Bokeh is an often discussed aspect of picture quality. A lot of people use the term, but I don’t know how commonly it is understood. Bokeh is a misspelled Japanese word that means fuzziness. In photography, it is used to describe the out-of-focus portion of a photograph. Good bokeh simply means that the quality of the blurry part of an image is pleasant. Obviously what is “good” is subjective, as different people have different tastes. When there are bright points (such as lights) that are out-of-focus in a picture, the camera will render them as blurry orbs, which are sometimes called “bokeh orbs” or “bokeh balls” or “bokeh circles” (depending on who you ask). Sometimes when people discuss “bokeh” they’re specifically talking about these orbs and not the rest of the blurry part of the picture, even though technically all of it is bokeh, and not just the bokeh balls.
In this article we’re going to purposefully create blurry bokeh balls as abstract art. We’re going to do some things in the name of creativity that might seem photographically unusual or even outlandish.
Hold on tight, because things are about to get fuzzy!
Note: This was a Creative Collective article, but now it is available to everyone.
The picture above is an example of how you most commonly see bokeh balls used in an image. The method is simple: subject closely focused to the lens, large aperture, and some background lights. In this case, the subject is holiday decor, the lens is the Fujinon 90mm f/2 at f/2, and the background is a lit Christmas tree. The bokeh balls aren’t the subject—they’re the background—although without them the picture would be a lot less interesting.
A similar technique can be used to make bokeh balls a more prominent part of a picture. Photograph wet glass, such as a car window, focusing on the drops, with some lights in the background. The two pictures below are examples of this. The first is a wet car windshield. The drops in the center are in focus, which is also where the bokeh balls are. Because of contrast, the water drops are secondary to the bokeh, and the fuzzy light circles are the subject. I used a Fujifilm X100V for this picture, programmed with the Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe. The second picture is actually the glass from a picture frame that I removed and took to downtown Salt Lake City. I sprayed it with water, and focused on the drops. The city lights in the background became bokeh balls, which (again), because of contrast, is the subject. I used the Fujifilm X-T30 and 90mm f/2 lens, and the Jeff Davenport Night recipe.
Let’s take this a step further. What if none of the picture is in focus? What if everything is fuzzy? Certainly nobody actually purposefully captures a completely unfocused picture, right?
One technique is like the picture below. You can still tell what everything is. Even though the picture is entirely fuzzy, you know that it’s a tree with some string lights in it. It was captured with an X100F at f/2.8, manually focused short of the subject so that it would all be out-of-focus.
Let me pause for a moment to talk about gear. In this case the camera doesn’t really matter, but the lens does—sort of. You can use any lens, but I find that telephoto tends to work better than wide-angle. The larger the maximum aperture the better—I used f/2.8 or larger. The close-focus capability of the lens is another factor to consider; you don’t need a macro lens, but it’s good if it can closely focus. You will manually focus the lens—typically, you’ll focus it to the close end, although occasionally you might focus to infinity if you are photographing something close.
What I wanted to do with this project is capture images like Bokeh Abstract at the very top of this article. The pictures would need to be completely out-of-focus (like the one above), but where you cannot tell what it is (like the top picture). Something more fanciful and even perhaps dreamlike—maybe more like that moment between sleep and wake when we’re wiping the slumber from our eyes and attempting to become aware of our surroundings but aren’t quite there yet. I wanted to create abstract art.
Let’s look at some images!
What’s great about this type of photography is that very ordinary and not especially photogenic scenes can become extraordinary. Yes, the tree covered in holiday lights could make a nice picture if in-focus, but out-of-focus it’s much more interesting. The other scenes I promise were not particularly intriguing, but make for compelling abstract pictures nonetheless. These are subjects that you might typically encounter in the course of your day, and, as long as you have a camera with you, the opportunity to create art is there for the taking. These were all captured after dark (after all, you need points of light, and, while not impossible, it is much less practical to do this in daylight), and with days getting shorter (in the northern hemisphere), the opportunities increase to create blurry bokeh balls as abstract art.
You don’t even need to leave your home! Crumple up and then unfold a small sheet of tinfoil. Shine a flashlight at it and—boom!—instant bokeh orbs to capture. That’s how I made the two photographs below. If you are bored one night, try this technique, and see what you capture.
What about the picture at the very top? What is that?
The story behind Bokeh Abstract is interesting. I was sitting on my living room couch, getting ready to transfer the pictures from my camera to my phone. The camera was sitting on my lap, and when I powered it on, that’s what I saw on the rear screen. My four-year-old daughter has a mermaid blanket that’s covered in sequins, which was right in front of me reflecting the ceiling light. I quickly captured it before anything changed. After I snapped the picture, she got up and left the room, taking the blanket with her. It really was by happenstance that the lens was facing just right (and out of focus just right), and I had the awareness to snap the picture the moment that I saw it. That was an easy-to-miss picture opportunity that I was fortunate to capture. Keep your eyes peeled for not just lights, but reflected lights, too!
