Andyby
edc1Comment: *** CRITIQUE CLUB COMMENT ***
Speaking of this as an image, rather than as a challenge entry, The first thing I notice is that both the composition and the lighting are remarkably flat and static. This is a little surprising, compositionally, since there's a HUGE out-of-focus area that ought to lend mych more of a sense of depth than it actually does.
I suspect that if the second, leaning tree were not there, the sense of depth would be greater. As it is, the sharp tree just kind of fades into the less-focused tree, and that into the background. I imagine that if you'd moved around to the right somewhat, this could be improved.
Addressing the challenge itself, this image gives more of a sense of shallow DOF than actual "bokeh"; it's a fine line, admittedly, but I place it on that side of the line. Speaking of bokeh as an artistic "solution", rtaher than in the more limited sense of an "artefact" induced by spherical distortion in the lens (which this image does not have at all), the goal would be too have a soft, entirely out-of-focus ground that was interacting actively with the sharp subject.
Try an experiemnt: take this image back to photoshop, select everything that is not the sharp tree, and apply a significant gaussian blur to that selection. By doing this, you will see what is possible when you play sharp aganst soft in a serious way, which is what "bokeh" is about, in the artistic sense.
Robt.
Photographer found comment helpful.
