Tidying my cupboard full of photo gear and gadgets, I re-discovered my Helios 44 lens, a 58mm focal length lens made in Russia and is famous amongst lightpainters for it's wild and wierd bokeh.
The modification on the Helios consists of removing the front lens element to access the second one. The second element is turned through 180 degrees and the front element is replaced the correct way around. If there was such a thing as a warranty with the lens, I believe I may have invalidated the guarantee!
Bokeh Laundering
For this shot, I pointed the lens at a fibre optic brush made by @jasondpage purchased from his www.lightpaintingbrushes.com website. I briefly exposed for the bokeh then replaced the lens cap without ending the exposure. I then started to rotate the camera and removed the lens cap as the camera was rotating. After a 360 degree turn I replaced the lens cap and ended the exposure. It takes a bit of practice but it's easy once you work out where all your hands have to be....
The Ghost of Helios
Here I've shot a fibre optic brush again using the Helios 44 but this time rotated the camera 4 ways leaving a black, unexposed space in the middle. Once I've got the four rotations on the bokeh, I replace the lens cap and swap tripods in the dark to a pre-arranged skull. For the skull I swapped lenses in the dark with the camera still exposing then quickly removed the lens cap and lit the skull with a flashlight from above.
The SOOK Projectile
This shot took me ages in my kitchen and involved two tripods, a Nikon 60mm micro lens, a Helios 44 lens, two tripod stands, an Ikea mood lamp, a lightpaitingbrushes.com fibre optic brush and quite a large amount of OCD!!
All of the above images were shot in one photographic exposure and are not Photoshop creations.
About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; please don't hesitate to get in touch if you'd like to create art.
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Excellent work mate, I was thinking of getting a Helios myself, is this the lens with the radioactive coating? Keep up the great work.
Thanks pal, if it's radioactive I'll be glowing like the ready brek kid lol... The older ones seem to be easier to modify and was a lot easier than I thought it would be
LOL, you are safe mate, just looked it up and it's some Takumar lenses, you are safe with the helios 44 lol.
Oh bugger, I've got a Takumar somewhere lol