Here is my Sunday thought.
This is a vase of flowers on the table in my living room.
Nothing special. And the photograph is blurred.
Years ago, I probably would have dismissed it immediately: out of focus, too grainy, not precise enough.
But I like it.
More and more, I find myself less interested in photographs that explain everything perfectly. Sharpness can describe beautifully, but it can also close an image down too quickly.
Blur does something else. It removes information. The flowers become less about flowers and more about shape, tone, memory, suggestion.
Of course, blur alone doesn’t make a photograph interesting. But sometimes imperfection creates space — for imagination, for uncertainty, for the viewer to bring something of their own.
These days I ask myself less often whether a photograph is technically good.
I ask something simpler:
Does it make me stop?
Does it transform something familiar?
Does it leave something unresolved?
If it does, that may be enough.
Until next time,
Tomasz
The photo touches something deep and hidden so it resonates at a base level. Love it
You would probably throw many of mine away, as I now consciously use blur as a creative element. It has a lot to do with spending over a decade photographing water, and I have more recently realised that it is a reflection of my own imperfect vision. I’m interested in how something feels, not just what it looks like. I still tend to hold on to some sharpness, but then I have spent a lifetime looking through one lens or another.