Caroline Jensen & Burnside 35
Photographic artist, 
The Lensbaby 
When I first received the lens, I was unsure how I would feel about it. It wasn't until I started shooting food and portraits that the brilliance of that little lever became apparent. For the first time, I could get the look I loved in-camera! I didn't have to bring my images into an editing program to isolate my subject by darkening the edges. I've never been a fan of a traditional vignette, which often seemed unnatural to me. I would tend to favor hand darkening the edges in a more organic fashion. The Burnside stunned me with its beautiful, yet soft, darkness around my subjects.
Here's why I adore the Burnside 35
1. The darkness around the edges is completely natural and customizable. A small lever on the lens allows me to dial in just the right amount of darkness. The transition between light and darkness is a soft gradation that looks as if it always was present. Love it!
2. The customizable vignette is perfect for controlling specular highlights and bright skies. I found that my exposures in tricky lighting situations were much easier to manage with the Burnside vs a regular 35mm lens.
3. It is razor sharp! This lens astounded me with its ability to capture the smallest details clearly in my creative portraits.
4. Colors are rendered rich and deep with this lens. Lenses all vary in the way they render color. The Lensbaby Burnside 35 has gorgeous color rendition!
5. It is a fantastic everyday lens. I love creative lenses, but sometimes, you can only carry one lens. This lens is absolutely perfect as that go-to lens. It is a classic focal length with both creative and practical advantages. It makes manual focus easy and efficient too!
I have been shooting a Project 52 with this lens. My love of portraiture and still life really marries well with this lens, and I love shooting with it! Here are a few images from my project. Thank you for looking!
