What is a Lens Ball?
Lens ball images. Simply put a lens ball is a crystal ball. With its unique spherical shape, a lens ball creates stunning imagery through the technique of refraction. Refraction occurs when light passes through an object of denser mass, such as water or in this case glass. When refraction occurs, light is bent. A distortion of the imagery occurs inside the lens ball. The resulting image has two characteristics. Most of the image is the right way up. In contrast the element of the image within the lens ball is upside down.
The whole point of using a lens ball for me is that Photoshop allows you to isolate the circle of the lens ball within the image. You can then spin the image round so that both the main image and the contents of the lens ball are the “right” way round! You then see a microcosm of the image through the lens ball.
First Attempts at Lens Ball Images
These images are my second attempts at using the lens ball. They are my first attempts at spinning the lens ball part of the image within Photoshop! Some of the images we fine, others are out of focus. Now I have the technique I can look for more interesting images!
After. The same image “spun” 
Looking over the lake at Hyde Hall 
The upper pond at Hyde Hall 
Different view of the upper pond at Hyde Hall 
A tree on the edge of the Sky Meadows at Hyde Hall 
Clements Green Creek at South Woodham Ferrers 
The River Crouch at South Woodham Ferrers 
The River Crouch at South Woodham Ferrers 
Close up of sunflower through the lensball 
Garden sunflowers through the lens ball 
Pastel coloured petunias through a lens ball 
Smaller lens ball image of pastel colours 
Purple Petunias through a lens ball
Hyde Hall images
The first image shows the lake at Hyde Hall with the lens ball part of it upside down. This is how it emerges from the camera. The second image is the same one with the lens ball element “spun” 180 degrees. An image from the same vantage point, with a smaller proportion of it as is shown as a lens ball is the third one.
Two images of the upper pond at Hyde Hall follow. An image captured in the Sky Meadow at the RHS site is next, with a large tree in the centre. Find out more about RHS Hyde Hall by clicking here
River Crouch Images
Three images are shown of the river Crouch at South Woodham Ferrers. Two are captured near the old ferry boat crossing and one is at Clements Green Creek.
Garden images
To me, sunflowers are an obvious target for the lens ball. The slide show shows two sunflower images in the back garden. Trays and planters of petunias at the front of the house also made a target. A little bit of apparatus was needed to get the lens ball to the right height. All very worthwhile.
I hope to capture more and better lens ball images as time progresses