Kitchen counter
Friday, April 1. 2005
San Bartolomeo, Italy (Feb 6, 2005)
Another photo I am not completely sure about, for which I can use some input. These are two artichokes and a sugar can on the counter of my sister’s kitchen, in Italy. The photo was taken with natural light, without tripod, and since it was a rather dark day, I had to open my shutter as much as possible. This has caused a rather shallow depth of field, resulting in some blur on the front artichoke. I like the photo for its lightning, textures and the dark background, but I would have rather had the artichokes completely in focus. Does this bother you too?
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Funny, my current post raises the same conundrum. The lack of focus on the artichoke in the foreground does not bother me, because with that touch of purple on the green it feels like the soft brush stroke of a water color painting. Look, the bottom line is that we all know what an in focus atichoke looks like. If you can take us beyond that, you have done a good job. You have done that here.
I agree with the above comment. I find this shot is excellent, I like natural light myself and the tones in this pic are like those in a painting. Well done 
Ciao!
Ciao!
the soft focus here - resembling brushstrokes, as matt says - raises this composition above an everyday still-life, and makes it special.
have no regrets!
and the glow is lovely..
have no regrets!
and the glow is lovely..
I definitly like this photo. It doesn’t feel out of focus at all and the softness just makes it enjoyable and easy on the eyes. If my doubting photos turned out like this, I’d be in heaven. 
I like this shot - the lighting is beautiful. I’ve got to say though, I do find the blur a little distracting simply because the rest of the shot is more sharply focused.
I have a ‘mini’ tripod which I use exclusively indoors - it can be good for situations like this as it doesn’t take up much room. It can be put on to a worktop easily. It’s also very light to carry around (and it was cheap too!)
I have a ‘mini’ tripod which I use exclusively indoors - it can be good for situations like this as it doesn’t take up much room. It can be put on to a worktop easily. It’s also very light to carry around (and it was cheap too!)
At first I found the blur a bit distracting too, but after looking at it for a few seconds it seemed to suggest the vitality of the vegetable. The contrast and subtle colors give a real feel for the location. It looks like a kitchen I’d be happy cooking in.
I like that kitchen too. It is all hand-made by my brother in law, with the tiles that are real stone tiles, not a plastic cover.
I do have a little tripod that I carry with me, but there was no space to place it in a way to get this point of view and angle with the source of light.
I do have a little tripod that I carry with me, but there was no space to place it in a way to get this point of view and angle with the source of light.
I like the lighting and softness. However, the foreground bothers me just a little, not because the artichokes are out of focus, but because the countertop appears to be more in focus. I wonder what it would look like with a bit of blur added to the foreground portion of the countertop.
The blur is a bit strange, it looks more like motion blur than dof blur, especially as visual field pointed out, the countertop looks more in focus. Still, the softness of the artichokes contrasts well with the sharpness of the sugar tin.
The warm lighting and out of focus effect make the whole thing feel like a Dutch still life painting, and lovely at that.
It doesn’t bother me at all. It has a soft, dreamy quality that is appealing. I love the depth of field. Very European. Reminds me of the way the Nigella pisodes are filmed. Lovely. Truly.
It doesn`t bother me at all! The blur makes the photo less static, the water on the tiles are great! If I could recommend something for a later shot, it would be a small reflector, could even be a piece of paper just to throw some light on the lower part of the photograph.I think it`s a little too much shadow there. The rest has beautiful light.
Have to agree with picturegrl about the Nigella stuff. I like it a lot!
Have to agree with picturegrl about the Nigella stuff. I like it a lot!
I haven’t read the rest of the comments here, but I think the slight out of focus on the artichokes give a softer “italian” flavour to this whole shot - it’s very nice!
El soft-focus creo que es lo que hace que esta foto sea especial, a mi personalmente me parece maravillosa -y como alguien comento antes- le da un inconfudible toque italiano, bravo!
Si no hubieses mencionado que es la cocina de tu hermana, pensaria que se trata de una fotografia comercial hecha en estudio...
Si no hubieses mencionado que es la cocina de tu hermana, pensaria que se trata de una fotografia comercial hecha en estudio...
The lighting makes the shot and the lack of focus in the foreground draws your eye back to the jar. Its a good image that gets better the longer you look at it.
I love the lighting in this photo. The first thing that I noticed was the sugar can... and then the soft tones of the picture. The blur is just right. great shot
I think your assessment is correct - the blur on the first artichoke isn’t ideal, but the natural light is worth the trade-off and it’s still a beautiful image. And who ever thought an artichoke could be called beautiful! Would you mind if I put up a link to your site in an upcoming post?
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