a conscious blur.

This morning I took on the challenge set by my photo prof. and shot an entire roll of film 'from the hip' and intentionally blurred and skewed each image.

The results are definitely different from my first 3 rolls of documentary photographs. But raises that question,

Do all photographs need to be in focus all the time?

Within the style of documentary photography movement and motion can be crucial aspects of the whole process. The intentional blur within the photographs illuminates the sense of motion within each situation. These situations also become visually appealing through the way the photographs are abstracted with interesting textures and graphic elements.

After taking the roll and before processing the film I have to admit that I didn't think I got anything that would be interesting or pleasing. It wasn't until the contact sheet was made and I actually found images that were quite appealing.

Looking at these photographs together I can definitely see how they relate to my concept and idea of documentary photography, and the decisive moment. These photographs are documents of fractions of a second in reality, and if you were to ask me to illustrate or describe these moments I wouldn't be able to with any detail or at all. They are such diminutive moments that, if anything, are blurred without any detail in my memory.

While definitely giving a different feel than the photographs from my last three documentary roles; where majority of the images where in focus and straight on. I think finding a balance between the two approaches will result in an interesting collection of documentary photographs.