Theme of the Week: Macros with Masterful Bokeh

Bokeh is one of those tricky things on which people have a hard time agreeing. Here's the definition from the Wikipedia:

(from the Japanese boke ぼけ, "blur"); a photographic term referring to out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens. The aesthetic qualities of the bokehs produced by various lenses are open to dispute, but it is generally conceded that an out-of-focus background image can ... reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject.

Bokeh is a constant issue when dealing with macros and closeups. Controlling it well using depth of field and aperture in closeups and macro images takes care and effort. Really masterful use of bokeh is not accidental at all: It happens when the photographer conciously uses it as a compositional element in the image.

Thanks to all who contributed this week; the decision was very difficult and there were many exceptional images. Here are my three (plus one bonus) selections for this week.

Loop-The-Loop by rivadock4


After the watering (moss group) by tanakawho


Corkscrew by violet021581


limelight by Shari DeAngelo