"Bokeh"-Amature Bling?

[ferider]

I was really proud when I got the shot below. Because of the rare bird, it looking at me, focus being right on, etc.
What prevents it from hanging at the wall at home is that the background really annoys me.

I seriously would consider it one of my better photos, if the background was smoother.

Maybe it's just me ... what do you guys think ?

Roland.

 

[yanidel]

It is nice shot ... why do you need the whole picture to be smooth ? There is duality in this shot ... lovely bird in a rough world. I think it works well.

 

[oftheherd]

blue eyes dont have as nice bokeh as brown eyes, green eyes have terrible swirly bokeh

red eyes render everything as bokeh !

Which is why many people have given up drinking. 😛 😀

 

[ferider]

Thanks guys. I was shot with a lens from the 70s, a Tokina ATX 100-300/4 (@ 300), and I now hope I had used a 300 Zuiko .... to avoid the double lines.

 

[ampguy]

Hi Roland

Hi Roland

What if you soft focused around the bird? See the attached example.

I was really proud when I got the shot below. Because of the rare bird, it looking at me, focus being right on, etc.
What prevents it from hanging at the wall at home is that the background really annoys me.

I seriously would consider it one of my better photos, if the background was smoother.

Maybe it's just me ... what do you guys think ?

Roland.

 

[Nikkor AIS]

The subject of bokeh is of special concern to those who are interested in subject isolation and in cases where telephotos are in use, compression. I think it's interesting how a similar subject can be given a different treatment depending on the lens and aperture used. Of course, your point of view, distance to the subject, subject distance to the background and the nature of the background are also factors to consider. Everything comes into play when shooting wide open with long fast glass. Fast is relative; sometimes a long fast glass can be a Nikkor 800 at F5.6. Focus is critical, and paying close attention to your position relative to the subject and background has a huge impact on the bokeh. What's interesting (at least to me) is how similar different lenses with different apertures can give amazingly similar bokeh when the lens-to-subject distance is altered to give the same relative magnification in the view finder. A point worth nothing: if bokeh is amateur bling, then I’m nearly broke in the never-ending quest for the ultimate bokeh.

A few examples:

Back bokeh:



Taken with a Leica M3 50 1.0 Noctilux:

]

Taken with a Nikkor 28 1.4 D AF on a Nikon D3:



Thoughts?
-Gregory


Attached:
LEFT: Nikkor 300 2.0 IF ED AIS @ 2.0
RIGHT: Nikkor 600 IF AIS @ 4

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Uncoated 1936 CZJ Sonnar 5cm F1.5, converted to LTM, wide-open.

Wartime CZJ Sonnar "T" 5cm F1.5 in LTM.

Don't spend a lot of money searching for perfect Bokeh.

Just get a Zeiss Sonnar.

And occasionally let sunlight strike across the front element.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Although Calcium Fluorite lenses are kind of nice for Bokeh.

But they cost 10x as much.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

So much "amature" bling, Brian! 😉

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Photography is like painting, Monet or Vermeer, personal tastes. But you can't simply discredit other's interests in having a satisfying bokeh because it is of no importance in your style/preferences of photography. And even if it is of no importance to you, some viewers of your pictures will notice, though I agree that good bokeh will never outweight a bad picture.

Completely agree. This "subject" comes up often, brought up specially by the "who cares" ignorati who like to bash anything they don't understand (or can't afford).

Along with "which lens is sharper?" threads, the "bokeh is the work of the Devil" threads are sometimes amusing (and not just for the 4th-Grade debate level alone) :angel:

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

BTW, it's not "boca", it's "bow-kae".

Corroborated by three people (who I've asked) who know both Japanese and English in the past five years. So I know they're not talking out of their :😱h la la:: 😉

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Completely agree. This "subject" comes up often, brought up specially by the "who cares" ignorati who like to bash anything they don't understand (or can't afford).

Along with "which lens is sharper?" threads, the "bokeh is the work of the Devil" threads are sometimes amusing (and not just for the 4th-Grade debate level alone) :angel:

Funny and well said!

Todd

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The "Which Lens is Sharper" argument is easy to answer as the measurement is objective. Sharpness can be defined in terms that can be measured.

The "which lens has better bokeh" is just as easy to answer. The answer is Carl Zeiss Sonnar "T" 5cm F1.5, wartime, serial numbers between 267xxxx and 272xxxx.

See how easy that was for me to answer?

 

[ulrikft]

Everything can be overused.. "I'm so original and genuine, I shoot film, so don't worry that my subject matter sucks, I SHOOT FILM!!!"... or "I cross process my images, so don't worry about no compositional skills or other mistakes, I HAVE FUNKY COLORS!!!"... or "i shoot with a rangefinder, some random people in a street are involved, no story or visual/social impact.. BUT IT IS A RANGEFINDER DUDE!!"...

Color, monochrome, bokeh, dof, angles, wide angle shots, telephoto shots... tools, use them. The initial post and a few of the responses in the thread are so pretentious it hurts my eyes to read it.

 

[Nikkor AIS]

"Hurts my eye to read". Sometimes words fall short of hitting the mark.

Taken with a Canon 50 1.0 and a Canon 5D2 @ F 1.0

Gregory

 

[Sonnar Brian]

> The initial post and a few of the responses in the thread are so pretentious it hurts
> my eyes to read it.

Phrases like this give me a warm, fuzzy feeling. An inner glow. I know my statements were everything I wanted them to be.

My work here is done.

 

[jsrockit]

A good photographer can coax a 5-star shot out of a mobile phone camera with a sensor smaller than the nail on your pinky toe.

Yeah, maybe... but there is no inspiration in doing that. Shallow depth of field can be very fun which is why people gravitate towards it.

However, I do agree that bokeh is overused these days, and while I'm sick of seeing tree branches or bottles with out of focus backgrounds..., there are some nice photos in the bokeh thread here.

 

[Nikkor AIS]

I disagree about bokeh being overused😛.

Gregory

 

[Sonnar Brian]

while I'm sick of seeing tree branches or bottles with out of focus backgrounds...

This is my most-viewed photo on Flickr, marked as a favorite more than any other.

Canon 50/0.95 wide-open, on the Canon 7. It's a test shot, got the lens from Ebay and tried it out on my Canon body. The focus was spot-on. And flare, well that is the Sun in the right-hand corner. Most of my tree-branch shots are focus tests. But I like pretty colors and swirly lights.

 

[Nikkor AIS]

Gorgeous shot Brian. I can see why it's such a favourite.

gregory