Day 257: Bottled Breeze

2026-10-21Hello! I passed by a shared microwave that was interrupted in its cooking timer, with the display reading one second left. I'm pissed that I didn't turn back and reset it.I'll get the main lesson out of the way first: photographers don't need fancy equipment to create fancy effects; with a dash of creativity, they can imitate and sometimes even create something original.I spent a few hours on used markets looking at vintage lenses that could fit onto my camera. I was also looking at used clothes to buy, but I figured that budget would be better spent on a trip to the thrift store. At least then, I could avoid the shipping fee.Anyway, I came across an online obsession over vintage lenses that give "swirly bokeh". Bokeh being the blur in the background outside the lens's chosen depth of field. Some more research brought the Petzval lens to my attention, named after a math professor in 1840.Since then, lenses like it have tried to emulate its unique effects, where blurry…