Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/08/27

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Bokeh vs. Nukeh
From: Krechtz@aol.com
Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2000 13:07:04 EDT

In a message dated 8/26/00 8:54:46 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
apbbeijing@yahoo.com writes:

<< I am still convinced bokeh is too non-scientific to be of value: some of 
the
 recent discussion on the LUG seems to illustrate this. For example Henri
 Cartier Bresson's remarks referred to blurred backgrounds due to limited
 depth of field from lenses used with wider apertures and said nothing about
 the characteristics of this background beyond blurriness. >>

The issue is not whether great European photographers are or ever have been 
devotees of Japanese photographic philosophy or lens tests or have made 
published observations as to all possible nuances to be seen in the out of 
focus areas of photographs.  I hope it is generally agreed that even the most 
reasoned and scientific efforts to measure, analyze and quantify all aspects 
of optical performance are less than universally acceptable or useful as 
predictors of what a given lens will do with each different film under all 
reasonably possible conditions.  It is a fact of photographic life that in 
many instances out of focus areas may occupy a significant amount of space 
within a frame.  What that area looks like surely merits at least some 
consideration on the part of the photographer.

Joe Sobel