Photography | Expressive Blur

© 2010 Wazari Wazir | Marching at Parliament House | Kuala Lumpur

“It is important to remember that there is nothing inherently “wrong” or “bad” about a blurry or soft image. There are those in photography who cherish critical sharpness as if it was a virtue in itself. Anything short of a tack-sharp picture will produce a deletion.

Many beginning photographers are convinced that a blurred image is somehow inferior to a sharp image, and will instinctively strive for sharpness alone as a virtue. Such attitudes can be counter productive when it comes to expression. Images that are brilliantly frozen in time and pictures that extend time and imply motion through blur are merely different forms of expression.

That is why we have shutter speeds ranging from slow to fast labeled on our cameras. If we look at blur as a tool for meaning, rather than a technical “mistake,” we will be on much stronger ground as expressive photographers. Once we can free ourselves from the misconception that there are certain technical “standards” out there that we must follow in order to be successful photographers, the more intuitive we will become in our pursuit of ideas”.

( Excerpt from Phil Douglis – Expressive Travel Photography and Travel Photojournalism : Communicating with pictures )