accidentally ... on purpose

Ben and I were sitting on the front porch.... looking for a little inspiration.

We spotted this Mama, her baby and sweet golden coming down the street. They were a fair distance away...so I snapped a few shots. I then waited til they 'strolled' past the house....and kept going... planning on 'shooting' them from behind. 

But at the same time, Mr. Ben spotted a cat, entering our yard.... a big kerfuffle took place, which allowed me just 2 shots before they were out of site.

The first was in focus....and just plain boring... The second... out of focus and so much more interesting.

Do you have any accidental or perhaps on-purpose 'out-of-focus' shots you just love?  Please share with us today.

Comments

[hurworld]

Certainly! This is one of them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hurworld/3184932001/in/set-72157612359253969

[Marcie]

I'm actually a big fan of 'selectively' focused images. Here's a recent one of mine:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/7/2/hazey-days.html

[helen sotiriadis]

i do this a LOT -- selectively focus on a detail rather than my main subject.
i suppose one of my most extreme examples of this kind of shot is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toomanytribbles/5131393812/

[marina]

I love how the out of focus figure glow in the warm light in your shot, Kim, it does give the shot a much more intense emotional impact than if they were in focus.
here's one where I hope to have reached a similar result:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mar_s/5786258366/in/photostream/lightbox/

[marina]

ooops, it should have been the out of focus figures in your shot.

[Leanne]

I think self portraits are always good slightly out of focus- here are some from a few weeks ago...
http://knowwheretostand.blogspot.com/2011/07/haircut.html

[Doris]

This shot was a total accident. It's an out-take from a photoshoot that sat on my hard drive for a year. But I kept coming back to it. For some reason it drew it me in.

http://dorisrudddesigns.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/one-year-ago-today/

[pthurmond1]

Thanks Kim for allowing me to use one of my out of focus pictures. When I took this, I kept looking at it thinking I needed to delete it. But, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Because of sites like this, I think I'm getting this whole artistic and creative thing :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50901045@N02/5963903648/in/photostream

[life in eden]

Yes! Just shot an out-of-focus-on-purpose shot yesterday! what luck
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32837589@N07/5960998793/in/photostream

[Bari]

I took this one a few years back when I was much less sure of how my camera worked. So, after I took this shot, I looked at the image and thought, "yeah, this clearly isn't working".However, once I got it back, I really loved how this looked. It wasn't intentional I loved the blur and fleetingness of the moment that was conveyed. This was my daughter and husband playing tag on the beach at sunset.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barilynn/3565767014/

[yzzilyzzid]

Here's an on-purpose shot during a rainstorm to get some awesome bokeh:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yzzilyzzid/5406780626

and a happy accident:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yzzilyzzid/5490856450

[Val @ Mental Chew]

I want to go play with this idea.

This shot happens to be a favorite from camping. Right light, right people. Lucky timing.

http://www.mental-chew.com/2011/07/this-moment-silouette.html

[Vickie (jewelflyt)]

beautiful photo :)

this one is fairly deliberately out of focus:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jewelflyt/5473051969/

[Ingunn]

To keep the main subject out of focus certainly adds interest to many captures. Your beautiful photo reminded me of a picture I made of my husband and daughter while on holiday in France last summer: http://maketakephoto.com/blog/2011/7/22/out-of-focus.html In hindsight I regret that I didn't take my time to compose it a little better, but I cherish this for its mood anyway. Thanks for sharing, everybody!

[Jill]

This one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23113159@N03/5906098187/

I was practicing capturing the delicious flare that was coming up behind the hedge when this mama with her stroller walked right into frame. My favorite part is her zig zag skirt. I converted it to B&W to make that skirt pop more.

I like that it was an accident, but kind of on purpose too.

[autumn sun]

one of my favorite "on purpose" out-of-focus treatments is in self portraits - they are very forgiving
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/3790998480/

[koreen]

I love the idea that the out of focus photos are still worth saving. I know I save mine.

