Editing with Procreate

Procreate is a drawing app for iPad or iPhone that allows you to make professional drawings. You can also import images and it works great for editing pictures. You can work in layers, blend, draw with a range of brushes, smudge and erase. You can change contrast or the colors of your pictures and make selections.

What I personally like a lot is that it is very easy to draw on the pictures and add details. I use it on my iPad pro with an Apple Pencil. You can use your finger if you want but with the pencil more pressure means a thicker line. For a program with so many options it is surprisingly cheap (around 10 euros). Below are a number of pictures I edited with Procreate. I let my imagination do the work.

This was my first attempt after playing around with the program to get the hang of it. I usually start with the smudging tool (Calligraphy/Brush pen). And I always use the Luminance Brushes (Lightpen and Bokeh Lights). The picture was made with the Pentacon 50 mm 1.8. This lens already gives a painterly effect. The combination of creative lenses and Procreate work well.

The picture was made in March when there were only buds on this branch.
(Lens: Pentacon 50 mm 1.8).

A bit more editing and I warped the flower and the bokeh to get the desired shape.
(Lens: Lensbaby Sweet 35 with macro converters).

Then I figured out how to create lights in my image. For this effect I used the Luminance Lightpen Brush (yellow) and the Spraypaints Splatter Brush.
(Lens: Lensbaby Twist 60 optic with macro converters)

This came out rather well. The picture is of moss with water drops. The drops were smudged to make them look like flames. With the Luminance Glimmer Brush I added sparkles to the fire. The bokeh was added.
(Lens: Lensbaby Twist 60 with macro converters)

I make loads of pictures and don't throw away much (nothing...), so I have loads of images that could use a little imagination. Crane flies are not very pretty, but I have discovered that with extra wings and other details, they look like fairyland creatures.

Procreate makes a video of every step in the process. You can export these videos. It also shows all the things that were tried but erased.
(Lens: Lensbaby Twist 60 with macro converters)

A heavily (heavenly?) edited wood anemone.
(Lens: Lensbaby Sweet 50 with macro converters)

Kind of inspired by my allergy to tree pollen.
(Lens: Lensbaby Twist 60 with macro converters)

I love adding light to the images. With the Luminance Brushes this works very well on a darker image.
(Lens: Lensbaby Twist 60 with macro converters)

When I took this picture of a very ordinary bug, I immediately knew it would be fun to edit.
(Lens: Helios 44 with extension tube)

The large sporophytes of moss always spark my imagination. Often I see a group of people lost in the woods or at a party (lost too ;)). But this looked like a little lamp.
(Lens: Lensbaby Twist 60 with macro converters)

And finally a grasshopper, pretending to be superman.

As a child I loved to draw but it is so much easier if there is something to work with, like an image. I draw on the image, but you can also put an empty layer on top of it and trace the lines. Drawing on an iPad with the pencil is very satisfying. Of all the apps I have used so far, this one definitely stands out!

And I almost forgot the latest addition to the series of magic mushrooms!

Bulbous rush

This year was the first that I really noticed this small plant: bulbous rush (Juncus bulbosus / knolrus). Because I love to play with drops I went close to the borders of the ever decreasing fens. Everything sparkled with dewdrops and the rushes are great subjects for tiny landscapes. The flowers are more brown than red, but I increased the hue on orange and red et voila!

Most of these pictures were made with the Lensbaby Velvet 56. When the light was still very soft I used F2.0 to create a soft glow and also the bokeh rings. The rings are out of focus drops close to the lens (before focus). I love to play with that.

It was dry and hot for a few weeks, as if it would never rain again. But once it started it rained almost every day and between the bulbous rush this very fine grass appeared. The yellow stuff is moss (Sphagnum). It holds the water and forms thick soft layers. Nice if you are on your knees!

I made many pictures of these plants, not only because I like them but also because sitting there in the morning, with the sun slowly climbing behind the trees, everything sparkling, was such a joy!

The Velvet 56 is perfect for macro. If you don't want the glow you just close the aperture a bit more.

I like all the little details in these pictures.

Leaves from the reeds had fallen on the ground and were also covered with dewdrops. It looks like a bridge to me.

You may notice that this picture looks a bit different. It was made with a different lens: the Pentacon 50 mm, 1.8. It is a vintage lens that I instantly loved. Although I have to say that I checked if this was made with the Pentacon, because it also has many features of the Velvet if you see them next to each other.


Wide open it gives a bit of a swirl and it is very soft, although this also depends on the light of course!

The sun came up around 6:30 and I was usually in the field around 7:00. Where I go the sun rises behind the trees and even though there is a lot of light, at first it is filtered and soft. Once it reaches the top of the trees everything is blazing in sunlight. The last picture was made under these conditions and you can immediately see the effect. Although with a very soft lens this can even be pleasing. This lens stole my heart!

Morning magic

The last few days of my holiday I got up at 5 o'clock to be in the forest shortly after dawn. On some days there were fog banks when the night sky had been clear. But also with cloudy mornings I had the best time. It's always worth it to get up early. 

This is bulbous rush, growing near the fens on the heath. It has been very dry and warm the last few weeks and the fens are becoming smaller. You can walk to the parts that are normally under water and I love what I found there! All pictures in this post were taken with the Lensbaby Velvet 56 with apertures F1.6, 2.0 and 2.8 to see the glow.

