[Leica] Bokeh and Lenses

[john at mcmaster.co.nz (John McMaster)]

You take a different type of photograph to me Tina, two of the images I 
showed the background disks are part of the shot. A straight shot would not 
be worth showing and I like the fact I can create something which the eye 
does not see ;-)

 If you want a neutral background then the 50mm APO Summicron is the best I 
have seen.....
http://johnmcmaster.com/PAW/2014/31/content/L2005284_large.html

john

-----Original Message-----

I think you are right, Ted!  I'm not going to worry about bokeh any more!
 From the examples posted here (and on Olympus and MUG) of "good" bokeh, 
only a few look good to me and those are the ones where the bokeh is not 
obvious.  If the first thing you see in a photo is the bokeh, that is a bad 
thing!!  All of those hideous circles take your eye away from whatever it is 
that you are trying to photograph in the first place.  I just don't 
understand how that could possibly be considered good.

No more bokeh for me.  Just photos.

Thanks for the reminder, Ted!

Tina


On Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 11:39 PM, Ted Grant <tedgrant at shaw.ca> wrote:

> TINA MANELY OFFERED AFTER READING: Mike Johnson's BOKEH article:
> >> He also comments that bokeh gets more problematic:
>
> the larger the aperture
> the closer the focus
> the more distant the background
> the more contrasty the background
> No wonder I had problems.  My 3 photos included all of the problematic 
> possibilities!<<<<<
>
> ======================================================================
> ======
> ==============
>
> Hi CREW & TINA,
> So once again Mike and his bokeh assessments and spooky stories about 
> this lens phenomena raises it's so called ugly head and nearly 
> everyone acquires wet pants of panic over it! Get over it! Simply 
> because if you know nothing about it
>
> "" It don't matter! "IT's THE CONTENT THAT COUNTS!!! HOWEVER IT 
> MATTERS TO THE OVER TECHIE PEOPLE!"" Good buddy Mike being one of them! 
> :-)  Hi Mike!
> ;-)
>
> OK here I go again.;-)
> So please let me explain before some of you get wet pants ? ;-) I had 
> been a working well published and paid professional photographer for I 
> suppose 30 years or more and never knew such a lens phenomena existed. 
> Until one day shortly after joining the LUG and Mike Johnson came on 
> with his spooky "bokeh -- BS!" Heck I had never read anything about 
> this "HORRID LENS EFFECT" let alone it even existed. So OK I had 
> nearly always used LEICA glass, whether it exists on LEICA lenses or 
> not?  "PLEASE DON'T TELL IF IT DOES, SIMPLY BECAUSE, "WHAT I DON'T 
> KNOW ISN'T GOING TO HURT MY PICTURES!"
> :-)
>
> Besides it obviously wasn't a detrimental factor! As I was  being 
> hired to fly about the world on "paying published assignments!"NEVER A 
> WORD FROM SOME OF THE TOUGHEST-ASSED PHOTO EDITORS YOU NEVER WANT TO 
> HAVE! KILLERS OF ONES FEELINGS!
> So when it came up on the LUG screen and I read about it, my immediate 
> re-action was "BUll-s-t!" STILL IS IN CAPITAL LETTERS!"
>
> Because if it were such a horrid picture spoiling effect? I'd 
> certainly have been chastised to tears any number of times  in the 
> past published 60 years!
> But do you know what???? Not one peep about the "bokeh effect" in any 
> of the over 300,000 images in the National Archives collection!
>
> OK folks, those who made it to the Leica Gallery New York? ........ "I 
> didn't hear any comments about the horrid evil "BOKEH FACTOR" in any 
> of the photos hanging on the walls?  Therefore? Is "BOKEH" as usual, 
> just another techie bit of jabber-whookie needlessly wasting our 
> picture taking time babbling about it? INSTEAD OF TAKING PICTURES?
>
> OK folks, "have a go at the old LAD!" :-) Whatever you do say, truly 
> isn't going to change my mind about "THE BIG BAD BOOGIE BOKEHMAN!" :-) 
> cheers, Dr. ted :-)the "big bad bokeh boogeyman":-)
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: LUG [mailto:lug-bounces+tedgrant=shaw.ca at leica-users.org] On 
> Behalf Of Tina Manley
> Sent: August-20-14 3:39 PM
> To: MUGers at yahoogroups.com; Leica Users Group; paw; seephoto; Olympus 
> Camera Discussion
> Subject: [Leica] Bokeh and Lenses
>
> PESO:
>
> Mike Johnston (The Online Photographer) has written quite a bit about 
> bokeh.  He has a pdf in which he rates many lenses for their bokeh.
>
> http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/files/bokehrankings5.pdf
>
> He also comments that bokeh gets more problematic:
>
> the larger the aperture
> the closer the focus
> the more distant the background
> the more contrasty the background
>
> No wonder I had problems.  My 3 photos included all of the problematic 
> possibilities!
>
> Guess I'll try again.   The Summicron does get a 10 in the lens ratings.
>
> Tina
>