A Dream of Spain with Dirksón! Photography and the Neptune Convertible Art Lens System

Jannis Dirkson, aka Dirksón! Photography, is a Germany-based photographer. Originally, he studied business administration and worked as an insurance specialist, but in 2013 he decided to turn his passion into a profession and dedicate himself fully to photography. He specializes in portrait and wedding photography, but privately, he likes to try out new things and goes on unexplored paths of photography. His Youtube Channel Dirkson Photography also emerged from this work, where you can see videos of him on the field and get Tips and Tricks about Photography. He tested the Neptune Convertible Art Lens System for us and took it with him on his trip to Spain.

To get familiar with the manual focus, Jannis first tested the lenses on a vintage car show.

With the Neptune Art Lens System, the responsibility of focusing is back with the photographer, which is a much more intense experience of photography. Just what I was looking for. First of all, I had to see how to best work with my camera to get a sharp picture.

He also tried the special aperture plates at the car show to get familiar with the effect, he then deliberately took some pictures out-of-focus. The results were very dreamy and the images had a special look in the out-of-focus areas:

Right on the first day after the car show I had photographed at, I looked at some of the pictures I had deliberately taken out of focus and that gave a very dreamy and special look in the out of focus areas. I immediately thought about doing a project where I deliberately take out of focus photos.

As for the experience of using a manual lens on his trip, this is what Jannis had to say:

"I think the advantage of manual focusing is the slower, more deliberate handling of the camera. Each photo gets more consideration and preparation, it is no longer a snapshot but a carefully crafted photo."

Regarding the Neptune Art Lens System, and which focal length is his favorite, Jannis had this to say:

The images with the Neptune Art Lens System can easily be ranked with the images of the much more expensive lenses I use at work in terms of image quality. If I had to choose an attachment from the three, it would probably be the 35mm focal length.

His favorite photo taken with the Lens System is the moment when their son Noah was on his mum's arm giving her a kiss:

She held him in her arms and turned so that they were dancing, in a way. I took the picture with the 50mm attachment at open aperture and I remember in that moment I had a big question mark over my head if I got them in focus.

Jannis experimented with different camera settings and also a remote shutter release. Usually, he works with autofocus lenses, but manual focusing has its own charm for him as well.

"One of the most important aspects is to set the camera to help you focus manually. Is Focus Peaking on so you can see what is in focus in Live View? Do you have a button that, when pressed, takes you directly to a point in the picture so you can see exactly if the focus is in place? Here you should take half an hour and try out which workflow works best for you. Once you have found a workflow, the Neptune Art Lens System is a great change from the usual AF photography and gives you individual photos that you have worked for yourself. The experience of taking pictures becomes much more intense and the pictures that turn out good are closer to your heart because you have earned them."

"I am super happy with the results. There is almost no bad pictures and the pictures have a completely different look due to the aperture plates, which is great for creative and art photo projects."

"Photography is what I love and I am always looking for "new" and "different". The Neptune system promises many adventures and definitely a new way of photography."

Many thanks to Jannis for these wonderful impressions! Head over to his Instagram, Facebook, YouTube Channel or take a look at his Website for even more of his wonderful work!

written by alinaxeniatroniarsky on 2020-03-07