to know. 😀
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Autumn Color
Those photos were taken by a single glass homemade lens, called Gaudy Lens on Sony A7R Camera —– you may wonder why needed to use High spec’ camera = the matter was not the spec’ but its small size. 😀
This last photo was by the Mag’ Lens, not by Gaudy Lens —– any way looks the same = doesn’t matter. As those both lenses got a lots of halation, picture never looks sharp. Yes that’s what I wanted. = I just wanted atmosphere, or Impression. In that requirment, those lenses are doing good job. 😀
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Oxford Street (and Selfridge) Xmas shot
Those photos were taken by the lenses, homemade Mag Lens or Halina wide Lens though, few of them were by the Gaudy Lens on the Tilting Bellows with Sony A7R.
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Sow Bread (Cyclamen) — (Secondly Photo)
(Top photo was in fact a screen shot of the second photo. — Second =
original photo was taken by a homemade Mag Lens and the
screen shot was done by even fuzzier Gaudy Lens) 😀
Sow Bread (Cyclamen) was introduced to the Japan about 150
years ago. Botanist then, Saburo Okubo named it as a direct
translation of the English name Saw Bread to Buta-no-Manju !
(How beautiful ! ! !)
Most of us think, Cyclamen as a potted flower associated with
Christmas. — As a matter of fact, they are the best-selling plant
in the winter. So that, to find its flowers in a shady ground of a
public park was a rather surprise to me. (I have no knowledge or
a proper reference book to distinguish whether this one was a
wild one or just humble but a tough type for an outside garden.)
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Biggest selling plant mean, it has a very competitive big market
= how to attract the customer, so to find a good sale’s point is a
serious business. So that, adding a nice smell to the normally
smell-less Cyclamen having a fierce battle. —– On the end a
Japanese scientist has succeeded to develop a nice smelled
variety by manipulating / tampering its chromosome. =
Made a cross bleed between C.persicum (2n=48) and the
C.pupurascens (2n=34) with scent, to (2n=41) then by the
use of Colchicine alkaloid from Saffron, made it to (2n=82).
(And further process by exposing to Ion-beam to change its
DNA to create nice color with nice smell.)
The whole process sound very complicated and awful.
Somebody, a kind of “Activists” may start a fuss, still others may
say it was not actually tampered the Gene but only the change of its
container (Chromosome) which technique has been used to creates
many Seedless fruits such as the seedless grape, water melon etc.
(When the number of chromosome set was changed to x2, x3 …
such irregularity obstructs the normal development of the seeds
= hence seedless fruits.)
Although, the plant can produce the fruits, its plant was fertile =
even a cross-pollination couldn’t produce next generation = no
possibility of its spread of an abnormality = safe to the Nature.
—– ? is it ?
(As a matter of the fact, our Nature has been bombarded by the
cosmic ray, nuclear particles etc. which is causing the damage /
change of the Gene.
(Which may have contributed to the evolution of many species.)
—– Even on the worst analogy, an Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima,
must be caused millions of genetic mutations if not just burnt to
the death, didn’t create a single Super cockroach nor Giant man.
Genetic mutation might cause the abnormal development or
abnormal growth of the cell or organ (which was called Cancer)
if not die straight, but to have a chance to create any distinctive
new feature to the species is a rare rare occurrence.
To see what is natural and which is not, or how far we can go is a
very difficult question (unlike Activists are shouting) = may be
our useless ideological imagination (and a want of nice smell) is
creating more trouble. 😀
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Southbank by Gaudy Lens (2)
Previous post was about the people, here the landscape. 😀
You might say “Those people in the picture, aren’t they the people ?”
“Are they ?
I thought, they were the well made stones. Just happen to be there.”
Survive well in such heat wave.
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Southbank by Gaudy Lens (1)
Yesterday I went to the Southbank to see my friend and took those
pictures too. Sun was baking hot and the air was steaming.
(You might thought, the lens used was yet another pinhole though,
wrong — it was the Gaudy Lens = as I chase the same fuzzy effect,
the image may look the same kind though, the fuzziness of this image
was created by the aberration of the single grass.
Not only the aberration, the hallation on the untreated lens surface
was very strong. But, that’s what I wanted.
(If you want clear picture use your Phone camera please.)
And for this kind of subjects, was sharp details necessary ?
I don’t think so.
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It’s the Gaudy Lens
I developped 10s of devices/lenses to obtain painting like fuzzy effect
— and so far this gaudy lens seemed to be the best device for the job.
No filter or attachment available on the market nor digital
manipuration can make the same effect.
(simplly nobody else needed => no manifacturer wanted to make)
So, I’m enjoying a dance alone in the middle of nowhere. 😀
The best things of this gaudy lens is, its balance of fuzzyness
and the ability to retain a certain details of the image.
(In fact, I can controle it by the size of paper hole/iris and
the amount of over-exposure/halation = so, it is not
like a wild animal of DD-Pinhole) Ha ha ha 😀
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Lens (?) Comparison
Photo above was the picture taken by the “Twisted Lens”

