Bokeh

I have always loved the distorted effects of out of focus details that give the illusion of color. At the beginning of Lost in Translation (one of my favorite movies) it begins with 'Focus Features' production company logo and I can't get enough of the out of focus effects that they use, which resemble sequins. As I've said before, it's the simple things that grab my attention.

My latest interest is in Bokeh, the Japanese word meaning 'fuzzy or blur'. I don't have my 35mm camera in Germany, and I'm wishing for a digital one, but I want to try these effects myself. Maybe since Valentine's Day is right around the corner I'll do something sweet like these hearts.

Directions for creating your own can be found here. It looks like a lot of trail and error, but the results are bound to be interesting. The images above are taken by a Flickr member named rottielover. (How sweet is that dog?!)

Another photography idea I've had stashed away is working on some tilt shift photography, which I was reminded by looking at rottielover's images. The toy like results can be achieved using a tilted lens available at a site called Lens Babies. (image mcsixth via cheapshooter) The overhead views really resemble miniature models and look so fragile.