I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art this week with my camera. The experience was like wearing a new pair of prescription glasses. I could focus and see the details, of the art, in front of me.

Also new was discovering that the Met and the four block radius east of the museum may be a French colony.   There are French stores as Petit Bateau, French chocolates from La Maison du Chocolate, French restaurants as Demarchelier and French speakers everywhere. Families, young people, old people, not to mention the museum tours in French. Who knew?

But discovering a French colony on the Upper East Side was not the reason for my visit. I went to the Met with B&H Photo, as part of a free (yes, free!) full day event to learn more about Lensbabies.

Lensbabies are selective focus SLR camera lenses that allow you to create diverse effects with your camera versus creating them in post-production software as Photoshop. In simple terms, they help make cool, creative photos.

The event started at the store on 34th Street and 9th Avenue, in the B&H Event Space.  David Brommer and Gabriel Biderman from B&H delivered a detailed overview of the Lensbaby products and their diverse effects. But what made the event fantastic, was receiving a Lensbaby (of our choice) loaner to shoot with in the afternoon. The original plan was a Lensbaby Safari Shoot in Central Park but, due to unpredictable rain and a fast thinking B&H Event Team, we relocated to the Met.

The afternoon was a serious photographic workout.  Mastering the Lensbaby will take more time but thanks to B&H’s Event Space I was able to test drive the product and share my results with you.

Given my unemployment status, I’m not ready to make the investment in a Lensbaby yet, but I can tell you that testing the equipment was a lot of fun, so thank you B&H Event Space!

My photos have been submitted to B&H for a photo contest, prizes include Lensbabies!   So while I hope you have taken a break from your day to enjoy my photos, I really hope I win a Lensbaby!

Wish me luck!

Leslie