But that's how we discover new ways of doing things isn't it.
Jonathan encouraged me to make the first post here, something
I am honored to do. I hope this site takes off and becomes a fun
place for interchange and inspiration regarding all things fuzzy.
J's timing was perfect as today
I was tracking down the elusive
swirlies. You see these photos
that are so swirly out in the edges
that you want to accuse the author
of pushing the radial blur button
in Photo Shop! So today I
set out to make swirlies on purpose if you
will, and only partially succeeded.
I started out with a 10" lantern
Petzval on the 8X10 knowing full
well it wouldn't cover at infinity.
But that means the far extremes
should be taxed which would = swirlies,
right?
Pam's Garden
What I learned is that the swirly
bokeh that we all love to
look at is elusive. Besides
a hopeful lens candidate, what is
needed is the picture elements
out in the borders that will
allow the swirlies to appear.
A garden bench with back lit
foliage comes to mind. But
in Tonopah Nevada almost
nothing grows more than 6 inches
from the ground. I aimed
at my wifes frower garden and BAM!
Just the perfect
ratio for swirly bokeh. I
aimed at several other possibilities
and the magic didn't appear.
Mick Neighbors
Next I went on a quest looking for
some victims to
photograph. Up town in old
Tonpah I struck paydirt.
My friend Mick was sitting in front
of his house. I was
able to photograph Mick and a neighbor
of his that is
even more photogenic than he is.
I didn't get the fellows
name but I will correct that fault
when I take him a print.
Mick's Neighbor 3
I used Freestyle APHS Ortho for
these photos. The garden
was a full 1/4 second in direct
sun. The 3 portraits were
a full 1 second in open shade.
Mick's Neighbor 2
As you can see, the portraits don't
swirl. They're successful
in their own right, but they didn't
have the necessary
picture elements in the outer area's
for swirly Bokeh.
Eluded again. There's always
tomorrow.