While I was on the ground, in the wet moss, this little guy jumped in front of me. It sat in the perfect spot. These are the little presents you get for just being there. Today I heard them croak. It was the sweetest sound.

I discovered that the rush is going to flower. Then they are even more beautiful.

This little bee suddenly appeared as if it just woke up. It stayed on the leaf and if you look closely you can see its tongue. Either it was licking the leaf or it was sticking it out to me.

Had to give the sundew another go. I name this picture: Yang and Yin, or Happy and Dopey. Today I am Happy, often Dopey ;)

A grasshopper who also revealed himself by jumping away.

This morning I went to a different fen and the light there was so beautiful. The sun did not touch this part yet although it was coming closer. The light was soft and bright. I always shoot out of hand and make a lot of pictures because many are out of focus. A tripod would not have helped me anyway because I was standing close to the water on a thick layer of peat moss. It felt like a thick jumping mattress. This, to me, is a happy accident. I love the effect.

Same but different. A bubbly damselfly!

Damselfies are quite small and they live dangerously. This one thinks I am his big enemy, but does not see what's behind!

A little spider with an inviting web. Ready for breakfast. And you can be it!

After all this I went again to the wet peat moss. Wonderfully cool, because even though I was wearing a full rain suit, my feet were soaked. The light was already very bright and finding the balance was difficult. I like this one.

My plan was to sleep in tomorrow, but this morning was such a joy again that I might go one more time. After that it's back to work and it is going to be unusually hot!

Bokehlicious

Spring is late this year. Finally the wood anemones and blossoms start to appear. Today the light was so inviting and it was 20 degrees! The Lensbaby Twist 60 and the Sweet 35 are my favorite lenses at the moment. I usually combine them with the macro converters. However, today I used the Sweet 35 just like it is and I am so happy with the results. If this one still appeals to me in a few weeks I might even get it printed. I want something blue on my wall and this might be it!

The lens allows you to get fairly close and then everything becomes softer. Maybe the light was also a bit softer here. This year is the first that I keep ending up at the pine trees. When the light hits the needles,  you have many bright spots that will turn to soap bubble bokeh.

I often shoot into the light and this will create lens flare. Putting my hand on top of the lens does help (did not do that here, obviously). The white balance was set to tungsten to get the blue tones.

I love the underwater feeling of these pictures and the amount of detail by using the lens like this. I will definitely do this more - especially with all the leaves that will appear the coming weeks.

I took a bit more distance to capture the shape of the curled branch and the bokeh underneath.

And finally just bokeh. The bokeh before and after the focal plane is different. I kinda like the effect.

Waterdrops and soap bubble bokeh are my favorite things in a picture. Today I had my fill!
Ahh, and maybe again tomorrow. If there are more clouds I can have a go at the wood anemones.

Burnside 35

How wonderful is it to get a chance to test a lens before it is out? In December I received the Lensbaby Burnside 35 to try. It is a proper lens (not an optic) with swirley bokeh and - this is very new - a second aperture. The second aperture controls the amount of vignette and it also affects the image in other ways.

December is not the best for macro (dead crap season ;)) but I was lucky that on the days I went out there were rain showers and sunshine: sparkles! I could play with backlight and raindrops.

The idea was to make macro pictures of my favorite subjects. In December that would be moss. You can get close to the subject with this lens (within 15 centimeters) but I found that there was still too much in the frame for tiny stuff. The solution was to add a 12 mm extension tube, but the point was to first test the lens as is, as macro as I could get! So I looked for other subjects: big pine needles with raindrops.

With this kind of light the bokeh is quite wild. I like the oval shape of the bokeh towards the sides of the frame. Compared to the Twist 60, the bokeh of Burnside is more like that of Helios, a vintage lens (the second picture was cropped to get a better composition).

I fell in love with Lensbaby lenses because of the shape of the bokeh and the magic the lens creates. On the first day I tested the second aperture to observe the effect. When you close an aperture, the shape of the blades is reflected in the bokeh. I did not like this at first and used it mostly wide open. Therefore the vignette is also not visible in these pictures.

When the light is softer, the effect is softer too (both apertures open).

Because the moss was very beautiful I added a 12 mm extension tube to get the proper magnification. This was just perfect for what I hoped to achieve. Here I closed the second aperture. It adds more drama and the swirl also becomes stronger. The change in the shape of the bokeh is obvious. I think what threw me off in the beginning was that there was already a lot in the frame and closing the aperture made it even more wild and crowded.

The moss is growing on an old tree-trunk, wet from the rain. The light is in front of the lens.


I can't wait to try more with these settings and on different subjects like dewy grass and spider webs.

This was taken from a larger distance while I was taking shelter from the rain.  The swirly bokeh is clearly visible. Both apertures wide open and just the lens (no extension).

The colors also come out very nice. I love this about all Lensbabies. Again at close focus with both apertures open (Burnside without extension). In spring this will be great for images of flowers, subjects that are a bit bigger than moss. Only for the really small stuff you might want to add an extension tube. With a lot of sparkles in the background in soft light, this will be exquisite.

Needless to say that I enjoyed this lens very much and that I am curious to see the results of other photographers!

(click the first picture to get a bigger and better view)

Go here for the Burnside blog on Lensbaby.com