Lensbaby Reflection Wand & Edge 50 | ISO | 100 | 1/2500 | Sony A7II
If there is one thing I have found myself needing more and more during this time, it is playing. I crave playfulness that will immerse me in creativity to the point where everything else falls away. As soon as I held the new Omni reflection wand up to my lens, I was transported to that playful, imaginative place, and I fell deeply in love.
Lensbaby Reflection Wand & Edge 50 | ISO | 100 | 1/1250 | Sony A7II
Both wands have the extraordinary capacity to reflect your surroundings in a variety of ways. I started out my experiments by hand, holding the wands in front of my lenses at a 90-degree angle and turning them ever so slightly to see what I could reflect into and onto my images. If angled just so, as in the image below, I could reflect what was behind me onto the image in front of me.
Lensbaby Reflection Wand & Edge 50 | ISO | 800 | 1/320 | Sony A7II
If I held the wands horizontally, with the flat edge closest to the lens, I could create a reflection of my subjects by angling the wand just slightly.
Lensbaby Reflection Wand & Edge 50 | ISO | 800 | 1/320 | Sony A7II
Lensbaby Edge 50 & Mirror Wand | ISO | 1250 | 1/80 | Sony A7II
If I held the wands perpendicular to my lens, the rounded side closest to the lens, I could create subtle effects that reflected light, color, and the opposite side of my images.
Lensbaby Reflection Wand Edge 50 | ISO | 200 | 1/320 | Sony A7II
Lensbaby Sol 45 & Gold Reflection Wand | ISO | 400 | 1/1000 | Sony A7II
When angled at 45 degrees at the corners of my lens, I loved using the gold side of the mirror wand, significantly to add some warmth and light.
Lensbaby Mirror Wand | ISO | 800 | 1/800 | Sony A7II
Lensbaby Edge 50 & Mirror Wand | ISO | 1000 | 1/2000 | Sony A7II
"If I held the wands perpendicular to my lens, the rounded side closest to the lens, I could create subtle effects that reflected light, color, and the opposite side of my images."
Although I still prefer to use their handheld, I enjoyed putting them both onto my Omni filter holder simultaneously, at opposite sides of the lens, and using them to reflect light off of one another.
Lensbaby Mirror Wand & Smoke Wand | ISO | 800 | 1/320 | Sony A7II
These wands require you to work a little more complicated than some of the other Omni wands, but the creative return is so very worth it.
Some things I would recommend when starting with the reflection wands:
Play, play, and play some more. Have fun rotating the wands to get a variety of effects.
Hold or place the wands close to your lens and shoot with wider apertures. The broader apertures help to make the mirror itself invisible.
Lensbaby Reflection Wand & Edge 50 | ISO | 250 | 1/5000 | Sony A7II
The reflection wands can create a great range of effects, from subtle light to images that look like double exposures, and they are just so much fun to play with. So, get out and play, and if you have any questions about using them, feel free to reach out to me!
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Jen Strongin
Jen Strongin is a professional Naturalist, Educator and Photographer living in Seattle, WA on the edge of the Salish Sea. She is happiest walking slowly through the forest or the intertidal zone, camera in hand, observing the wonderous details of nature, large and small. Her work invokes a sense of curiosity and wonder, inspiring the viewer to slow down and take the time to observe the magical details of the natural world. Her photographs have been featured by the Seattle Aquarium, MaST Center Aquarium and Salish Magazine.
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