A Feel of Kyoto with the Petzval 55 mm f1.7 MKII Art Lens in the Eyes of Ma Yue

The old city of Kyoto is timeless and forever picturesque, making it a favorite destination for scenes and memories captured and burned on film. We see a glimpse of this beauty through photographer Ma Yue a.k.a. KyoLens, who currently lives in Kyoto. Most of his photographs are based on the cultural landscape and his personal travel shots in the city, along with gorgeous portraits of women in their kimono. Let's walk through Ma Yue's experience with the Petzval 55 mm f.7 MKII Art Lens and the images he took.

Which camera do you usually use? What makes you keep it with you?

The main camera I used is Sony α7iii, and a secondary camera is Sony α7ii which is mainly used to match several manual lenses. Lomography's lenses are all shot with α7ii.

What opportunity brought you to photography? What made you decide to be a photographer?

I got into photography very early. I bought my first film camera in 1999, and then I naturally started to like taking pictures. Since 2000, I was among the first people to use digital cameras. Later, I started to take a lot of photography after I arrived in Kyoto. I like Kyoto and want to show it to others, and I want to take photos for people who like Kyoto. This motivation made me walk this way.

How is your experience with our Petzval 55 mm f1.7 MKII? For novices who haven't tried Petzval 55, what shooting advice do you have?

This Petzval 55 mm f1.7 MKII is very cool from appearance to user experience. Today, when the lens design is getting sharper and sharper, this kind of archaic imaging effect is rare. For novices, I suggest that you don't have to pursue Bokeh Control to maximize the effect at the beginning. Of course, this is also related to the distance between the focus and the background. Pay attention to adjust in accordance to the scene, otherwise, the effect will be too strong and unnatural.

Durig the process of using Petzval 55 mm f1.7 MKII, would you prefer to use it for portraits or landscapes?

Because of the special effects of this Petzval 55, I would not use it to shoot large landscapes. It is more suitable for scenes with an obvious subject, so I tend to use it to shoot portraits and street photography, especially night scenes with lights.

Can you share one of your favorite photos?

Thank you Ma Yue for sharing! If you want to know more about Ma Yue's photography, you can follow his website and Red .

written by toritu on 2021-02-09 in #gear #places #kyoto #petzval-55-mm-f1-7-mkii-art-lens