Forums › Forums › Farktography General Chat › This week’s contest › 08-17-11 – Mmm Bokeh 2: Electric Bokehloo
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olavf.
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August 14, 2011 at 9:10 pm #29287
Elsinore
KeymasterWell, if you have shallow dof, you’re probably going to have bokeh. However, you can have bokeh without particularly shallow dof, if your subject is sufficiently far from background to induce blur. Personally, I’d rather see the theme open to any entry demonstrating bokeh, not simply those showing it only by using shallow dof.
August 14, 2011 at 10:03 pm #29288U-Man
ParticipantI completely agree. That’s why I wanted to change the description. I only changed it slightly due to being somewhat late in the game.
How about a simple, “Show us bokeh”?
August 14, 2011 at 10:15 pm #29289sleeping
Participantyour subject is sufficiently far from background to induce blur.
But in’t that basically the definition of shallow DOF? These things are relative to the subject you’re shooting – an inch of DOF is a lot in a macro photo, but not that much in a portrait etc…
August 14, 2011 at 10:52 pm #29290Keymasteryour subject is sufficiently far from background to induce blur.
But in’t that basically the definition of shallow DOF? These things are relative to the subject you’re shooting – an inch of DOF is a lot in a macro photo, but not that much in a portrait etc…
Well, I was thinking of portrait situations, maybe outdoors, where you’re shooting with a long lens and you’re maybe 10-12 feet away with a 3-4 ft depth of field so your subject is sharp, but the trees 30 yards away are blurred. I guess it ultimately depends on your definition of “shallow”.
U-Man: I figured maybe we were saying the same thing, but differently. I keyed off your suggestion of showing bokeh through “shallow depth of field” and wanted to be sure we weren’t talking about limiting it to things like millimeters’ or inches’ worth of dof. We probably do want to say something more than just “show us bokeh” only because that’s a pretty jargon-y term that not everyone will understand.
August 14, 2011 at 11:32 pm #29291ennuipoet
ParticipantU-Man: I figured maybe we were saying the same thing, but differently. I keyed off your suggestion of showing bokeh through “shallow depth of field” and wanted to be sure we weren’t talking about limiting it to things like millimeters’ or inches’ worth of dof. We probably do want to say something more than just “show us bokeh” only because that’s a pretty jargon-y term that not everyone will understand.
In a world of cellphone cameras and cheap point and shoots, DoF is a jargony term as well. (Snark, but accurate snark) An addendum such as “Show your Bokeh/Shallow Depth of Field (Photos with clear foreground and blurry background)” Bokeh is like porn for the non-photographer world, they don’t know how to describe it (or what it is) but the like it when they see it.
PS: libranoelrose is asking for you in the PSAEF, why I do not know.
August 14, 2011 at 11:45 pm #29292KeymasterYep, got an email on the thread…just left a response.
August 15, 2011 at 4:54 am #29293ravnostic
ParticipantRegarding the latest comments (from U-Mans request about the description on). I have well over a dozen may “b”s for this (more like 2 doz.). I’ve visited the websites Else recommended. I’ve looked through forums. I reviewed the entries from the original. I think get[/b] the basic idea. But everything I see from one website/forum/picture to the next seems to contradict the one previous, and then back again.
I still have no clue as to whether anything I have even remotely defines excellent (or really poor) bokeh, and I’ll just probably go with posting the shots I like best, and voting be damned. If parts be clearly focused and parts be not, that’s about all I’ll ever understand about doing bokeh.
Am I the only one feeling this way?
August 15, 2011 at 1:58 pm #29294ParticipantI still have no clue as to whether anything I have even remotely defines excellent (or really poor) bokeh, and I’ll just probably go with posting the shots I like best, and voting be damned. If parts be clearly focused and parts be not, that’s about all I’ll ever understand about doing bokeh.
Am I the only one feeling this way?
Rav: The truth about bokeh is the who concept was made up by camera companies to convince you to buy more lenses. (Assumes facts not in evidence) The truth is, good bokeh is in the small details, which most people never actually see. Take a photo with a strong background blur and zoom in. The points of light in the background should be smooth, and the rounder the better. (This is entirely the effect of how many blades make up your aperture ring, 9 blades make a more circular hole than seven) The if background blobs are rough and octagonal then that not great bokeh. The physical objects in the background blur should have smooth edges rather than jagged, yet you should be able to see (for example) where one flower stem ends and another begins. This is a property of the actual glass, (as I understand) and how well the elements work together. Producing the bokeh effect relies on focal length, f-stop and focal distance.
So, you are doing exactly the right thing, pick the shots you like and run with them. The only way to “do it wrong” in this is have everything in the shot in the same plane of focus. Good bokeh or bad bokeh, that is for you to decide for yourself. (Or, you can spend a lot of time reading about it in magazines and message boards, time which I will never get back!) Shoot with what you have, save for what you want, and have frickin’ fun!!
August 15, 2011 at 9:18 pm #29295EdenLiesObscured
ParticipantAn addendum such as “Show your Bokeh/Shallow Depth of Field (Photos with clear foreground and blurry background)” PSAEF, why I do not know.
Why limited to clear foreground and blurry background? Why not the opposite?
And, asking again, what about bokeh created from a lens reversal macro? The technique I use creates a soft, dreamy blur, with incredibly shallow depth of field.
August 15, 2011 at 9:38 pm #29296ParticipantAn addendum such as “Show your Bokeh/Shallow Depth of Field (Photos with clear foreground and blurry background)” PSAEF, why I do not know.
Why limited to clear foreground and blurry background? Why not the opposite?
And, asking again, what about bokeh created from a lens reversal macro? The technique I use creates a soft, dreamy blur, with incredibly shallow depth of field.
That would also qualify! See how hard it is to explain! 🙂
August 15, 2011 at 11:31 pm #29297ParticipantIf parts be clearly focused and parts be not, that’s about all I’ll ever understand about doing bokeh.
Well, I think there is a definite difference between simply having an out of focus background:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/awrose/4894375236/in/set-625417
and using (well, attempting to, anyway, this one is not 100% successful) the out of focus elements in an image as part of the composition:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/awrose/4962388314/in/set-625417
I’m not saying the first one wouldn’t be fine to post in the contest, but I’m not sure it would stand out, particularly…
August 16, 2011 at 2:10 am #29298nobigdeal
ParticipantWhat is funny to me about all the nitpicking in this discussion is that the Fark voters probably won’t vote based on the pleasing quality of the Bokeh, but will vote for the photo with the best sharp part. 😆
August 16, 2011 at 3:03 am #29299olavf
ParticipantAugust 16, 2011 at 7:42 am #29300Plamadude30k
ParticipantCould I get some opinions? I’m trying to decide between these two:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lJziaj3ARVWUGwyhjBiZCQ?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ohEkGv7mx8galmyH1QE3Yw?feat=directlinkI already have a flower photo, but I’m just not sure the portrait is bokehey enough. I’ll be traveling most of tomorrow…today…Tuesday (whatever it is), but I’ll be able to check in a couple times during the day. Posting on Wednesday is going to be interesting, since the contest will go live at 2PM local time. I’ve gotta figure out how to fit that in my schedule.
August 16, 2011 at 5:20 pm #29301QueenBee
Participantoh crap. I thought this week was the macro week…Damn. Time to do some hunting…
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