Gaudy Lens
The same flower meadow was taken by the “Gaudy Lens”
for the comparison of Fuzzy effect.

2 Element Toy Lens
Effect looks very similar to Gaudy Lens though, this
is a lens originated from a Toy camera + added
concave lens on front (= effectively a Retrofocus structure)
— advantage of this lens is its omuni-focus design.

Double Density Pinhole
And this one was taken by the Double Density Pinhole.

Mono-Pinhole
But this one was by the simple Mono-Pinhole.

Tri-Pinholes
Then, how about Tri-Pinhole ! 🙂

Double Density Pinhole
Different angles by the DD-Pinhole.

Double Density Pinhole
This photo showes the flowers in the green, between the houses.
= nothing special.
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Cherry by Soft Lenses
The photos here were taken from the same Cherry tree as
the previous post. (As they are not plain 5 petals flower,
this is not Somei-yoshino)
The softness (? Blur) on the previous post were created by
the Focus-Shift = focused image and the out-of-focus image
were mechanically superimposed on the shot. — But here,
the softness was caused optically by the lens’ aberration.
= Those first 4 photos were taken by the homemade
single glass lens = nicknamed “Gaudy lens” .
Among my homemade lenses, this is the most useful,
easy to use lens.
You may say, the aberration of this lens is too much
though, this is what I wanted. 🙂
Above those two photos, you can see the type of
softness are very different. = The photo above and
the following 3 photos were taken by the modified
(front diverging lens was removed)
Regardless the technical blur blur, all about
the photography (or any art) the matter is the
end result = if it is good, it’s good.
Nothing else. 😀
(And when the result was the same, the cheaper
the cost is the better.)
[]
Peach flower
—— (Photo above: taken by a homemade, so-called Gaudy Lens)
Peach flower is much more appreciated in China than in Japan.
In Chinese myth, the famous Shangrila was written as 桃源郷
which mean The place where the Peach Blooming. = (neither
Cherry nor Banana.) The reason why Chinese value Peach more
than Cherry is, not only its juicy fruits but the color of flower is
more reddish.
The color Red mean prosperity and the longevity to the Chinese.
In a stark contrast, Cherry Blossom is the symbol of the ephemeral
life, even the death to the Japanese (in the Buddhists context.) So,
Japanese appreciate its moment of the flower falling like a snow
storm, as well as when it was fully blooming.
——- (Photo above Left : by Canon Fisheye Zoom 8~15mm —
——–Photo Right : Converging Lens from Tokina Wide converter.)
The reason why Chinese likes Red was originated from the vermilion.
Vermilion is the Mercury Oxide = deadly poison = therefore it is a
very effective preservative to the timber. So, the Chinese temple etc
has been painted with Red Vermilion = never rotten for thousand of
years. So, Red Vermilion is the demonstration of the longevity !
And there was a fancy story of the Vermilion, whether it was a
fabrication of the novelist or not, there said to be an Elixir of life made
from Vermilion, which was repeatedly oxidized and deoxidized 9 times,
called 九還丹 in China. (If you found it in the Net, you may try ! )
—— (Photo above : Converging Lens from Tokina)
To the Japanese, the appreciation of Peach flower was in its
association with the girl’s festival (桃の節句) on 3rd of March
other than that not much special feeling in the Japanese mind.
So that, other than in the fruits orchard in a country side,
we don’t see as many Peach trees like Cherry in town .
—— (Photo above : by converging Lens from Tokina
Wide Converter mounted on a Bellows = Photo right
= As the lens was mounted on a bellows, it can focus
from ∞ to 1/3 close-up)
Front element of the Diverging Lens has been used somewhere
else, and the left over converging element was used here. 😀
(You may amazed, how photography can be done in such a casual manner.)
[∞]
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