Thursday, October 13, 2011

moment of clarity


For me, having most of an image blurry makes the rest of it seem sweeter, sharper, clearer and more perfect, as if there is a moment of clarity amongst the chaos. One of my favourite ways to do this is to use foreground blur, with dreamy shapes close to the lens lending resonance to the main subject. For most of this year I have been using a manual-focus 50mm lens. Although I now have an autofocus 50mm lens, I often find myself switching to manual focus, reaching for that delicious point through the dreamy shroud of foreground blur. I wonder how Melanie chose which flowers to be in focus, with so many beautiful ones to choose from.

Have you tried setting your lens to manual focus and playing with the focus? See which part of the image you are trying to capture is the sweetest part.

kirstin of fleeting moments.

untitled

untitled by melanie.louette

13 comments:

mosey (kim) said...

No one does dreamy photos like you, Kirstin. And Melanie's glorious purple accompanies it beautifully.

Anonymous said...

such romance in these

Gilly said...

Beautiful softness; and that purple is gorgeous.

urban muser said...

these photos are just gorgeous! they really brightened my day. great post.

esra said...

wonderful post, Kirstin. Love your foreground blur and dreamy look of your images.
Both photos are gorgeous.

Ashley Sisk said...

Well you know I'm in love with your images...but I often switch to manual focus...it gives me a fresh new perspective.

Unknown said...

Beautiful, Kirstin, and I think often about foreground blur because of you (the photo I posted today has some, and I thought of you!). I keep my camera on selective autofocus so I can choose where I focus but have a little help from my camera.

Anna said...

Love this post, Kirstin and the images are gorgeous!!! Manual focus gives us so much latitude and control in our picture making. I use it all the time.
Thanks for brightening, what is at my house, a dark, rainy day!

GailO said...

These photos will surely inspire me to experiment more with my manual focus when I am using my 50mm lens! Gorgeous!

christina said...

stunning! i just want to run through this field of flowers!
XO

camille beckles (carmnsandiego) said...

lovely set of photos and even lovelier sentiment, kristin. you are the master of foreground blur. beautiful set of images you used to illustrate your point.

camille beckles (carmnsandiego) said...

pardon--KIRSTIN!

Unknown said...

oh, thank you! Made my day, a week later. ;)

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