The Oxford dictionary defines abstract art as “art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colors, and textures.” I don’t think any of these pictures will ever find themselves in an art exhibit, but they’re absolutely abstract art nonetheless. Maybe they’d make an interesting series if I captured enough of them.
Now it’s your turn! As the days get shorter, opportunities increase to create abstract photographs. Use a large aperture and don’t focus correctly, so that the points of light in the frame are bokeh orbs. See what interesting colors and patterns (or even randomness) that you can discover.
I totally use a bit of blur to create an abstract feel to photographs I love the almost psychedelic feel to the swirl . Often creates a blur of soft colours or a feeling of motion very cool in my opinion .I love some of the vintage lenses for this very reason
Vintagecameravibes
Awesome! Thank you for sharing!
These are great, Ritchie. I could see a book of your abstract photos being very interesting, especially with a little story behind each that demystifies what is actually behind the abstraction. The fact that “Bokeh Abstract” is in actuality a seguined mermaid blanket makes it that much more intriguing, to me anyhow. Thanks for the inspiration.
I appreciate your kindness and encouragement! I hope that the article was inspiring to you. A book? Maybe that’s something I should work on….
Where can I manage the Fuji X Weekly Creative Collective subscription?
I think this is what you are looking for:
https://wordpress.com/support/recurring-payments/#where-can-i-see-and-manage-my-payments
Let me know if this doesn’t answer your question.
I can see in WordPress.com billing history that I have a subscription but I can’t read this blog post or any of the other Creative Collective Content.
https://p43.f3.n0.cdn.getcloudapp.com/items/ApuxnneO/f74b5840-b85b-4c24-a384-00853040bdda.png?source=viewer&v=21f7534b06f38c7b914bbc09b2ef18a0
So, when you are on a Creative Collective article, if you click Log In, it doesn’t log you in and give you access?
We’ll get this figured out.
I don’t even see the login button. Just Subscribe.
https://share.getcloudapp.com/9ZuDP8JB
That’s weird. There should be a Log In button next to it. I tried it on a browser where I’m not logged into WordPress, and for me it shows both options (Subscribe and Log In). Maybe try clearing the cache, or using a different browser, or logging out of WordPress (if you are currently logged in) and refresh the page. Let me know if those steps work or don’t work.
I logged out of WordPress on Safari, Cleared the Safari cache. Shut down Safari and then was able to see the Login button on Fuji X Weekly. However, after clicking Login and logging into WordPress, I get the page and Subscribe and Login buttons again. Refresh does nothing.
https://share.getcloudapp.com/WnuqdY2k
I then tried using Firefox and got the same result.
https://share.getcloudapp.com/7KuqvPBj
Do you have Chrome? I’m curious if you have the same issue there.
I tried on a completely different Mac using Safari and Firefox, but I still have no access.
I don’t use Google Chrome. I stopped installing Google software several years ago. I can’t use a work computer (Windows) as access to WordPress.com is blocked.
I’m stumped.
I’ll keep researching. So far the solutions I found (via web searches) were clearing the cache or using a different browser. This is the first I’ve heard of this issue, so I’m really unsure what the solution is, but I’m sure there is a solution.
Try this:
Log In to WordPress.
At the Top-Left of your dashboard, click Reader.
Search: Fuji X Weekly Creative Collective
Click the article you want to view.
You should be able to view it.
Let me know if this does or doesn’t work.
Oddly, this article does not appear in the list:
https://share.getcloudapp.com/P8u6g9jp
And even so, I still can’t access the entire article in WordPress Reader.
https://share.getcloudapp.com/2NuvxqkO
Did you sign up for the Creative Collective using this same WordPress account? Because this method worked for me on Safari (where I was initially not logged in and not given access). I was sure it was going to work for you, too (but obviously didn’t).
I only have ONE WordPress account. In the previous screenshots I showed the invoice.
FYI. The WordPress account is over 15 years old.
Actually, I just checked. My WordPress.com was created in 2001.
It’s so strange. Over 100 Subscribers, and this is the first reported issue, so I’m not really sure what is going on. Google hasn’t been a big help, either. You were able to get in once, right? But now you can’t. I suppose this is how WordPress rewards you for being long time loyal…. I’ll keep looking for an answer.
I sent WordPress a note on Twitter. I didn’t find a way to report subscription issues.
I registered a second time, and this time it works. But for how long.
https://share.getcloudapp.com/9ZuDPdJk
https://share.getcloudapp.com/z8uk5O91
https://share.getcloudapp.com/8LupyoE4
Ritchie, I give up. I think I just have to cancel the subscriptions and move on.
https://share.getcloudapp.com/12u054YR
Happy New Year. Enjoy the $4 donation.
I’m so sorry. I didn’t find a solution. Do you mind emailing me? roeschphotography@yahoo.com
I hope you have a happy new year!
I’ll send an email. WordPress support have not been helpful.
So nothing works.
https://share.getcloudapp.com/llu6ZNv4