Out of Focus Photos

[EcoLeica]

It seems to me that the holy grail of photography is pin sharpe focusing, especially when using a rangefinder. Its not that i want to say sharp photos are bad, but are they the be all and end all? Due to a rangefinder screwup i produced this shot. Its really out of focus but for some strange reason it works well....what do you fellows think and do any of you have some interesting out of focus shots?

Cheers

 

[FrankS]

I agree that sometimes an out of focus shot does work.

 

[sunsworth]

The holy grail of photography is to produce an interesting photograph, sharpness is just one of the factors in the mix ;-)

 

[jonasv]

I don't have anything in particular against out-of-focus shots, they can be very atmospheric... But, they quickly get gimmicky, like tilted shots, ultra-high-contrast shots, ... I don't think a good photograph needs any of these. It can be nice once or twice but it gets tiring quickly.

 

[clarence]

I personally feel that an out-of focus shot only works when there the plane of focus does not register anything in the picture as distractingly sharp. Motion blur can easily render focusing mistakes unnoticeable, and can make pictures look interesting enough.

What frustrates me are those shots where, for example, the ears are in focus, but the intended subject, the eyes, are not.

Clarence

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I like this one photographed for a birthday card for my mother.

 

[bmicklea]

I've been really pushing the limits of handheld with my new-found RF love. The picture of the dock was taken at 1sec. exposure at f1.7 on reala.



The picture of the ship was also at 1sec. exposure and f1.7 but on Provia.

 

[peter_n]

Was it HCB who once said that sharpness is a bourgeois concept? I think your photograph works because the context is off angle, subject is partially out of frame, etc. It looks like you were running by and took a quick snap.

 

[Scarpia]

I like this one photographed for a birthday card for my mother.

I like it too. Reminds me of Renoir and other impressionists. Well done.
Kurt M.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Thank you Scarpia. But Renoir? My mother said Monet, and I'd go along with her there.

Does anybody else take photos for personal cards?

 

[Scarpia]

Sorry, Jon. I agree with your mother. I just hadn;t thought about Monet. I still love the pic, though.
Kurt M.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Thank you Kurt.

Do you take photos for wife, good friend, kids and so on. Just one print for them. Special?

 

[vha]

Haven´t been taking lots of out of focus shots on purpose except this one, was working as a photographers assistant some years ago , and when you have the studio for yourself at the weekend you burn some film 🙂

This one taken with my F2 photomic and a 50mm nikkor H.

Think I have to test the 35nokton and the 50 elmar on defocus next weekend.

vha

 

[clarence]

Haven´t been taking lots of out of focus shots on purpose except this one, was working as a photographers assistant some years ago , and when you have the studio for yourself at the weekend you burn some film 🙂

This one taken with my F2 photomic and a 50mm nikkor H.

Think I have to test the 35nokton and the 50 elmar on defocus next weekend.

vha

I get plenty of out of focus shots in the studio. It's really hard to focus when you tell the model to keep moving. And my modelling lights are also dim.

Clarence

 

[thelovecollect]

i cannot get myself to shoot out-of-focus...it's hard enough to shoot sharp pictures to begin with..

but i like pictorialist images, it can be soft as hell but still in focus..