I have recently stumbled upon a new term in photography: Bokeh.
Back when I used to shoot professionally, we only knew the term ‘macro’. Apparently ‘Bokeh’ is termed as “the Japanese aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image”.
When I was a photojournalism student, I was extremely passionate about photography, carrying my camera EVERYWHERE I went, spending hours roaming, finding nooks and crannies. I was blessed with the eye of composition, and my photography was well received and loved by many. Spending hours and hours in a photography darkroom processing film, eventually going outside into fresh air and feeling intoxicated with chemicals was a normal thing for me. I was so inspired and felt like an explorer. Then digital came. I went into commercial photography and it somehow shifted things; it was never the same when you’ve got to kowtow to clients’ demands and how they perceive a good image to be. I fell out of love a little with photography, sold my entire kit, downsized to a GoPro and went underwater! I still take photos on my smartphone today but only for my pleasure.
Now having (re)discovered Bokeh, I really feel the pull of photography again. I got myself a cheap clip on camera kit with several lenses for my smartphone (just for fun), and have been shooting since. To me ‘it’s not the camera that maketh the photographer’. Let’s hope I still have that eye.
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