Dave Nance used an ordinary door peephole fitted to a lens cap to produce some whimsical looking images like the one above. Depending on the optics used in the peephole (many are made of plastic) and whether you choose to use a tripod to compensate for the decreased amount of light, you can really end up with a lot of strange aberrations and large regions of the photo that are quite out of focus. Then again, that’s sort of the point:
Still, there is something about the way these images look that speaks to me. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that my eyes are slowly going to hell. Without my glasses, the world that I see is no longer as sharp as it was when I was younger. Beyond that, the blurring, streaks, flares, and distorted textures, all create a kind of surreal feeling. When combined with the linear distortion caused by the “fisheye” effect of the lens, it can make these images seem like snapshots out of a dream.
You can experiment with this or other lens-glued-to-lenscap arrangements and see what you like. You’ll just need to focus your camera as close as possible (“macro” mode), and then use the adjustments on the external lens to bring things into focus. Most of these setups are pretty touchy and let in very little light, so for best results you’ll really want to use a tripod and a remote shutter.
Faux Fisheye With a Door Peephole – Link
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