Fields of Gold

I am often asked why I have so many 50mm lenses and how do I choose which one to use for a shot. First off they are all old (70′s vintage) and really inexpensive to get. Most importantly they each have a different optical design and therefore they each render a different flavor of lens flare and bokeh from one another. When I shoot a scene in backlighting, (and all my friends know that’s what I love to do every chance I get) I pick my lens based on what I want the flare and bokeh to look like. This is a case in point. The lens I used has a damaged front element and I won’t throw it away because I know it does this when I use it right. You may find it hard to believe but there hasn’t been a single thing done to this image in post processing. This is exactly what was produced in-camera because of my lens choice, the lighting, and the subject matter.