Nature Blog Network Wildlife Photography Blog Fatbirder's top 1000 birding websites

Welcome to the Pine River Review. Our sight is dedicated to our little homestead located along the Pine River tucked inside the Chippewa Nature Center's 1400 Acres of wild in Michigan's lower penninsula. We love to share our pictures, video, comment, and our own homespun music. Step inside our world as we celebrate this beautiful nook!


Tuesday, June 19, 2012

World Bird Wednesday LXXXIII




It's All a Blur

When folks talk lovingly about the aesthetics of photography one of the qualities they will gush about is bokeh. The word bokeh is derived from a Japanese expression meaning blurry, foggy, or even moronic.
    In photographic terms it describes the creamy, out of focus background setting off a detailed foreground subject.
    There are a few ways to achieve this uncluttered look. One is to have a naturally distant background. These oriole captures were taken on a river bank, the far side woods 150 feet away. Even at f8 the birds are set off much the same way a diamond ring is displayed on black velvet. Nothing competes with the bird for our eyes attention in these compositions. While this makes for a great guide book photo the look is rather two dimensional and lacks tension.
    In my mind the trick is to leave enough detail in the blur to suggest an emotion other than blah!   



Another super creamy bokeh... and I like the out of focus leaves counter balancing the oriole.

Derive happiness in oneself from a good days work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.
Henri Matisse


    Another way to create good bokeh is by using a narrow depth of focus, dropping your f stop to it's lowest number especially on a longer lens, something 50mm or more. The narrow layer of focus in this composition is rock solid on the eye of the grackle, everything else is a blur. My 400mm lens is set at 5.6 and the trees of the river bank start about 15 feet beyond the bird. The bokeh crackles like lightening and has something of that elusive third dimension.
Bokehlicious!





This is the home of World Bird Wednesday. A place for bird photographers from around the world to gather and share their photographs and experiences as they pursue Natures most beautiful treasurers, the birds.

You don't have to be a Bird Watcher or expert photographer to join in, just enjoy sharing what you bring back from your explorations and adventures into nature!



#1Simply copy the above picture onto your W.B.W. blog entry, it contains a link for your readers to share in the fun. Or, you can copy this link on to your blog page to share WBW. http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

#2Come to The Pine River Review on Tuesday Noon EST North America through Wednesday midnight and submit your blog entry with InLinkz.

#3Check back in during the course of the next day and explore these excellent photoblogs!

The idea of a meme is that you will visit each others blogs and perhaps leave a comment to encourage your compatriots!

Come on it's your turn!

36 comments:

  1. beautiful orioles, springman! and blur is beautiful, too. no blah here. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful shots and you're right about the backgrounds! Sometimes a cluttered or unappealing background can distract from an otherwise great subject. A good photo comprises everything in the scene, not just the main subject. Nice job with these!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your Header and the Orioles are indeed beautiful and colourful.The blur always adds so much to the pis with the subject standing out..Great shots again.Have a great day!

    Shantana

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've got a 500mm lens on order and it should arrive tomorrow. Hoping to get some shots as spectacular as yours. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great shots as always.
    Wish you a wonderful day.
    Mette

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful shots, Springman! Background is definitely a bonus if it's uncluttered. I didn't succeed in that with the elusive little birds I captured on Monday.
    Wonderful shots of the Orioles & your header is spectacular as always!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good topic and something else to think about when getting bird photos. I'll add that to my already long list. Stunning images as always Springman.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great lesson in bokeh. I will have to try your techniques as your bokeh shots are beautiful. Thank you for the information and for your wonderful WBW pictures.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the photo lesson -- I never knew what bokeh was before (too lazy to look it up). Once again I had to re-read your ".... you don't have to be an expert photographer ... . before I dared link my post ;>)....

    Thank you as always for hosting.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Springman, great shots of the Oriole! Such a pretty bird!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great oriole shots Springman, bokeh or not. You are right though, its always a bit of a problem getting the bokeh spot on and the birds themselves don't always oblige.

    ReplyDelete
  12. wonderful oriole images, i don't see them here at my feeders!! i learned about bokeh here on blogger, everyone was telling me mine was beautiful, but i had no idea what it was.

    i have a nikon dsl but i use it like a point & shoot and i think it serves me very well!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great photos again and a very interesting post.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love watching them....we have a hummingbird feeder that the orioles take over sometimes....they're such a beautiful bird!

    ReplyDelete
  15. That grackle almost brokeh my computer screen, it looks so 3-dement-sional, flying out of the soft background like that.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Interesting discussion on bokeh, and great shots as always!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for the lesson, Springman! I loved your Oriole photos, just awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for the photography tips and you picture are fantastic as always.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Loving your header photograph; certainly a bird you couldn't miss. Thanks for explaining bokeh, and especially offering your feedback on your own experienes with photos to demonstrate. Each of your bird photos is delightful.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Bokehlicious is right! Wow that Grackle shot is incredible!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Lovely images, I always love the look of Bokeh

    ReplyDelete
  22. You gotta love those Orioles. I can't seem to get enough pictures of them. They are so willing.
    I need to pay atention to your photography tips..
    Go Yankees!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I really like the Bokeh effect but am definitely with you about having a little more interest for balance.
    That Grackle shot is a real winner and Baltimore Orioles I have longed to see ever since we lived in Canada 50 years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  24. My new job is taking me away from bird photography. Boo! Love these shots. Incredible.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Your shots are just amazing!! I also like your advice about the bokeh. Good things to keep in mind!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Your explanation of bokeh is by far the best I have read yet! And, I do love the effects of the ones with a little more definition in them! Just gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi there - nice pictures and an interesting post. I have a sneaky feeling that when some people say "nice bokeh" in their comments they are really trying to say "Is this picture out of focus?" - but of course I could be wrong!

    Stewart M

    ReplyDelete
  28. Bokeh, you say, now that is a new word for me. I only knew that sometimes I liked the watecoloured look of the background and other times, it just looked well, blah. You certainly got it just right in your images above, all well balanced. Hoping you are now in the full swing of enjoying retirement~

    ReplyDelete
  29. Great pictures you show. Wishing you a good Wednesday. Hanne Bente / hbt.finus.dk

    ReplyDelete
  30. Good post, Springman. Your Orioles are beautiful but the Grackle in flight just blew me away!

    ReplyDelete
  31. A lesson in love Springman - I do love the Bokeh look, however I appreciate your remark regarding that sometimes images lack 3 dimension.

    You can take an image of a plain looking bird but with a great bokeh behind the subject it can spring to life and some of the dull looking appearance suddenly shows wonderful detail

    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love your explanation and illustration of bokeh. The grackle shot is a perfect example.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Great post with excellent images!!!
    Best regards,

    ReplyDelete
  34. Dear Springman, it's been a little while, work was crazy and then we were on vacation for three weeks, so I've been away from the blog world... but it is always pure pleasure to drop in here and see what you've been up to. May your bokeh always be bountiful, as your birds are beautiful...

    ReplyDelete