a winter's day

Sunlight on snow

Bare branches

Snowsuits in candy colors

Long shadows cast in blue

Rosy cheeks

Sounds of childhood

It was the perfect winter day. Hours spent sledding in the park. I looked down the hill thorugh my camera,  unfocused my lens and loved how it all seemed like a beautiful painting.

Have you ever just gone blurry on purpose? Share some beautiful blur with us today.

Comments

[Jennifée]

Oooh, that is beautiful - sure does look like a painting. Tracey has had several prompts in her Picture classes about going blurry on purpose, but I've never managed to take an *all* blurry image I'm happy with unless it involves bokeh lights at night, like here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85057042@N00/5266940164/
I guess I just need to take the plunge and step away from being focused on getting the image in focus all the time :-)

[Marcie]

What a gorgeous image!!
And - yes - I do go blurry on occasion - on purpose:
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1407

[Suzi]

I think some shots just shout out to be blurred. Yours is one of them. I love the pops of colour and the bokeh people.

I took this shot on a snowy day late last year. The colours and lights convinced me to shoot this with blur.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40748116@N03/5225955536/

[hurworld]

I <3 me some blurry photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hurworld/3184932001/

[Michael - Innkeeper]

lovely, lovely picture.

i agree with suzi - some pictures need to be blurry.

love this!

[CDScott]

Love your blurred snow scene. I love going blurry and play with it alot. Here are some recent images "in the blur".

http://cdscottphoto.blogspot.com/2011/01/in-blur.html

[Kelly Sauer]

Two friends and I did a "brumous" prompt for our collaboration - and we obscured our images behind blur. This one didn't get used, but it was the one I loved best.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellylangnersauer/5267774901/

[Jen]

What a beautiful photo... looks like a painting. I don't do blurry on purpose that often. I feel like people who aren't photographers will think it's a mess-up. lol
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlm513_jens_pics/4882088420/

[Line]

lovely shot!!

http://gagazinecantons.blogspot.com/2010/12/se-sentir-leger.html

[Jess]

Your photo is very pretty. So often I delete images that are too blurry, but clearly they can be the best little surprises if you give them a chance. Sometimes, though, there is something special about an image and you just have to work with it a bit. This one was pretty blurry, but I had fun playing around with it.

http://jessicavescera.blogspot.com/2011/01/lexy.html

[sandra]

sometimes the blur is what holds the story. i love blurry shots!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myinspiredheart/5318093672/

[Becky Sue]

Your day sounds a lot like ours. After hours of sledding I took my kids and niece and nephew to a local restaurant where the lighting was just beautiful. I took many well focused shots but this, where the focus is off, was my favorite.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rslaflam/5326651841/

[Lauren]

LOVE the motion blur in this one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18572605@N02/3815299534/

A 'standard' blur that I like the colors on:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18572605@N02/4473762726/

This blur was just a happy accident and one of my favorites of our Hailey:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18572605@N02/3645410651/

[mary]

oooh, i love this.
i love me some blur too. : )
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37719283@N04/5303507615/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37719283@N04/5326709479/

xo

[erika]

I love when people blur! Here's my attempt from this past weekend.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/onemoreplease/5327250382/in/pool-343665@N23/

[Beth]

Bokeh people! I love it. :)

[Jenny Dover]

Love the blurry sledding image! This one is a happy accident

http://www.flickr.com/photos/goshohemlock/5114354395/

[cara]

Of COURSE! It's like being an impressionist within the art form of photography, and one of my favorite things when it is done well. I do this often and here are two of my favorites:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cararosephotos/5294953750/in/set-72157625588794683/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cararosephotos/5295582092/in/set-72157625588794683/

[allison mcd]

when in doubt, blur it up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28308768@N03/5327432128/

[Beth]

This one was a total mistake, and I've never been so glad to mess up. :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14632491@N07/5208788725/

[Margaret]

Here's a blur shot I like http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggie_gem/5245105133/in/set-72157623001887015/

I find I really like the blur shots!

[soupatraveler]

Love this snowy scene! When we were driving up to a friend's for New Year's Eve, I could see the George Washington Bridge no other way, http://www.flickr.com/photos/soupatraveler/5327169742/

[Mary Vican]

The blur here makes this look like a dreamy memory. It's awesome, thanks for sharing.

