Thursday, May 18, 2017

Summer Tanager and Blurred Photographs



Photography changes as all art forms change. Once “tack sharp” and only tack sharp meant an acceptable photograph. Now, blurring as an indication of motion or movement attracts a lot of attention, and acceptability.

The rules seem simple: everything except the item in motion remains sharp. This shows the viewer that you are not passing off a shaky photography or mistake as something you meant to do.

I found I need to add another rule. Shallow depth of field can throw the background out of focus in order to concentrate attention on the subject. When combined with the blur of the figure in motion, it appears jarring to me.


I photographed this Summer Tanager sitting in the tree, and kept the lens on him as he took off. I would have really had something if the pine needles had not been in the background. The tree itself is sharp, but that background has to go. Back to the drawing board! 

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