close up filter hasselblad (1 of 2)

For some of you, this won’t be new information, so please enjoy the photos. For others, it could rejuvenate your whole approach to your photography, and for much less money than buying a new lens! And this time (or any time!) of year, we’d all like to be spending a little less money, no?

During a conversation with a friend recently, she remarked that, shocker! She really didn’t love her Hasselblad. What?! I’d never met anyone who said they were anything less than thrilled with their investment. When I probed her as to why, one of the issues that she revealed turned out to have a very simple solution. But as I thought back to my first few weeks with the Hasselblad, I remember being so frustrated with the same exact thing: Why can’t I get up close with this darn thing?! The focusing distance on the 80mm lens is 3 feet, so you have to be at least 3 feet away for your subject to be in focus. If I’m at a coffee shop, I’d rather not have to get up out of my seat and back up 2 feet to get the pretty latte art in focus. If I’m at lunch and want to snap a portrait of my date, I don’t want to have to get up out of my seat to do it. And though I have mostly gotten over it, you might still be embarrassed to make a scene photographing that pint of beer on Friday night, which you are bound to do if you have to stand across the room to get the shot (ok, I’m exaggerating, but you would have to back up a few feet). Plus, you’ll get more shallow depth of field, and most of us still love the bokeh!

close up filter hasselblad (2 of 2)

Some quick flickr research revealed that folks were using close up filters! And they were under $50!? Wow, I was thinking I’d need to buy another lens for a couple hundred dollars. Nope! Search for them used on KEH.com, B&H or Adorama’s Used sections, or even Amazon or ebay. The one I use for my Hasselblad is the Proxar 1.0 filter. [sidenote: I’m aware that some would argue these filters may not be as sharp as a lens meant to get in closer, but not all of us can afford another lens, nor do we want to have to carry multiple lenses. These filters do the trick!]

I recently got a set of these for my Pentax 6×7 (AGFA from Amazon) and now I’m able to get shots like the ones below. I have only used the +1 so far. The only thing I didn’t anticipate during my excitement for how cute Rosie might look up close while sleeping, is that the Pentax shutter that close to her is sure to wake her up! I’m so thankful for this little tip about close up filters, and I hope it might help you, too! I don’t have experience with this with my digital camera, but if you do, feel free to let us know about your experience in the comments.

close up filter pentax (2 of 4)

close up filter pentax (3 of 4)

close up filter pentax (4 of 4)

close up filter pentax (1 of 4)

Happy Snapping!

Cara of tumbleweedineden