bokeh

Bouquet of bokeh

/ mikeosbornphoto / 38 Comments

The Japanese word bokeh is defined as “the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens”.

It truly comes to life when you play with light. The December nights in London start early and last a long time. In the urban area of Shepherds Bush, the darkness is punctuated by streams of traffic, street lights – and twinkling Christmas decorations.

I prowled the streets with my macro lens, fooled into focusing on nearby surfaces to attain abstraction and capture a stream of bokeh on a winter’s evening.

The Photo Shop

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Garden abstraction

/ mikeosbornphoto / 9 Comments

Lounger lights

This is a story of lazing in a neat, suburban garden. It’s bounded on all sides by fences and is carefully sculpted. The sun beats down and you screw up your eyes to combat the glare.

You see a series of abstract moments, unusual visions from the corners of your eyes. Little corners that invade your being from the inactivity of the day. And the sunlight plays on the conventional parameters of this garden to conjure up dreams of a languid summer day in this garden…

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 Gallery entrance

Bokeh blobs

/ mikeosbornphoto / 2 Comments

The rain had been falling in pulses all afternoon. This was a welcome break in the weather when the sun streamed through the trees. I caught the light while the lens was at rest, creating a whole frame of bokeh and orbs. 

With a second shot, I applied the digital paintbrush to make a blue frame punched through with light.

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Winter bokeh

Bokeh in blue ink

After the rain, the moisture-dappled surfaces of some parked cars were irresistible to shoot with my macro lens. The fine focus honed in on the droplets, while more bokeh was revealed. All hail the wet weather!

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Velvet sheen - clean (2)

Marilyn

/ mikeosbornphoto / 11 Comments

I was taking a stroll around the outer reaches of the Canarian town of Corralejo on my recent holiday, and came across something totally unexpected.

On a whitewashed wall next to an ordinary pavement on an undistinguished street, was an image of Marilyn Monroe. A simple stencil graffiti in dark paint, with those iconic features very clear in the fading light.

Who put her there and why? I can’t find the answers to those questions but am pleased with the photograph – she is almost outdone by the bokeh from some distant traffic in this shot.

It seems there is a lot of Marilyn street art all over the world. If anyone knows any more about this example, I would love to find out.

Marilyn

Royal railings

/ mikeosbornphoto / 5 Comments

Oakwood railings

Railings. You have to love them, especially if you’re a photographer. They’re a ready-made set of beautiful lines and reach into deep and satisfying bokeh.

This very handsome set is found a walk away here in west London. They provide a majestic barrier for Oakwood Court, a very handsome housing complex for the more well-heeled of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Needless to say, I live in a neighbouring area.

It was a pleasant, sunny Spring day, and the railings glisten in this relatively high key shot. It’s wondrous how some metal can pleasure the eye.

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Railing studyRoyal sign

If you like railings, you’ll like this:

Confessions of a photographer