Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/01/02

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Bokeh is still nonsense
From: Doug Herr <telyt@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2002 19:21:31 -0800

on 1/2/02 6:27 PM, Sal DiMarco,Jr. at sdmp007@pressroom.com wrote:
 
> What you call bokeh, I call selective focus. Selective focus plays a
> part in everyone's work including Ted's and mine.
 
Sal, bokeh and selective focus are different things.  Bokeh is not the
presence or absence of out-of-focus areas.  It is the rendition of
out-of-focus areas.  Just as tonal rendition can be smooth or coarse, so
bokeh can be smooth or coarse.  One does not say a photo "has" or "doesn't
have" tonal rendition, and neither does a photo "have" or "not have" bokeh.
 
> 
> The final picture is the only thing which is important. No one ever
> bought, published or liked a photo because of "great bokeh."
>
 
I prefer the look of photos made with "good" bokeh lenses.  I take pride in
my work more when I like the results.  I don't like ni-sen bokeh.  To my
eye, it distracts from the main subject and looks ugly.
 
Some people go to great lengths to get good tonality, fine grain or
appropriate depth of field.  On this list there are ENDLESS threads on these
subjects and others related to getting the most from our tiny negatives.  If
none of these things mattered then there would be no reason to use anthing
larger than a 35mm or APS camera.  People DO buy and publish photos based at
least in part on these image qualities.  Not ENTIRELY because of these image
properties, but at least partially.
 
Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
www.wildlightphoto.com


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