Here's one that I saved, even though I really didn't think I could do anything with it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/koreenphotography/5964196970/in/photostream

Another favorite one that I really worked in photoshop to make it into something magical:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/koreenphotography/5436366816/in/photostream

[Anna]

Kim, love your capture! I know what you mean - sometimes our "happy accidents" have a mystery that the perfectly focused shots don't, like an Impressionist painting.

The first shot in the following post has intentional soft focus in some areas, but the last image is one of those "happy accidents" that at first I thought I would delete.... but decided I really liked!
http://vandemarkdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/07/surprise-visitor.html

[Kelly]

oops..i'll let the picture speak for itself!!!
Thanks Kim!
http://kelly-justaclickaway.blogspot.com/2011/07/accidentally-on-purpose.html

[Tammy Lee Bradley]

I love photos like this. I call this one Bokeh Moo. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tammyleebradley/5741580782/in/photostream

[Debi]

i am so loving this - i am such a believer in the truths these "accidental" images tell. this year i inherited my mother's cat, both of us dealing with our loss and figuring our way through it. when i first began to let her outside, i worried. i fretted. trying to take her picture one day assured me she would be fine, and made me laugh.

http://www.emmatree.com/2011/05/new-song-in-air.html

[NatsterNat]

What a great photo Kim!

I've just gone through everyone's posts... all such great sources of inspiration! I couldn't think of any photo that fit this description until I viewed Autumn Sun's reflection photo and remembered this shot of my husband and I at a recent wedding...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58861148@N02/5964661986/in/photostream

[Charul Ajmera]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/charul_ajmera/5591603406/in/photostream

I always wanted to catch the vibrant and lively colors of rainy season. So I headed to the farms near our house to find this lovely scare-crow. I was so excited and hence took some 3 - 4 shots continuously only to find that instead of focusing on the scare-crow it was focusing on the bushes because I had forgotten to change the mode of my camera. Although this is not what I intended to capture but I just love this pic.

[ELK]

hi Kim .. ..such a special feel to the moment..love the blur!

I have MANY blurry accidents that often turn into something i like better..

these two strong linen pieces blurred for some reason and I ended up using it instead of the others :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sammymom/5961885061

[rakusribut]

wow, the idea of out-of-focus photography really inspired me!
tried browsing my iphoto-library but could'nt find any examples so i started fooling around with my iPhone and came up with this image
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61760618@N08/5964308249/in/photostream/
there are 2 more in the flickr set but i like this one the most
i focused on the window in the background, and somehow this gives extra depth to the image
thanks kim!

[Bridget [aviary]]

what a great photograph. I recently played around with this also:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7919926@N04/5963596111/in/photostream

[georgia]

you are right... it is interesting!
and intriguing.
it makes you want to know where they are going and who they are or what they look like.
looks to me like a golden retriever with a mom and her baby.

i often make my shots blurry on purpose... for the same reason... they seem more interesting that way.

here are some of my more recent {the third and last photo in the post}...
http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/2011/01/today-part-2-simple-soulful.html

[georgia]

here is another..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28567264@N05/5451665471/

[Amarie]

My accidentally on purpose! (Cookie Face)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelndisgizze07/5374940173/in/photostream

[Jane]

My technique needs a lot of work - which is why I called my blog 'The Accidental Photographer'. This theme was perfect for me!

http://janespicer.blogspot.com/2011/07/accidentally-on-purpose.html

[RH Marling]

Thank you for the opportunity to share this out of focus shot.
The motion blur has so much more meaning than the in-focus shot. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49824873@N05/5967420041/in/photostream
Heidi

[schtanzerl]

I tried to capture my dad, but I hit the ground :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/schtanzerl/5974554196/in/photostream

[Rebecca]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebeccasmithphotography/5976382836/in/photostream

[gucci outlet]

This is absolutely fantastic!! Well seen!! Well done!! Bravo!!

[Carolyn]

This really is interesting out of focus, it creates a dreamy look and makes me wonder about them more than if I were seeing them in focus. Here's a favorite out of focus pic of mine...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/carolyncochrane/5156064330/in/set-72157623127744008