Philosophy of bokeh? Looking for good reading suggestions and good discussion here

[johnastovall]

Quality always betters Quantity. Rather have 2000 pounds of Amorphous carbon or a pound of isometric-hexoctahedral carbon?

[johnastovall]

On questioning about cultivation of Bokeh, yes I do which is why I like very fast lenses shot wide open.

Monet Bokeh.

[johnastovall]

Or "Blood in the Streets."

[erisian pope]

Well I went and read each of the articles and threads that have been posted. Thank you all for all the input so far! John, Blood in the Street is really attractive to me. It's not the sort of photography I tend to gravitate towards, but I keep going back and looking some more. Your link about packaging 5 eggs had a link in it that discussed the terms wabi and sabi and part of the description of wabi included subtelties that arise to the observer over time (my poor paraphrase) and I think this describes some of Blood's allure for me. I appreicate both of your examples of pictures where bokeh was intentionally used.

I also like the shot of the woman, Michael. It's a more-than-typically interesting background for a portrait-style picture! You say the background keeps r-capturing your interest, does this suggest that you'll be trying to cultivate and use bokeh in the future? (grin)

I know I have a lot of experimentation to do as I figure out how I want to compose in ways where the background is more than merely "not distracting" (I think that was from MIke Johnson in one of Stovall's links). I am loving that this discussion didn't die out of the gate. Thank you all, and keep the talk going!

[barP]

Originally Posted by Moses on the Street

I just use surface blur in photoshop when I want bokeh.

and, to anyone who knows photography, it will always be obvious. if it's bad photoshop, it may even be obvious to people who don't know photo. true background softness is impossible to duplicate in the computer.

wp.

[erisian pope]

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography...cal/bokeh.html

This writeup demonstrates via closeup looks at images the difference between lens bokeh and gaussian blur. I found it interesting to look at.

[johnastovall]

Lens speed has been mentioned regarding Bokeh. Interestingly among Leica shooters of all their lenses of the last 75 years, the 35mm 1:2.0 Summicron IV production design is know as the "Bokeh King."

[erisian pope]

Even though their 50/1.0 is faster? Interesting. I know that's a reflection of construction (glass, glass coatings, aperture blades, etc) so I guess that's where the difference is.

[johnastovall]

The bokeh of the Nocti can be great and it can be very nasty. The same can be said of the Canon 50 f/1.0 but is is even worse when getting very nasty flare at night from point sources of light.

Here's a nice thread on the 35 IV.

Examples of 35 IV Bokeh.

[johnastovall]

Found it!

Excellent article on Bokeh.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by barP

and, to anyone who knows photography, it will always be obvious. if it's bad photoshop, it may even be obvious to people who don't know photo. true background softness is impossible to duplicate in the computer.

wp.

Amen, Brother! Along with many other Photoshop "fixes".

[barP]

Originally Posted by venchka

Amen, Brother! Along with many other Photoshop "fixes".

i think i'm even more stoked that you like my comment than if you liked one of my photographs!



wp.

[studiocygnet]

Oops. I guess this is the thread that my bokeh comment should have gone into, instead of the bokey thread in General Photos. I found the photo thread first. So just refer to my opinion over there, don't want to repeat it here.