On this first day in April, ask the photographers and photo enthusiasts on the sidewalk of the B&H Photo Video SuperStore what the hottest new trend in photography is and you will get only one answer: sharp bokeh.
We had pinhole cameras and camera obscura, Kodak, the Leica 35mm film camera, the Nikon F SLR, Polaroid, and the digital revolution. Photographic art embraced Pictorialism, Straight Photography, Futurism, Cubism, Constructivism, Modernism, and Surrealism. Genres included photojournalism, abstract, social documentary, black-and-white, color, slide film, and instant film. And the Internet has buzzed with sharpness, selective focus, tilt-shift, toy mode, contrast, bokeh, and now: sharp bokeh.
Photographs ©Allan Weitz
Many photographers search high and low for lenses that offer the ultimate in sharpness. They pore over MTF curves and shoot their relatively light DSLR cameras and lenses only at f/8 while stabilized on a tripod that can easily take the load of a gigantic 8 x 10 view camera with film plates. And then: bokeh. How many web articles and discussions are dedicated to the subjective-quality out-of-focus highlights these days? How many websites are dedicated only to the pronunciation of the word? Probably more than need to be! Apple even turned the word into a verb in a recent commercial. Yikes.
Sharp bokeh combines the best of the worlds of sharpness and bokeh. Look for it in photos only taken with the world's most expensive lenses, as well as your everyday kit lenses and nifty fifties. If you are lucky enough to create an image with sharp bokeh, show it off to your friends with the #sharpbokeh hashtag.
The principles of physics and optical formula that create the best sharp bokeh are way too advanced for the scope of this short article, but, trust me, every lens company is clamoring for the right mix of elements, groups, aspherical lenses, low dispersion elements, flange distance, and aperture diaphragm blade(s) (number and shape) to make the best sharp bokeh.
Do you have a lens that creates sharp bokeh? Do you have tips for creating the best sharp bokeh? Tell us about your experiences in the Comments section, below, and don't forget to spread the #sharpbokeh hashtag far and wide in social-media circles!
