Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/06/21

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Subject: [Leica] More than you ever wanted to know about Bokeh
From: Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 1998 16:43:44 -0700

The word "Bokeh" comes from the two katakana characters "bo" and "ke" which
mean "out-of-focus blur" Bo ke have been transliterated from "boke" to
"bokeh" so that English speaking people will pronounce it correctly.

Photo Techniques, May/June 1997 issue.

"A PRIMER ON BOKEH"
   1. What is Bokeh
   2. Notes on the terminology of Bokeh
   3. A technical view of Bokeh

Back issues available from the publisher:

Preston Publications
6600 W. Touhy
Niles, IL 60714 - 4588
(847) 647-2900

However...

I personally think that Bokeh is an "art" word. What is "art" to one person
is "trash" to another. I firmly believe that "good Bokeh" to one person
makes an "ugly photograph" to another. I like many lenses because of the
way I photograph. Different people photograph differently. A LUGger, awhile
back, reported that he was disgusted with any photograph that had a single
silver molecule out of focus.

My point is that asking someone to describe Bokeh is akin to trying to
define art. You'll have to take photographs the way you take them, with the
lenses you choose, and look at them yourself. Make up your own mind. Even
though Preston Publications has tried to describe different kinds of Bokeh,
it seems to me to be very nebulous. It's in the mind of the viewer.

FWIW

Jim