This one’s a little bit different! Don’t worry I’m not bragging about another place I just visited. Instead I’m going share a little bit about why I bought a certain accessory for photography and I’m also going to tell you guys about the photographer that inspired this.

The accessory I’m talking about is the Lens ball. The Lens ball is a high-quality K9 crystal ball used to create a fish-eye effect in a cheaper way than buying a fish-eye lens. While scrolling through my instagram feed, I saw an Ad for the lens ball. At that time, I had no idea what a lens ball is. I swiped right and saw examples of photographs that used the lens ball and I was so amazed. It was something new that gave the photo a different life to it, making it unique.

I kept seeing the Ad for a couple of months before I actually decided to get the lens ball. It was something I wasn’t sure was worth investing in cause it seemed like a gimmick I’d get over in a couple of months. So I kept putting of the idea of buying it. Fast forward about 6 months, as I was planning my Europe trip, I thought about it again. It was only after my trip to Vienna, before the rest of my Europe trip, I decided I am gonna get it!

You’re probably wondering what changed my mind. Every time I travel somewhere I want to try and do a #FollowMeToo photo from each destination. The #FollowMeTo trend was started by one of my all-time favourite photographer, Murad Osmann, a Russian photographer who travels with his wife creating these unique landscape photos. It started as a mistake but became a social media phenomenon.

The sad part is that I never have a consistent travel partner and so it was hard to achieve this in the same way. That’s when I though the Lens Ball would become my preferred travel companion which led to the beginning of my version of the #FollowMeTo series. It’s still nowhere close to the amazing work of Osmann but it has motivated me to keep trying!

I bought the Tensphy 80mm Lens Ball from Amazon UK. The price was fairly reasonable, about 15.00 GBP and I got it the day before I left for Paris so only managed to try it once I got there. I’ve got to say I was impressed with the photos I got, because it was a completely cool way of showing popular sights through a different perspective. It’s definitely worth buying if you’re looking for a way to make your photos unique. While I was there I enjoyed experimenting with the ball, it was fun and something to look forward to even more. People walking by me as I was shooting with the lens ball were just as mesmerized as I was the first time. It was nice to see other people’s reactions to the photos I was already getting.

There’s so many ways you can play with the Lens ball, its water proof, usually doesn’t scratch easily and much cheaper, unlike a proper camera lens. It is however very fragile cause once you drop it, its gone! But that’s just part of taking care of camera equipment. I tried the lens ball in the snow and got some pretty cool shots, as you’ll see below. Click on this link to read on a few tips on how to shoot with a Lens ball.

The only downside is you can’t use it in direct sunlight. Since it’s a crystal ball, it basically magnifies the sun rays in the same way a magnifying glass does. I learnt that the hard way, I got burnt a couple of times. It’s obviously not as clear as a fish-eye lens but it  Despite that, it’s safe to say the Lens Ball was a good buy! Here’s a few samples of the kind of images I got with the Lens Ball, I’d love to know your thoughts.