As part of my recent experimentation with new ways in which to see and present photographs, I have started to make some images using a Helios lens, which I purchased on eBay. For those who might be unfamiliar with Helios, these are old inexpensive lenses that were originally mass-produced in what was then the USSR. They produced soft focus, glowing (if one is being optimistic, blown out if being pessimistic) highlights, and a swirly bokeh in the out-of-focus areas (with the degree of swirl being influenced by multiple factors). In a modified Helios, either the front element is reversed, which enhances the swirled effect, or the rear element is reversed, which gives a ‘bubble’ effect to the out-of-focus areas. The modified Helios that I purchased has its front element reversed. In this first image, the out-of-focus areas are ‘creamy,’ but there isn’t much swirling, and the highlights are glowing.

I wish I could say the effect of this next image is totally related to the Helios lens, but it isn’t. This is a double-exposure image of a painting I saw in the lobby of a building. Though the painting itself was abstract, the Helios lens seemed to enhance the effect.

Finally, the Helios definitely distorts and ‘smears’ the image at the periphery. In this final image the white lines at the edges were two-dimensional, but the smearing effect of the lens definitely gives them a contoured, three-dimensional look. The golden highlights are soft-focus and glowing.

There is definitely a learning curve to getting the most out of this modified lens and it is certainly unpredictable, but also fun to use and see what you get. It is a lens that photographs feel and mood and is not at all literal.

Helios

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