I took my Petzval lens to Brooklyn yesterday to see my daughter and granddaughter, and I had a chance to test out the swirling background check. Appropriate enough, I saw this sign – Create Something  – which was fitting. It is never simple to take a photo with this lens, but I hand cranked the focus, inserted a wide aperture plate and made the sign the center of my focus, I set the Bokeh (background) meter to full, and I saw the effect this lens is famous for.

I liked it. Beyond that, the photo captured some the schizophrenic nature of the new Brooklyn, creativity versus corporate greed and growth. I think we all know how that comes out. The camera had a great first day with me, but it requires a whole new understanding of light and photography The Petzval 58 invented in 1840 and uses Russian glass.  It is a manual focus lens with no image stabilization or electronics and an ancient gear mechanism for focusing and uses metal places to set the Aperture.

It has a very distinctive look.