Photo

   
   The New World. Crimea. This is blurring of a wide-angle lens of format camera. Charm of the pictures of such optics becomes obvious after enlargement, when details contrast on the focused foreground and slight smear on the background are observable. Deep aperturing provides feeling of nearly ideal acutance of all the composition. But this is merely a pleasant optical illusion. Camera Model Name Sinar F. Shot 9õ12 cm. Camera lens Super-Angulon 75/5,6. Slide Fujichrome Astia 100 ACA. Exposure 10 sec. Aperture 32.

 
    A Fisherman. This is a bokeh of the catadioptric lens. Blur feathers to the left of the fisherman are smeared glares on the twigs, this is a foreground. Small rings to the right of the fisherman are blinks blurred in water. Camera model name Zenit-E. Camera lens MTO-500. Film – A-2. Sensitivity 400 ACA. Aperture value (fixed) – 8.
Very uncommon blurring is peculiar to monocles, self-made single-lens objectives which have a number of aberrations. They disperse light so intensely that white point on a dark background is depicted like a shining halo, coma. These halos absorb neighbouring dark details of the image, such as wrinkles, wires on the sky background, small twigs. As a result only the biggest and most important spots remain acute in the photograph. Documentary detailed image turns into a picture (See photo).

 
    “Cross kissing” from photo novel about Raifski monastery. This is a typical for monocle picture of acute and blurred. Camera Model Name Nikon D 70S. Camera lens – monocle. Sensitivity 400 ACA. Exposure 1/30 sec. Aperture 4.
I don’t presume to explain in words the difference between lenses bokeh of one world famous brand and the other one. This substance baffles description. It is subject to sensation. However don’t make fetish of it. Blurring is merely a quality of image turned into an expressive means of photography art.
Acutance and blur are two sides of a coin, heads and trails. They are indivisible. In a high-quality picture the balance between them is so precise that the viewer notices neither of them. He just enjoys them.
Both acutance and blur are tools which photographer must skilfully use. Next article of photo school will be devoted to this subject.