While setting up for my main photo today [ http://365project.org/netkonnexion/365/2011-11-30 ] I ran a few quick shots for getting the night exposure right. I don't usually keep these - they are test shots and usually don't show anything decent. But this one struck me as rather pretty. Certainly the reflections look great.
Why would I deliberately shoot an out of focus shot?
At night point-sources of light can be very strong. On the back of a camera you cannot necessarily see those on the small screen or appreciate the strength. So make your first shot out of focus and you then get a much bigger spot for the strongest sources. Your histogram will pick these out more easily. It also helps you to compose or expose specifically for the array of light sources.
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I am sure that if you had posted this wthout the explanation it would still have been a very nice picture. We are sometimes a little reluctant to believe that accidental shots are just as acceptable as those that are carefully planned.
@wordpixman - absolutely right. Nevertheless, I probably would not have published this one without the main picture. Actually I hear what you say about accidental shots. I normally believe that if you didn't intend it you didn't make it. But then this was an intentional test to get the exposure and manual settings right. So, in an odd way it was intentional.
@netkonnexion it's gorgeous... actually I tend to agree with @wordpixman . I know I've taken a picture before and it's turned out to be something different than what I was going for or whatever... and also I have found sometimes that we can "overthink" and hence "overwork" it but when we just go for it because perhaps there's not the time to "overwork" it we can end up with awesome shots! Either way, you took it, you made it :) I love it and I've never seen Southbank that way before :)
i really like this. very dreamy. doing b&w, was taught to bracket and now, doing digital, i keep telling myself i probably do not need to take 3-4 shots of everything i shoot. but i do anyways. just in case. so i have a lot of what i consider throw aways but always come across ones that just astound me. like, wow, this is beautiful. i think of them as 'accidental intentionals'
@tanyasamol - absolutely right! I always shoot with manual settings on my camera and a lot of the time use manual focus too. Autofocus so rarely gets it right except in good light with good contrast. At night it is almost impossible to focus properly without using manual focus.
I found these tips very useful for making my bokeh: http://www.photoble.com/photography-tips-tricks/how-to-7-quick-tips-to-create-bokeh-with-digital-camera
LOL