What do you think to bokeh?

Mark.A

Mark.A

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I keep seeing more and more images of just 'bokeh' and nothing else? ...and they seem to be coming from lots of different photographers. Fair enough the odd one could be passable as a piece of abstract art but surely it's not worth the attention that it seems to be getting from photographers lately?

I like to see a nice bokeh as the background in images sure but not as the main subject of an image. I certainly don't think it warrants doing in several hundred different ways. On the whole I think this bokeh craze is crazy. :nuts:

What do you think? ...or have you even noticed it? :lol:
 
Do you mean on this forum??
 
No, actually I don't think I've seen any yet on this forum. More on Flickr and other photography sites in general.
 
There's been a few ultra bokehs in this forum that I've seen but not too many. I agree that it can work occasionally when used for its own sake, but it's best when it blurs out background and brings the subject of the photo forward. I don't really like it when it's used as foreground blurring. Doesn't seem to work somehow.
 
ok I know this is probably a silly question - but what is brokeh ???????????
 
It's bokeh not brokeh and it's how the extremely out of focus pattern looks that you get in images at the points farthest away from the point of focus when a shallow depth of field is used.
 
Mark.A said:
I keep seeing more and more images of just 'bokeh' and nothing else?
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Bokeh only refers to an out of focus background area in an image afaik, the images you refer to (Flickr is full of them) are just out of focus pictures :lol:
 
It's what you get after too many beers,out on a shoot, killer shot in the bag and everytbody tells you your shots are sh-t !
 
Mark its not just people testing out new lenses is it? I have to say i haven't noticed it but its a thought if there hosting them on flickr to display in threads like ooo look at the nice bokeh on my new lens??
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Bokeh only refers to an out of focus background area in an image afaik, the images you refer to (Flickr is full of them) are just out of focus pictures :lol:
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Bokeh actually describes the quality of the out of focus pattern in out of focus areas. Not how much there is or how far out of focus it is.

The images I'm on about are all labelled as being of bokeh. Search for bokeh on Flickr and have a look through a few hundred... :lol:

I look through Flickriver most days and I can guarantee I'll see at least 2 or 3 shots of just bokeh in there.
 
*Slighty off topic but how should one pronounce 'bokeh' correctly?

is the 'bok' syllable like 'sock' but with a 'b' and the 'eh' part like...erm....well that's the bit that stumps me really. :thinking:

I heard a German gentleman pronounce it like 'bouquet' once,"Oh yes, this prime has wonderful bouquet!" and that prompted another chap to start giggling.:|
 
i dont know the correct way, but i pronounce it as you would COKE, then an "A" - BOWCAY
 
I think it's pronounced Bow-kay the same as 'Bouquet'.
 
The important thing is that the "o" should be nicely rounded . . .
 
LOL. I tend to say Bokay, but to be strictly correct with the Japanese pronunciation it should be Bo as in peep - Keh as Kevin. At least that was the concensus last time I researched it. It just sounds strange in English. :shrug:
 
CT said:
LOL. I tend to say Bokay, but to be strictly correct with the Japanese pronunciation it should be Bo as in peep - Keh as Kevin. At least that was the concensus last time I researched it. It just sounds strange in English. :shrug:
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This is my favourite so far. But I still want to say "Knees bent, arms stretched Raa raa raa" just one last time! :lol:
 
LOL. Just carry on saying it how you like, who really cares? :D
 
I find discussions on the pronunciation of bokeh, infinitely more interesting than flicking through rubbish at Flickr.
:)
 
About half of the stuff that turns up on Flickriver is damn good to me. Just the Bokeh shots that are a bit tedious.
 
I don't know about you, but until about a year ago I'd never heard of it. As far as I know it used to just be called 'out of focus'. I wonder how and when it came in to fashion?
 
Tomas Whitehouse said:
*Slighty off topic but how should one pronounce 'bokeh' correctly?

is the 'bok' syllable like 'sock' but with a 'b' and the 'eh' part like...erm....well that's the bit that stumps me really. :thinking:

I heard a German gentleman pronounce it like 'bouquet' once,"Oh yes, this prime has wonderful bouquet!" and that prompted another chap to start giggling.:|
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Technically, it should be spelt boke, which is also a scots word for the feeling you get just before you're sick, as in "see those people who own Canons, they give me the boke, so they do!"

:naughty::wave::exit:
 
And it made Explore :shake: Just goes to show what a lot of nonsense that is :lol:


From now on I'm going to claim all my crap motorsport shots aren't oof, they just contain lots of bokeh......
 
That's only a small proportion of what gets on explore. Most of the stuff that gets on is very good.

Here's a selection of the kind of images I find every day on explore:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandmania/2827690308/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alpo430/2855879094/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/valpopando/2803040654/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arndsan/2850026065/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iceman9294/2855932207/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctony/2857452069/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/markkirby/2780378025/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgangstaudt/892746025/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iceman9294/2830511892/

I don't consider them nonsense. To me it's worth having to look at the few bokeh shots and other weird shots to be able to find the many other great images that are on explore.
 
Mark.A said:
That's only a small proportion of what gets on explore. Most of the stuff that gets on is very good.
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this was one of the first pics that came up when I had a look just now

2853286869_248aa39bb9.jpg



Granted, there are a lot of good pics on Explore as well, but getting one on there has nothing to do with photographic quality, it's picked by a machine....
 
True, but it does seem to work pretty good. I don't think you can say it has nothing to do with photograpic quality as the machine picks it based partly on the interest in that image by Flickr members and if it's a good photograph then it tends to be interesting to others.
 
Cut a heart (or whatever shape you want) hole in a piece of black card and hold it over the front of the lens. OOF highlights will take on the shape of the hole you've cut. Experiment with cutout sizes to see what works best for you.
 
Mark.A said:
This image is the kind of craziness I'm on about.
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It's just an abstract form of photography!

You wouldn't think it but photography is an art-form too you know. [/sarcasm]
The person who took that image has just set their camera to get the results they had wanted.

I personally love bokehs in portraits where the background is blurred.
 
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