[Jen]

I go unfocused on purpose quite often. I love the manual focus on my lens!!

And I LOVE this shot! It makes me happy all over.

[Katy]

I like unfocused pictures...it reminds me of how the world looks when I forget my glasses - sometimes it's nice to look at things with a bit of fuzz around the edges.

A year ago, yesterday:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katyharmer/4244883932/in/set-72157623116510288/

Magical snow globe:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katyharmer/5239586369/

[damiec]

Since I admin a group called "bokeh people" it's an understatement to say I'm a fan of blur.
I think it makes it easier to mentally step into the image, as I imagine myself doing with some paintings, when the tiny details are obscured.

here's a recent favorite: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22487105@N06/5278711250/

[Rachel]

I love blur....the soft impression of something. The way the edges are smooth. beautiful.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/capturingthemomentphotography/4200127708/in/set-72157622911535993/

[Audra Van Vliet]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellsbellarina/5252599421/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellsbellarina/5170377525/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellsbellarina/5016473779/

[georgia]

all the time!!
it's one of my favorite ways to take pictures.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28567264@N05/5325873777/

love how yours looks like a water color painting... almost as if the red paint bled a little into the white to make pink. very cool!

[and flowers pick themselves]

this is spectacular!

i went "blurry on purpose" less than an hour ago... http://www.flickr.com/photos/palegreensoapdish/5327152557/

xo Alison

[mama-pan | mary frances]

that is a perfect shot--the blur, the pink on snow.

when you are a rock star it is hard not to be a blur:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98076237@N00/5327823368/ (my boys)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98076237@N00/5327840448/ (my sister)

[WorthIt!]

What fun shots!

I desperately need a tripod but, this was a pleasant surprise - blur and all!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52055227@N07/5327256139/

[Puna]

I've not tried purposeful out of focus.It's gotta be hard.

[Kimberly]

Out of focus ocean sparkles...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/junebugphotography/5246470547/

[mosey]

Funnily enough, I went blurry just yesterday! (I want to go sledding!!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/a-la-mosey/5325899418/

[Esra]

Such a lovely image!

I love blurry images ... Here's one from me:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/esra/4608779076/in/set-1602488/

[keli]

oh kristin, you know exactly how to get me out of a winter funk. nothing makes winter prettier than a little sun and a little blur.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twelve-paws/5328081814/

[gonzomama]

i won't lie. i went a little nuts with this today. i love playing with blur!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59735955@N00/5328285050/

[Sarah]

LOVE this shot!

Here's a blurry one from Hard Rock Cafe the other day:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theanimatorswife/5327719745/

[Beverly]

I love blur shots. Here is mine for today. your looks like a beautiful painting. xo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bal93/5327768683/

[rawqueen]

The photo featured today is such a painting indeed. Lovely Thanks you for sharing. Searching my archives for blur!

[nic {luzia pimpinella}]

your winter blur is all kinds of awesome, kristin!

blurred on purpose some time ago...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/luziapimpinella/5327839725/

[life in eden]

LOVE that sledding shot!

how 'bout a little motion blur of a silly girl?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/

[xanthe]

love your blur.
going blurry does give such a painted effect.
this is from NYE, her sequins had me blurring a lot x.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xantheberkeley/5327885249/

[Kara]

I love to embrace the blur http://www.flickr.com/photos/ketchuplover/4364206116/in/set-72157623450606492/

[patti]

machine blur: This one I tried to do, sorta. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stakos/5329178782/

nature blur: This one was for a magical photo class with Maddie Mulvaney, persisting stars
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stakos/4006837046/in/set-72157622448763293/

[Sarah Jane]

I wanted to play along all day- finally got one in tonight.
I love blurry photos- they're a bit magical.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/definitepossibilities/5328734777/

[Jessica]

Beautiful photo! I sort of did the blur thing in a photo I took of my front yard today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goaliej54/5329388470/

[mae]

oo i've been noticing this a lot more recently. i have it on my mental list of techniques to try. funnily enough, it actually represents how i see the world -- when i'm not wearing my contact lenses! i really ought to share my "vision" more with the world!

[Aia]

your shot is a perfect example of blur! reminds me of this shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aclamp/5221350706/in/set-72157625388953059/

i love blur:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aclamp/4825506237/in/set-72157624285202373/