Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Focus On: Focus

This time out, instead of focusing on an individual, I've decided to focus on "Focus" itself.

Focus is one of those things we all use. It's a tool each of us has in our toolbox and we use it in different ways, depending on what we wish to accomplish. Using and manipulating focus we have the capacity to draw the viewer into our photograph and direct their attention in almost any way we wish, sometimes shooting for sharpness and clarity and other times intentionally blurring our subject.

The following are a number of images that celebrate the use of focus as both an element of the photograph and a means of enhancing the viewer's visual experience. I encourage you to view them with a critical eye. What was the artist trying to accomplish? Was the artist successful? How does the photograph make you feel? If you were to recreate the image what, if any focus changes would you make?

Enjoy!

Baseball - schugirl



Dreamy Ride - magnesina



By Hand - kclarkphotography



Magnificent Marshland - bbrunophotography



always let your conscience be your guide - saramontour



Lincoln - SolsticePhoto




Bein' Green - ArtfulMagpie



Ground Cherry - lbilbs14



A Pair of Lemons - JenniferAitchison



Lunch by the Sea - talis



Mystic Mountain Path - zMacPhotography



Knoxville - anikatoro



Wood Carver's Hands - PhotoGrunt



Horse - equinoxphoto



Monastic 03 - fiveonenine



Shipwreck - photographybymoni



Sense of Something Coming - ajawin



ABSTRACT ARCHITECTURE - photopia



Misunderstood - siriusimagery



All the Pretty Horses - LindseysPhotography



Pop - moonbuggs



Snowy Trees - rrobertsphoto



Park Guell Columns - thartzo



Smith Tower - Nakedeye17



No. 4862 - artinmind



Sepia Charlotte Anne - HouseofSixCats


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PhotoGrunt is Steve Raley, a photographic documentarian from Seattle, Washington.  He captures images wherever he goes, and he  frequently even uses a camera.  His work can be seen on his websiteblog and his Etsy shop.

16 comments:

bbrunophotography said...

Steve, your blog is like dessert. I'm never disappointed. Thank you for including my Magnificent Marshland print in this topic of focus. I appreciate the kindness.

I also appreciate the variety of work you've shared here. I'm eager to visit their sites so I can see more.
Now, I'm off to tweet this link.

KClark Photography said...

Thanks for including me and mine Steve. Your features always make me look at things in a new way and that's always a good thing.

Leslie said...

Steve always put together a wonderful collection of photographs. I'm so pleased to be featured among these talented photographers. I really like the focus theme you choose.

sylvia @ fiveonenine.ca said...

Thank you for including my print from the monastic library in Prague.

I love how each of these wonderful images has used focus or colour or light to draw your eye.

eeniemoni said...

This is brilliant, Steve. Thank you so much for including my shipwreck in this wonderful collection.

Nakedeye17 said...

Such varied and wonderful photos, Steve. Amazing.

I learn something from every one of your postings, and I'm delighted to be included in this one.

houseofsixcats said...

Thank you once again Steve, for including me in one of your amazing features!

Anonymous said...

What a great post Steve! Thanks for including my image here :)

Art By Amarose said...

Great post, Steve and gorgeous photos. Thank you for sharing it.

Agnieszka W. said...

You've found magnificent photographs! thank you for sharing these miracles! and for including mine :)

Celtic Cat said...

Stunning picks!

schugirl said...

Steve, Once again you got us thinking and observing. Your posts are always so provocative. Great topic and an amazing collection. I'm honored to be included in such company. Thanks again, Sue

Judi FitzPatrick said...

Great variety of images, thanks so much for sharing them with us.
Peace, Judi

Equinoxphoto said...

Thank you so much for including my horse image amongst this beautiful collection, I work with a untamed horse definitely requires focus, but when they "give" themselves to you it is well worth the wait. I love the artists you chose.
Thank you Steve!

Gordana.M said...

You have certainly done some thorough work here :) Thank so much for everything!

Beautiful Images By: Eva H. said...

great photography work here. I especially love the "hope" photo.