Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 200, 50mm f1.4, 1/100 sec
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Lens designers want to attain the best possible image quality and sharp focus performance in their products and the out of focus (OOF) parts of a camera's produced image are not a primary design objective in the manufacture of a lens. However, the OOF blur characteristics were a thing of beauty to Japanese photographers who introduced the term "bokeh" which in Japanese means "blur" or "haze" in the late 1990's. The aesthetic quality of the blur is the amount of background or foreground blur that is controlled (amongst other stuff) by the setting of the lens f-number.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 200, 50mm f1.4, 1/60 sec
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In an optical system the diameter of the entrance is expressed in terms of the f-number which is the focal length divided by the aperture diameter. F22 is mall f1.4 is large (smaller number bigger hole more light) The larger aperture gives a more blurred background. Out of focus highlights assume the shape of the lens aperture diaphragm opening, for example a six sided diaphragm leads to hexagonal blur patches but it is generally held that the better an aperture approximates a round opening and subsequently a more pleasing the blur (bokeh). One photographer famous for his use of bokeh as far back as the early 1980's is American photographer Kim Kirkpatrick.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 200, 50mm f1.4, 1/4000 sec
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