OOF and the Beauty of Blur

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, 1/1000 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 200, 50mm f1.4, 1/1250 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 200, 50mm f1.4, 1/4000 sec

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Light Illuminates Texture and Color, Shadows Define Form

"Light illuminates texture and color, shadows define form" is phrase attributed to an american illustrator and writer Howard Pyle. It's a term often used by photographers as "Light illuminates and shadows define" and is a great way to describe dynamic range and contrast. This post though is about a different type of range.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 14mm f5.6, 1/200 sec

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On a photo project this weekend I travelled to Wentworth Falls, its a town in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales about 100 Kms west of Sydney on the Great Western Highway at an elevation of 867 metres.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 14mm f2.8, 1/100 sec

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Choosing carefully I took a walk of medium difficulty down a track that includes steps. A 1.5 km walk to Weeping Rock and Fletchers Lookout with a climb of about 90 metres. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn from the top of Wentworth falls and started down the very steep National Pass Walk a described as difficult with many steps and ladders I was about 300 metres down when I decided to go back.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 16mm f2.8, 1/160 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 800, 14mm f22, 1/6 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, 155mm f8, 1/40 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f8, HDR

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 16mm f22, 1/4 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 16mm f22, HDR

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, 70mm f2.8, 1/160 sec

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Composition

Composition is the placement elements in an image, the centre of interest is not normally the centre of the frame. The viewer will then tend to linger over points of interest that his eyes lead to. This is referred to as the "rule of thirds" a principle taught in graphic design and photography and is based on the theory that the eye goes naturally to a point about two thirds up from the bottom of the image. By visually dividing the image into thirds either horizontally or vertically or you achieve asymmetric balance which is naturally pleasing to the eye.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 78mm, 1/640 sec
Some principles of composition are shape and proportion, repetition (pattern), perspective, consistency (among elements), balance (of elements), orientation, space, colour, contrast, lighting and field of view or path of the the viewer's eye when they observe the image. Sometimes you need something in the image that leads you into the picture or gives you a sense of where the photographer was, to his 'perspective'. For example, in the second image from the same place but with a wider frame of view.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 155mm, 1/640 sec

I think this type of framing usually improves an image and parts of the image doesn’t need to be sharply in focus and this fuzziness or bokeh is often a pleasing affect and not a distraction.

Light II

Some more lighting situations . . .

High contrast sun and shadow.

Diffused light through a screen door. This is a merged image made from two shots, one focused on the door, and the second focused on the people outside then manipulated in Photoshop CS4.

This image is high contrast but boosted front light with a SB-900 flash.