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06/14/2006 07:56:56 PM · #101 |
Originally posted by boomtap: how do you achieve this effect? Is it a lighting technique? |
It's actually light sources that are out of focus.
Look at the crane shot in this thread. It's in a natural setting yet the effect is the same. Subjects that are backlit are good to try for this effect. As I mentioned before in this thread just play with the focus to find the look you want then try to find something to put in front of it (or behind).
There are a lot of things in nature that are quite boring when shot in sharp focus but when you put them out of focus, whoa...
Just experiment. I'm sure you'll find something that fits.
Remember, mine's only one opinion on the subject.
Message edited by author 2006-06-14 19:57:29. |
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06/14/2006 08:31:24 PM · #102 |
Is this a good example?

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06/14/2006 08:43:43 PM · #103 |
Originally posted by Southern Gentleman: Is this a good example?
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I say yes it meets the challenge. IMHO
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06/14/2006 08:57:25 PM · #104 |
This is the best definition I have found so far:
"Bokeh is a Japanese term used to describe the portion of an image that is perceptibly out of focus. A lens with "good" bokeh will produce a soft fuzzy edge to objects out of focus. If the object includes a pinpoint light source, the pinpoint highlight will appear as a soft edge fuzzy circle. Several pinpoints close together may produce overlapping soft fuzzy circles.
"Bad" bokeh can be caused by a number of phenomena. It may have a harsh (versus soft and fuzzy) edge, or it may be a distinct polygon in the shape of the aperture (usually 6 or 8 blades producing a hexagon or octagon). "Coma" is a lens damage, build flaw or design shortcoming that causes out of focus points to produce a slight tail also giving them a shape similar to a coma. Any combination of these effects causes the bokeh to be harsher than the ideal fuzzy edge circle.
Not all lenses have "good" bokeh. This does not mean a lens with "bad" bokeh is a "bad" lens. It may have other characteristics in which it excels and is particularly useful. All lens designs have some trade-offs among a half dozen desirable characteristics. Understanding how a lens behaves with portions of the image out of focus is important when attempting selective focusing.
A couple of subtle techniques can be used to pull an acceptable bokeh out of a lens that inherently exhibits harsh bokeh. One technique is to attempt using the lens at its widest aperture. Most lenses fully retract the aperture blades at widest aperture making the lens barrel and its internal flanges that hold the lens groups the effective aperture diaphragm. Since a lens barrel and its internal flanges are round, this can be used to eliminate distinct polygonal shapes from pinpoint highlights. Another techniques is selecting a background that does not have pinpoint highlights, or at least pinpoint highlights so close together the majority of the out of focus shapes overlap adjacent ones. This creates a blurred line or streak which can tolerate shapes other than round more easily."
web page |
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06/14/2006 09:12:26 PM · #105 |
OK, the other night I logged on to see who had placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd for unexpected find and I saw the bokeh challenge. Now, I have never in my life even heard the word bokeh. So I clicked on the challenge and read the challenge description.
"Loosely defined, bokeh is the quality and "feel" of the out-of-focus foreground or background elements of a photo. It isn't very interesting by itself, but take a photograph whose subject is enhanced by the bokeh of the background."
Right away I started having ideas and getting ready to take the shots. Then I see this thread and now I'm not sure about this challenge. It would seem that alot of people have their own idea (maybe the more accurate one) of what bokeh means and will be looking for and voting according to their idea. I have seen this come up in a few of the challenges in my short time here. It would seem to me that either the challenge descriptions need to be stated better and more in depth, or that people should let go of their preconceived notions of how the challenges should be met, and stop throwing up the DNMC card just because you think bokeh (or whatever) means something different. If the photo falls in line with the parameters of the challenge description wording, then it does meet the challenge, period.
Based on the description, just about every photo posted in this thread would meet the challenge.
Then again, this is just a newbies humble opinion. |
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06/14/2006 09:36:48 PM · #106 |
My version... |
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06/14/2006 09:37:44 PM · #107 |
BOKEH and shallow DOF is not the same thing

Message edited by author 2006-06-14 21:39:07. |
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06/14/2006 09:38:49 PM · #108 |
Originally posted by crayon: |
... fixed it - you only need the image id number and click the last icon above the post box.
Message edited by author 2006-06-14 21:39:48. |
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06/14/2006 09:41:05 PM · #109 |
Originally posted by crayon: BOKEH and shallow DOF is not the same thing
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Though you need shallow DOF to achieve Bokeh...
Actually, that's not true (referring to my statement above) if your entire image is made up of OOF circles and nothing is in sharp focus.
Message edited by author 2006-06-14 21:42:24. |
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06/14/2006 09:46:17 PM · #110 |
Crayon, I humbly disagree. I refer you to my earlier post:
"Bokeh is a Japanese term used to describe the portion of an image that is perceptibly out of focus. A lens with "good" bokeh will produce a soft fuzzy edge to objects out of focus. If the object includes a pinpoint light source, the pinpoint highlight will appear as a soft edge fuzzy circle. Several pinpoints close together may produce overlapping soft fuzzy circles"
MHO |
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06/14/2006 09:55:14 PM · #111 |
I should have saved my Green entry for Bokeh ;) |
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06/14/2006 10:03:01 PM · #112 |
Originally posted by crayon: BOKEH and shallow DOF is not the same thing
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Given the recent hoopla over uncredited photos in other people's portfolios, you'd probably be best to link to that photo or at least give the url. |
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06/14/2006 10:08:04 PM · #113 |
Sounds to me like this challenge could be open to debate, controversy, and a general sense of being screwed. |
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06/14/2006 10:08:49 PM · #114 |
Originally posted by boomtap: Sounds to me like this challenge could be open to debate, controversy, and a general sense of being screwed. |
So...it'll be just like every other challenge. ;) |
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06/14/2006 10:10:19 PM · #115 |
Originally posted by mk: Originally posted by boomtap: Sounds to me like this challenge could be open to debate, controversy, and a general sense of being screwed. |
So...it'll be just like every other challenge. ;) |
Oh yeah... makes us feel right at home :-)
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06/14/2006 10:24:44 PM · #116 |
Ok my first one was not. I looked at the site, and the closest thing I have ever taken that might have it is the following. Does this look like it?
I think the circles of light make it Bokeh? |
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06/14/2006 10:28:24 PM · #117 |
is this bokeh? |
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06/14/2006 10:30:34 PM · #118 |
maybe this wont work at all.
maybe the challenge should be changed to "depth of field" instead.
hehe |
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06/14/2006 10:30:44 PM · #119 |
Bokeh???
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06/14/2006 10:31:11 PM · #120 |
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06/14/2006 10:32:08 PM · #121 |
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06/14/2006 10:33:25 PM · #122 |
Better check out the rules before you submit. |
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06/14/2006 10:34:29 PM · #123 |
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06/14/2006 10:37:30 PM · #124 |
This is hard, I give up. I think I will go back to watching re-runs of married with children this week and skip this challenge. Nothing drives me more mad when voting than somebody who just enters something that doesn't fit at all. I don't want to be that guy. |
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06/14/2006 10:37:47 PM · #125 |
From what I am seeing, I think people are really confused about bokeh...
Message edited by author 2006-06-14 23:33:37. |
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