My Lens is Too Sharp

English Landscape with Snowdrops - Tim Irving

The photograph above was taken with my new lens, the one I bought 2 weeks ago. I've used the lens twice to date, I'm not sure it's me. The areas out of focus are very pleasing but the areas in focus are too sharp by a long way. Normally this isn't a bad trait in a lens as long as it's controllable. Generally, a lens becomes softer as the aperture is opened wider. However this lens is as sharp as razor no matter what I do.

There is a trick I'll share with you. It's more suited to portraiture than landscape, but it can help. Years ago, when I did wedding photography, I used to keep a soft focus filter on the lens. Very useful for hiding spots, wrinkles and scars on the otherwise radiant bride. The alternative, which I used above, is to breathe on a plain glass filter, to take the edge of shapness.

As you can see in my photograph the weather is glorious here. I've spent 2 afternoons in the countryside hunting snowdrops. I've also seen my first bluebells. They're not fully open but there are plenty of them, I'll persue them next week.