Beautifully "BOKEH" - The ART of BLURRING out the BAD

The wonderful thing about life and each of our individual journeys is that every single one is as unique as a fingerprint. No two are alike, just as no two perceptions from the outside looking in are the same either. We are all here with our unique gifts, purpose and direction – each as important as the next.

_{(A FLOWER I PHOTOGRAPHED AT OUR LOCAL BOTANICAL GARDENS)}

From childhood through to adulthood we learn, discover and express. Our individuality and the right to own it, is with us from day one. Our experiences along the way also shape and change these facets of our character – we are forever evolving.

_{(A BUTTERFLY THAT CLEARLY LIKED HIS WINE)}

This stems into every part of our lives with our choices, tastes, preferences as well as cultures and religions. It is what makes the world and all the creatures on it (including humans), so fascinating. Essentially, the foundation upon which our individual journeys are formed.

_{(SOME DRIED FLOWERS IN A RESTAURANT RESTROOM)}

We are all met with “life’s teachers” as we go along our way, some great, others average and some which emotionally scar us for life. Sometimes we need to escape from the hurt of those scars and shift our focus onto things which bring light into our heart and minds.

_{(OUR ADORABLE LITTLE PUPPY)}

Yesterday was not a good day for me and I spent most of my evening in tears because I was hurt. Sometimes the magnitude or severity of an incident does not reflect the level of impact it can have on the person, because as I have already said - each of our compounded experiences and accumulative facets of character carry different ingredients.

_{(ME PHOTOGRAPHING MY WINE, AS I DO)}

I did not feel like writing today, in fact I didn’t even want to get out of bed – but I made myself do it. I felt that anything I would write today would reflect that lack of enthusiasm. I sat contemplating the insult expressed toward my creative approach to the photography in my content - and the term “bokeh” which was so flippantly thrown around as if from a bunch of brown suited professors with cigars in their mouths.

_{(A FRIENDLY SQUIRREL AT A RESTAURANT WE VISITED)}

For those not aware, the term “bokeh” as it is spelled in English refers to an aesthetic quality which is attained by the blurred aspects of a photograph. This got me thinking about the state of mind I was in and how I simply felt like escaping from the emotion – wanting to return to the same level of positivity which my day had started with yesterday.

_{(ENJOYING THE BEAUTY IN MY DADS GARDEN)}

Much as everything in life is an intricate web connecting one thing to the next, I suddenly realised that the very thing that contributed to the way I was feeling could also be turned onto it’s head and become the positive focus that blurred out the negativity and hurt. If my current state was to be depicted in a "term", I would dub it "bokeh”.

_{(SOME OXALIS IN A POT BY MY FRONT DOOR)}

I have made a conscious decision to disregard and “blur out” what has hurt me and instead focus on what makes me feel uplifted and positive. Creativity of any kind makes me feel good whether it is decorating my home, cooking a meal or taking bokeh photos!

_{(MY GORGEOUS SON - DEFINITELY DIDN'T STEAL HIM)}

Art in any form is an expression and much like the rest of our lives, is a personal choice - there is no right or wrong. Some will share your tastes, others not so much… but what matters is that YOU feel comfortable with it. It is irrelevant what others think or feel. They are entitled to their opinions, but they shouldn’t de-rail your own.

_{(SOME SWEET POTATO STACKS I MADE)}

I have had a particularly outlandish life adventure so far and have most certainly never traveled the “straight and narrow”. This has without question contributed to aspects of my character – but it has all guided me to exactly where I needed to be at any given time, even if it was the long way around. As an example, my utter disinterest in school, coupled with being incredibly unhappy and mostly high - got me to leave school and study a field I didn’t have a grain of knowledge on… that being graphic design and desktop publishing. As it turned out, due to my rather OCD personality I was particularly good at it and it became my profession for 17 years.

_{(OUR VISIT TO THE SNOW LAST YEAR)}

Through those years, I grew as a designer, learnt to be able to acutely identify the finest of details that would transform something from average to exceptional. Whilst I may not be a photographer, I am without question a talented creative and I think I am in a fair position to say that bokeh photography is exactly one of those details that can take an average photograph and transform it into something fantastic – simply by blurring our the noise that you don’t want and focusing on the beauty ;)

_{(LUNCH AT CUCINA LABIA)}

I love it, I use it all the time – and I will continue to do so because that is MY choice, MY preference and MY right to the freedom of expression and artistic license, much like any other style of photography that may appeal to me. You don't have to like it and that's ok - but I do.

_{(THE VIEW THROUGH MY SONS BEDROOM WINDOW AFTER RAIN)}