mosaic muse {blurred}

There was a time in my photography journey in which I wanted nothing more than a perfectly focused shot. Oh how things have changed. After looking through our flickr pool, I am completely inspired to capture life in action; whether it be dancing in the bedroom, swinging to the sky, running through a breeze or just adjusting my focus ring. Your images have proven that a blurred shot is full of artistic potential - they let us remember those everyday moments just as they happened.

1. Last night, 2. body in motion, 3. Beautiful Blur, 4. Chinatown, 5. Dissolving~Revealing~Expanding, 6. wash day!, 7. write it on your soul, that today is the best day of your life...., 8. day 193/7.12.10, 9. “Strangers are exciting, their mystery never ends. ~ Ani Difranco, 10. Wheeeee, 11. dance the night away, 12. The Climb, 13. the blues, 14. Twirl, 15. three, 16. Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosey

Please share your favorite blurred shots with us by using the linky tool below. The tool will be open until Sunday evening. And please feel free to use the mosaic muse button on your blogs as you link up.


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Ashley of Ramblings and Photos

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 by melanie.louette

life's a blur

"she said she usually cried at least once each day not because she was sad,
but because the world was so beautiful and life was so short"  --storypeople

Wow, how did it get to be October already? It feels like it was just the blazing hot and humid days of August. Next thing we know it will be the holidays, with the arrival of cold weather and snow!

I don't know if you feel this way, but as I get older, life seems to move so much faster. Some days slip by in a wash of colors, one rolling into the next--I constantly find myself wondering where the time has gone. We all try to fit so much into each day. Work, kids, family, pets, friends, hobbies, exercise, fun...the list goes on.

Starting today I am taking a stand against the frenetic pace and encouraging myself to s.l.o.w. down. To enjoy the simple moments and drink in the everyday sights. Whether that means a more conscious effort to capture little slices of life through my lens, or just taking the time to let them sink in, I vow to savor each day in a different way.

Want to take the challenge with me? I encourage you all to do the same. Slow down, prioritize, enjoy a long, deep breath. Notice your surroundings. Take in the day...one moment at a time. Otherwise life can just become a blur.

~christy {urban muser}

summer in the city never looked so pretty!! by shellee777

blurring the lines of style

I've been thinking lately about what I could try to vary my style and add some extra story and emotion to my shots.

I very often rely on the auto focus function of my cameras but I'm realizing that some creative out of focus, some serendipitous blur, might just be what the doctor ordered. I use bokeh blur all of the time, but I'm talking about missing the focus a bit to soften the subject and add interest. I've seen some really great examples of this out there, and I'm sure that sometimes they are magical accidents, but in any case, I'm after that magic! You'll notice in my shot above, the sharpest focus is on the leafs in front of the puppy, that plane where her paw reaches out, creating a softness as the shallow depth of field starts to blur her baby face.

This shot by Ali's Looking Glass is a great example of what I'm talking about. The expression and black and white also add to the emotion in the shot, clearly, but I think the blur does something extra special. What do you think?

-Cara, of CaraRosePhotos

true sight by ali's looking glass

a softer, kinder world

I’m short-sighted, so without my glasses blur is my natural way of seeing. When I first got glasses many years ago, and the world suddenly came into sharp focus, I got very excited. Everything looked so different to me, sharp and clean. But once I got over the novelty of it all, I realised that I’d come to like the softness in my natural sight; the world seemed a kinder, gentler place without all those hard edges.

I do like being able to see clearly when I want to, but sometimes I can feel overwhelmed by the amount of detail and visual clutter that we’re bombarded with most of the time. Maybe that’s why I’ve always loved any photographic technique that leads to blurring, whether it’s done in camera or afterwards. I love the way it smears the colours like paint and turns the most banal of subjects into something mysterious and fascinating, and the way it takes away detail and lets you concentrate on what’s essential - the colour or the light or the shapes.

My short-sightedness isn't so bad that it leads to the depth of blur in these two photos, but I like the way they evoke a mood through only supplying an impression.  It makes me ask questions, like who is the mysterious figure with the red umbrella in ~ania's♥ photo, and where is she going on such a snowy day?

gilly of the camera points both ways

girl with an umbrella, by ~ania♥

zoom, zoom

Last Christmas I spent a lot of time blurring my images. I had discovered zooming during long exposures, and was forever playing with shutter speed, zoom speed and compositions. I was lucky to have so many subjects close at hand, with the lights and people in the bustle of central Milan. I discovered a fun sense of time travel in my photographs when people were included. They were both here and gone, in the same image. 

