Bokeh

There's a link already posted (to the right of this message) for Richard Wanderman's page. Richard is a big photography buff and when Laura and I took a trip up to Connecticut a few months ago he taught me some cool stuff about taking photographs. Much of it was basic but extremely useful insights about composition and light, while some of it was only really for those who have really sexy cameras and a selection of stunning lenses (like Richard). Still, it was one of the latter insights that was especially interesting, about the Japanese word 'bokeh', meaning 'confusion'. This picture (by Richard, not me, I hasten to add) is a good showcase. It's hard to describe, but the bokeh is the swirl of unfocused background - the stuff behind the subject you may not want to focus on, but which nevertheless provides a rich backdrop, even (or especially) when it's not in focus. Richard has more and better examples of nice bokeh in his many other pictures, which is one reason among many you should check out his page. HIs stunning aerial shots are another. I had no idea you could take such good shots from inside a regular passenger plane.