by Yvette Depaepe
Published the 25th of August 2023

'Sailing' by Greetje van Son

ETHEREAL PHOTOGRAPHY can be a powerful way to convey emotion and mood in an image, and it has become increasingly popular in recent years as a way to create a sense of escapism and enchantment in photography.

It refers to a style of photography that captures dreamy, otherworldly, and mystical images.
It often involves using soft lighting, pastel colours, and a shallow depth of field to create a sense of haze or blur in the image.

'One Summer Night' by Shenshen Dou

'In the depth of the horizon' by Santiago Pascual Buye

Ethereal photography can be achieved through a variety of techniques, including long exposures, intentional camera movement, and creative post-processing. It is often used in landscape and nature photography, as well as in portrait and fashion photography to create a dreamy and romantic atmosphere.

Let's focus on INTENTIONAL BLUR today ...

There are various ways to intentionally create blur in a photograph, including camera movement, subject movement, and selective focus.

One common application of intentional blur is to create dynamism in an image.
For example, a slow shutter speed can be used to capture the movement of a subject, such as a waterfall or a moving car, resulting in a blurred effect that suggests motion. 

'Secret water falls' by Larry Deng

'Whipped Cream' by Martin Rak

'Speedy' by Moses Stell 

Intentional camera movement can be used to create a sense of motion or to add a dreamy, abstract quality to an image.
This can be achieved by intentionally moving the camera during the exposure, such as by panning or tilting the camera, or by using a slow shutter speed while holding the camera still.

'Everything changes like the shore and the sea' by Charlaine Gerber

'Autumn Weather, Autumn Mood' by Yvette Depaepe

'Duel' by Milan Malovrh

'On my own' by Carmine Chiriacò

Subject movement can also be used to create blur in an image. To create motion blur using subject movement, a slower shutter speed is used, allowing the moving subject to create a blur as it moves through the frame. 

'on the Street' by Holger Droste

'Hasty visit' by Luc Vangindertael

'First flight in the morning' by Katsu Uota

This is also a common application in sports photography.

'The bunch' by Lou Urlings

'Street Racer' by Bruno Flour

'Fencing' by Larry Deng

Selective focus is another technique that can be used to create intentional blur. By focusing on a specific part of a subject and intentionally blurring the rest, photographers can create a sense of depth and dimensionality in their images, drawing the viewer's eye to specific parts of the image.

Adding intentional blur while processing is another popular application.

'Orchard ballet...' by Yvette Depaepe

'Swaying' by Qing Zhao

Overall, intentional blur can be a powerful tool for photographers to add creativity and visual interest to their images.
However, it requires a certain level of skill and experience to use effectively, as it can be easy to overdo or under-do the result.

It was hard to make a compilation of images for this gallery.
The archives of 1x are so full of masterpieces using intentional blur. Forgive me if I forgot some wonderful artists.

'Fiera Milano C' by Vito Guarino

'Marina' by Hans-Wolfgang Hawerkamp

'Dancing Daisy' by Lydia Jacobs

'Sunflower' by Masaki Sugita 

'fiery autumn' by Gilbert Claes

'Women in red' by Anette Ohlendorf

'BACK TO WORK' by The Jar - Geir Jartveit

'tree architecture' by Roswitha Schleicher-Schwarz

n/t by Teruhiko Tsuchida

'Autumn impression' by Ben Goossens

n/t by Antonio Grambone