Unrelenting Focus on Tail (Lights)
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 5:06PM | in California, Camera Gear, Car Show, Cars, Lensbaby On a particular day in April, I dedicated my attention to capturing the tail lights of specific vehicles attending the “Run Whatcha Brung” car show in Rialto, California. The inclement weather had ceased, enabling me to resume my pursuit of visually captivating and compelling tail lights. Having removed my reliable 14mm f1.8 lens, I decided to explore my creativity by utilizing the Lensbaby Sweet 22 manual focus lens. In proximity to the show center, my attention was drawn to an exceptionally styled vehicle featuring captivating tail lights. Recognizing the potential for a compelling image, I resolved to attempt a shot. The remaining water droplets on the vehicle’s surface only enhanced the visual appeal of the photograph, and I found their presence to be unobtrusive. I estimate that I captured approximately six shots, meticulously adjusting the lens’s focus to ensure the chrome portion of the tail light was sharply defined, while the surrounding elements were intentionally slightly out of focus. This deviation from traditional lens design is a characteristic of the Lensbaby, which is engineered to produce a center of sharp focus with gradually diminishing sharpness as the subject is moved away from the center. Modern photographers are generally unfamiliar with lenses that possess this attribute. What I particularly admire about this image is that despite the majority of the vehicle’s design being at least partially out of focus, the overall exuberance of the car’s design remain distinctly evident.
