Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Prairie Grasses and Bokeh

Bokeh (for the non-photography types who don't know) is a photography word that refers to the aesthetic qualities of the background blur one achieves with a given lens. Using my Canon 100-400mm zoom this past weekend at Armand Bayou Nature Center I was extremely pleased with how the bokeh in these shots of prairie grasses turned the backdrop of grasses into a smooth curtain of fall colors.

Title: "Prairie Grass 1"


Title: "Prairie Grass 2"


Title: "Prairie Grass 3"


Title: "Prairie Grass 4"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background > Topaz Adjust plugin "Spicify" preset > Nik Viveza plugin to brighten the subject and darken the background

4 comments:

Larry J. Patrick said...

No doubt about it--#3 and #4 are my favorites. Why? Because they are so simple--subject and blurred background. Their simple composition make the colors come forward, which I like.

The only thing that might be missing is a Brian twist--maybe shoot with your camera at a different angle from the normal 90 or 180 degree position.

Really good job handling these subjects!

PS--You may be right (do not know) on his line of work, but wrong on why a log of people know him.

Barry Armer said...

Thanks for your comments Patrick!

I like 3 and 4 the most as well.

As far as the composition goes I was kind of limited by my objective of having prairie grass as the background. Two low or to high on the POV and I would have ended up with sky or ground in the shot. Does that address what you meant by your comment or, as I frequently do, did I miss your point?

Cheers!
Barry

Larry said...

Good job on the bunch. My fav is #1.

Anonymous said...

I think #3 & #4 do a better job of setting off your subject, but I like the background in #1. I like the idea that you can tell what the background is, but to me the effect better represents what bokeh is.

That's just my opinion. Everyone has one you know!

DHaass