Favorite Gear for 2024?

I don’t know about you, but I am asked about my favorite gear often! The answer for years has been the same lens. If I had to pick one lens (but please don’t make me), it would be the Velvet56. It’s been my workhorse since I got hooked on Lensbaby. It’s mid-range as far as Lensbabies go and can do a little bit of everything from landscape to macro to portrait to street.You get the idea. I love it most for my macro work though. I can reverse freelens with it and hold the lens and the camera in the same hand if necessary! If you aren’t aware, reverse freelensing is when you take the lens off your camera, turn it around and hold up to your camera backwards. It allows the lens to focus closer than normal, making for a more macro-like image. It’s always the first lens in my bag, however it's never the only lens!

This year, there was a new product in the Lensbaby line-up that stopped me in my tracks. The Sweet 22 was released in the spring. I already had the Sweet 35 and the Sweet 80 optic and while I like them both, they weren't the optics I reached for most often, but would when I was looking for a change from my usual routine or the right subject demanded it

I was a little unsure of the Sweet 22 at first. I usually put a new lens through its paces starting by shooting macro! The Sweet 22 focuses 5” from your subject so I was anxious to try some floral macro. I was getting such a wide image that I wasn’t sure how to handle seeing so muchin my frame. Then one day I was out with another ambassador friend and she told how muchshe’d been loving the Sweet 22. I took a look at her work and to say I was impressed is an understatement. 

I started thinking differently after seeing how she was using the lens. (Hint: ifyou’re looking for inspiration check out the LB blogs or use the hashtag for the product you wantto see…ie #sweet22 in the Facebook group Lensbaby Unplugged. There’s no shortage of inspiration there or you can check out my website! )

After seeing my friend's work, I had to reframe my thinking. As I said before, I tried using it for macro work, and I also started adding in my extension tubes and macro filters to get closer, but I didn't stop there. I challenged myself to try some landscape images as well. This lens can tell a good story. The 3.5 fixed aperture gives you more blur than any other Lensbaby and isolates your subject with beautiful focus! You must have the correct components in your frame to make that happen, though. With a lens that focuses in the center I had to adjust my thinking when creating compositions. 

I didn’t take long to come to terms with that idea. There are times when I opt to crop a little off one corner so the image leans more toward the rule of thirds, but I’m learning to like the centered composition a bit more each time I use it

This lens has reinforced a practice for me that I’ve been working on since falling in love with Lensbaby. It's quite simple. “Don't put limitations on your photography, unless and until you’ve worked to learn that they actually exist.” It’s also shown me that you won’t know if it works for you unless you try something. You need to give yourself time to play. It really is that simple.

In January, I decided I wanted to concentrate more on creative photography techniques. Two to be specific. Multiple exposure and intentional camera movement. I spent a lot of time practicing both of these techniques with the gear I had in my bag, but adding the Sweet 22 into the mix, was a game changer for me! I started looking at the world outside my front door a little differently. This lens gives me a renewed sense of hope and excitement about my photography. I began to experiment and play more often. The more I did that, the more I was rewarded with images that I never thought I would like, much less create myself. Like many hobbies, photography is, or can be, ever-changing. Gear is constantly being created, and improved, allowing the photographer to do things more easily than they could before and to create differently than at any time in the past. I have never been one to have to upgrade my phone when the next model came out. I am usually more cautious than that when I’m spending money. 

This lens challenged that thought process. At $179.95 US, it's fairly priced, and I'm thrilled that it's now sitting in my bag, right next to my beloved Velvet 56! So, if you ask me what my favorite gear of 2024 is, it has to be the Sweet 22 lens. It's helped me to see that creativity can abound if you just give it a chance!