Apparently, you get the same effect when trying to photograph a two year old. Nothing but motion, according to gina g10. I love the effect she was able to capture, such energy! No need for her to zoom during exposure, the toddler was doing it for her.

If you haven't done it before, try using zoom during long exposures to create blur sometime, it's great fun. Or maybe, just borrow a toddler, if you don't have one of your own. 

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Two year old in motion by gina g10

a passion for blur

Blurred photos, ask me, I know all too well about them. Back in the day, I often produced photos that were out of focus, without trying, only to walk away disappointed. I can't help but laugh now, because today, I have a passion for blurry photos. Blurred photos have become, the new black. These photos can be art, they hold a certain mystery to them, the blurred effect, outlines the story, I want to convey. And I love that many of these photos, with questionable focus, decorate my home. 

A heavy blur can hide secrets, a slight blur can act as a frame, softening an image to perfection. That's what I saw in kat3no3l photo, Blueberry Blur. The blurred background, along with the light, became a frame for the gorgeous, centered blueberry. I must admit, it's so freeing to see so many photographers, embracing the blur. ; )

Warmly, 

christina {soul aperture}

blueberry blur by kat3no3l

tuning out

No one likes self portraits. Its one of the hardest things you'll encounter. You will take a deep breath and fire off a million shots only to find yourself scrutinizing over the slightest sign of aging or flaw. It's natural after all we are our own worse critic. We see things through the most harshest of filters, our ego.

When I was doing a daily prompt class last year we had an assignment for self portraits. My stomach clenched, after all I had just finished a painful audit with the IRS and personally was in no shape mentally or emotionally to turn the scrutiny of the lens upon myself. I trotted out the camera and figured out how to use the timer and just sat there staring with no idea what to try to express. How do you express the feeling of numbness? When I went back through the 20 or so images, there were a few that just totally missed the focal point and what I was left with was the photo above, myself through a fog of blur. But that was EXACTLY how I was feeling so out of focus and that's when I knew that this was in fact the most perfect and accurate capture of myself. I treasure this photo, it reminds me of where I was and how far I have come from that feeling of emptiness.

As I went through the Mortal Muse Pool I came across this beautiful image from photoangie the combination of saturated colors, textures and blur are so dreamy and absolutely timeless. Red and turquoise are one of my favorite color combinations. The polka dots make me very happy a welcome departure from days passed.

Lindsey of modchik-photography

blur with dots by photoangie

and the next theme is...BLURRED

In the early stages of our photography journey, we often become a bit obsessed with a perfectly focused shot. If only you had a camera with a faster shutter speed, you'd be set. So, you upgrade your camera and are thrilled that you no longer have to worry about those blurry images that the old camera always seemed to produce. Of course we quickly realize that it's not the camera, but the photographer and we spend the next few months-years learning how to use our new fancy-spancy camera.

Then it happens...you take a photo and your settings are all off. Maybe your shutter speed is too slow or you forgot to focus. You almost want to delete the photo, but something about it makes you linger. That blur is no longer annoying...it's stunning.

twirl, twirl, twirl for the birthday girl by kirstinmckee

There are a number of ways to capture a blurred image:

• Slow your shutter speed. Fast shutter speeds (ex. 1/4000) will actually freeze movement. If you're looking for something along the lines of Kirstin's image above, select a longer shutter speed (.5 seconds to 5 seconds). Your subject won't need to move much at all before you start to see blur. This is perfect for dancing or highway scenes (although you may need a tripod).

Painted Venice by Kat Eye View

• Move the Camera. Moving the camera during a long exposure can create the effect of an abstract painting. You no longer control exactly what you get, but you create a new way of seeing a still scene. These types of shot can be especially interesting at night.

Walking Downtown by Ashley Sisk

• Unfocus. Turn your camera's focus to manual. Then rotate your focus ring until you've blurred the image. By a simple turn of the dial you can change an otherwise ugly side street into a work of art. Using this approach, you'll also be able to better capture other elements of a scene such as skylines, architectural shape, bokeh and emotion. It's one of my favorite techniques!

A Harmony in Lights by soupatraveler

Whatever approach you take, blur it out! 

Also, join us tomorrow as we start our musing on the theme of Macro images. Then, on the 30th of September, the last day of the theme, we'll be hosting a linky party where you can add your own links and show us all how you have chosen to interpret "macro". We'll be doing these link-ups every other Friday for each theme this year — we hope you'll come out and play!

Until next time,
Ashley of Ramblings and Photos