[SI] mandate: Bokeh

Try to make some significant part of the composition out of focus. The
classic portrait technique is to select a very soft blurred background
designed to escape attention but this mandate calls for a bit more focus
to the OOF area.

It isn't necessary to have a fancy lens, selection of low contrast
backgrounds can provide smooth out of focus rendering on any lens,
except perhaps slow ultrawides. It can be interesting to play with bad
bokeh too like cats-eye vignetting, freaky donut effects or any
highlights that make a clear disc can add dramatic accents which
contribute to the composition as we often see in movies. Or extremely
soft swaths of blur from a long lens with a detailed item in the
foreground for contrast.




PS I swear I picked the mandate before all the discussion here g. Hope
you aren't sick of it!

Paul Furman wrote in news:aP6dna7Rzu581kfeRVn-
:

Try to make some significant part of the composition out of focus. The
classic portrait technique is to select a very soft blurred background
designed to escape attention but this mandate calls for a bit more focus
to the OOF area.

It isn't necessary to have a fancy lens, selection of low contrast
backgrounds can provide smooth out of focus rendering on any lens,
except perhaps slow ultrawides. It can be interesting to play with bad
bokeh too like cats-eye vignetting, freaky donut effects or any
highlights that make a clear disc can add dramatic accents which
contribute to the composition as we often see in movies. Or extremely
soft swaths of blur from a long lens with a detailed item in the
foreground for contrast.


http://www.pbase.com/shootin/bokeh


- Al.

--
To reply, insert dash in address to match domain below
Online photo gallery at www.wading-in.net

Hey Al... How do you get two current challenges?

--
Having climaxed... She turned on her
mate and began to devour him.
Not a lot changes, eh Spiderwoman?
--------------------------

"Al Denelsbeck" wrote in message
.7...
: Paul Furman wrote in news:aP6dna7Rzu581kfeRVn-
: :
:
: Try to make some significant part of the composition out of focus. The
: classic portrait technique is to select a very soft blurred background
: designed to escape attention but this mandate calls for a bit more focus
: to the OOF area.
:
: It isn't necessary to have a fancy lens, selection of low contrast
: backgrounds can provide smooth out of focus rendering on any lens,
: except perhaps slow ultrawides. It can be interesting to play with bad
: bokeh too like cats-eye vignetting, freaky donut effects or any
: highlights that make a clear disc can add dramatic accents which
: contribute to the composition as we often see in movies. Or extremely
: soft swaths of blur from a long lens with a detailed item in the
: foreground for contrast.
:
:
: http://www.pbase.com/shootin/bokeh
:
:
: - Al.
:
: --
: To reply, insert dash in address to match domain below
: Online photo gallery at www.wading-in.net

"random user 12987" wrote in news:QVDCf.229172$V7.147070
@news-server.bigpond.net.au:

Hey Al... How do you get two current challenges?


By being on time, for once ;-)

The way the SI is structured, the new challange is announced a couple
of days before the previous one comes due, so (if I'm not hung up doing
other things) from Friday to Sunday, two of them are active. On Sunday when
the new gallery goes up, I change one of the currents to MCMXLIVVIIC or
whatever...

[Not sure who started this roman numeral crap, but I think it was
that Fabulous EOS 4 guy...]


- Al.

--
To reply, insert dash in address to match domain below
Online photo gallery at www.wading-in.net

Hi there,

I took this photo http://www.photosig.com/go/photos/view?id=1687562

of my cat at Christmas and at PhotoSig someone commented it manifested
good bookeh.
First, is that true?`
Second, how would the background look if this was not the case?

cheers, Marko

[Not sure who started this roman numeral crap, but I think it was
that Fabulous EOS 4 guy...]

Well who'da thought the silly thing would run much past X or XI?

etosha wrote:

Hi there,

I took this photo http://www.photosig.com/go/photos/view?id=1687562

of my cat at Christmas and at PhotoSig someone commented it manifested
good bookeh.
First, is that true?`
Second, how would the background look if this was not the case?

cheers, Marko

Heh, cool shot. I'd say it's bad bokeh (but fun) because the edges of
the OOF discs are razor sharp and stronger at the edges, pale in the
center. That also shows 'cats-eye' vignetting in the lower left and top
center a bit. Interesting though how the pale yellow forms are very
soft, there seems to be some magical point at which the clear discs
dissolve into soft blobs and that demonstrates perfectly how the choice
of background effects bokeh.

This is also a great example of the 'movie look'. At the most emotional
climax point in a film, they throw the background wildly out of focus
with crazy colored discs floating in a surreal display for dramatic effect.

Here's a comparison of bad and mediocre bokeh lenses in the same conditions:
http://www.edgehill.net/1/?SC=go.php&DIR=Misc/photography/bokeh/compare

Thanks Paul for the exhaustive analysis. Of course I would have thought
that lens would have performed better, but...

cheers, Marko

etosha wrote:

Thanks Paul for the exhaustive analysis. Of course I would have thought
that lens would have performed better, but...

cheers, Marko

What lens was it? Might have just been the extreme lighting, I can
easily get 'bad bokeh' on lenses that are supposed to be smooth.

Paul Furman wrote:


Here's a comparison of bad and mediocre bokeh lenses in the same
conditions:
http://www.edgehill.net/1/?SC=go.php&DIR=Misc/photography/bokeh/compare

Pardon me, but which is supposed to be which?