As I headed home for weekend I was excited to reunite with some of my father’s lenses. He has a beautiful set of Carl Zeiss primes for the Contax C/Y mount. I particularly enjoy the 28mm and the 35mm, both are 2.8. The handling with both lenses is excellent and with mirrorless cameras it’s easy to focus manually.

All it took was an adapter for mirrorless camera and I was ready to shoot. On the first day I went out with the 35mm 2.8. I felt like shooting blank and white and that’s what I did. It’s true that a manual lens forces you to be more intentional, to pay more attention to the composition and the choice of B&W places additional emphasis on the use of light. I walked around my village, stopping whenever a subject caught my eye. For this photowalk I focus mostly on patterns and textures.

I started off with some ferns, the light wasn’t particularly interesting but I liked the pattern the plants created.

Then I walked to the the village’s tennis court and noticed the ceiling had a compelling combination of straight and curved lines, the light coming from the bottom left corner also created a nice effect in my view.

I then moved to the football pitch stands and looked for an interesting composition. The first few attempts weren’t particularly successful but after a bit of trying I managed to bring this home. This might be the only picture that renders better in color because all the seats have vibrant colors.

The next is a random shot, the subject is a part of an upside-down wooden bench but I really enjoyed the light and decided to snap a photo anyways.

On the way back home I came across a plant that had two types of leaves, some where dark green while others bright yellow. As the lens does not have any connection to the camera I don’t have access to the aperture data for the photos but I remember shooting this wide open at 2.8 to get the most subject separation. I tried to place the colourful yellow leaves in the center of the frame surrounded by the darker green leaves. The center of the frame is very busy with branches but I still enjoy how the photo turned out.

By the side of road I again noticed some plants with good light and interesting patterns and textures.

And to close the day I shot again some of the same ferns in the first photo. Only this time I opted for a different composition. The backlight really makes the subject pop and the B&W here renders beautifully.

Shooting with this lens was genuinely satisfying and it reminded me of the joy of slowing down and enjoying the present moment.

Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/2.8 (C/Y mount)

A day in Venice with the Zeiss Distagon 28mm f/2.8 (C/Y)

Is missing focus always a mishap?