"Sharpness is a bourgeois concept"

Does the out of focus and camera motion really enhance these photographs? Would HCB think these photographs are what he was talking about when he said sharpness is a bourgeois concept? Do any of them capture the decisive moment and so are redeemed from their technical shortcomings?
 
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Sony A7II - Zeiss 35mm f2 Biogon
Yokohama, Japan​
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What good is sharpness if the subject is meaningless?
I have to see a lot of pictures that are razor sharp, but bland, featureless, or a copy of a copy of a copy of an old masterpiece.
Nowadays, any camera with autofocus can produce a sharp image. So where does the skill lie?
 
Alpsman said:
What good is sharpness if the subject is meaningless?
I have to see a lot of pictures that are razor sharp, but bland, featureless, or a copy of a copy of a copy of an old masterpiece.
Nowadays, any camera with autofocus can produce a sharp image. So where does the skill lie?
Click to expand...

Focusing skill is a mechanical aptitude, not artistic aptitude, you are right. Autofocus and autoexposure can give correctly exposed and sharp crap. The skill is in the eye of the photographer. Some of this can be learned. some is a gift. Like baseball, lots of people can hit a ball but very few wind up in the majors.

99% of what I take is crap but I do get lucky once in a while, a great while.
 
boojum said:
Focusing skill is a mechanical aptitude, not artistic aptitude, you are right. Autofocus and autoexposure can give correctly exposed and sharp crap. The skill is in the eye of the photographer. Some of this can be learned. some is a gift. Like baseball, lots of people can hit a ball but very few wind up in the majors.

99% of what I take is crap but I do get lucky once in a while, a great while.
Click to expand...

A few years ago I did a "test" at a party.
Nikon D700 with 50mm AF, auto focus, auto ISO, everything automatically, I only set the exposure time to at least 1/125 seconds.
And I didn't look through the viewfinder.
Even when I was drunk, the images came out sharp.

But if you follow someone who falls drunk from the bench with the camera in constant fire without looking through the viewfinder,
then not every picture is in the golden ratio.

Of course a lot of the pix where just crap but - sharp.
So the technology is really great.
😎
 
Nostalgia - Remember when there was a pandemic?
We're still there​

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Fujifilm X-H1 - Fujinon XF 23mm f1.4 R lens
Yokohama, Japan - October 2022
Image resized smaller than original​
 
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