Do things have to be in focus?

September 13, 2022 fishyfisharcade

I took this picture almost without thinking. I didn’t have time to accurately focus, just frame the shot and try to get it as close as I could. This being the one of the first times I’ve used the Olympus 35 RC in quite a while, I did my best to rapidly twist the focus ring to get the man in close focus. Unfortunately I twisted it the wrong way, towards infinity.

But I still like the photo. Would I have preferred the man in focus and background sofly blurred? Probably. But This still looks nice. The lack of focus on the figure adds a bit of mystery, I think.

It’s a technique used often by street and documentary photographer, Martin Parr, although I suspect he does it deliberately rather than through not remembering how his camera works!