Critique Welcomed Intertwined (more Backyard Fern Monkey Business)

Keith Hollister

Keith Hollister

Well-Known Member
X-E2 and my newly acquired 60mm macro. ISO 200 tripod shot @ f/8. Heavily mangled (in case you have been drinking and couldn't tell). I liked the deep forest-like light and the dark tonality seemed to suit it.

It was actually the middle of the day under a cypress tree in my back yard down by the lake and I had to use a scrim to control the contrast. And of course some serious trickery in LR and Nik CEP.

I had the focus rail mounted and originally intended to do some focus stacking, but a breeze picked up and that will have to wait for another time.

 
Ah, but the layers of focus really help to make this Keith. Love the lush tones, vignette and glow. Very, very nice. You're getting some good stuff out of this combination I think. :)

That touch of blue at the very top draws the eye a tiny bit though. Small crop?
 
Pete Askew said:
Ah, but the layers of focus really help to make this Keith. Love the lush tones, vignette and glow. Very, very nice. You're getting some good stuff out of this combination I think. :)

That touch of blue at the very top draws the eye a tiny bit though. Small crop?
Click to expand...

Oops - yet more evidence that you can't proofread your own stuff. Fixed (brushed in an adjustment - no cropping required)

This lens is simultaneously the most frustrating and the most beautiful drawing lens of the Fujinons I have (and I seemed to have managed to end up with almost all of them in a rather embarrassingly short time). The OOF transitions are really nice on this lens and it almost rivals my all time favorite "bokeh king" - the Nikkor AIS 135mm f/2. I recall reading an interview years ago with the designer of that lens (who also did the 105/1.8 & 180/2.8 for Nikon) and he intentionally designed in spherical aberration to create the rendering. All the more impressive since it was in the early days of computer aided design.

The Fuji 60 draws in ways that remind me of that lens and other classic designs from that era. If the upcoming 56/1.2 gets the AF performance of the 14 & 23 and keeps the rendering style of the 60, Fuji should sell a lot of X bodies just on the strength of that lens.
 
Thanks (and for mentioning it to begin with). I also went back in and brushed in a bit of WB adjustment on the frond in the top right that had just a whisper of blue to the color as well.

I agree the focus transitions are a big part of why this image works. I was originally going for a different composition on the focus stacking approach. Lots of things to play with, as I have my own little fern & mushroom lab going under a couple trees at the back of the property.

Small world on the Nikkor 135's :) I never used the 2.8, but I still have the 105/2.5 I bought 30 years ago and use it all the time. The point source OOF highlights are hexagonal since Nikon didn't do anything special to the aperture blades, but the rendering otherwise is also pretty special. It is a fairly simple optical design and still pretty cheap to pick up second hand. The short to medium tele's always seemed to be Nikon's sweet spot until the modern era where they seem to be turning out great stuff almost every time (although they don't quite have the visual charm of the older tele's). I guess that's what happens when you crank out designs via CAD to maximize MTF charts instead of doing it by trial and error to get something you think looks good. Most of the modern Zeiss ZF's don't really get me diving for my wallet either - great micro contrast and sharpness, but kind of sterile. I do like the 100 macro though.
 
Chris promised me a share in the Fujiyama if I pimp some lenses - I get to use it every fourth weekend.
 
Thanks Glenn & Rob, although I think Rob has basically called my image plant porn :rolleyes:
 
Looking good for your first cruise Keith! ;)

Lovely and lush - oozing life you might say

It's funny that the 60 has been largely overlooked because of it's AF - yet it consistently performs as one of the best optics

Reminds me of the Canon 85mm f/1.2 - but it's easier to use!

Agree on that up-coming 56mm 1.2 - it could be the defining lens for the range - can't wait!
 
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