Generally I prefer sharp images, but sometimes the object or setting (or my mood!) calls for something softer. My favorite lens is a Tamron straight f/4 70-210mm, which is more like 105-315mm on my APS-C camera body. It’s a quasi macro, and I almost always use it at 210mm. To get any kind of depth in the photo I need good lighting, but sometimes it’s fun to let that go and just see what happens at the lowest aperture, as in the spiderwort above.

When I took that photo the light was fading, softening the image as is. Add to that the softness of the lens at f/4 and the short depth, and to me it makes the image intriguing, as if there’s more to the story than the subject is ready to tell.

Compare that to the others below, both shot at f/8. The centers are crisp, the petals are more or less sharp, and the background is blurred. It’s kind of my go-to type of photo, but I do like a different perspective now and then.

And as so often happens, life mimics art. (Or is it the other way around, art mimics life? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?) It wasn’t long after this I realized I’d been carrying some unrealistic expectations regarding my personal development, and it helped to suddenly see the situation from another perspective. The upshot is that I’d been expecting myself to be sharp, in focus, when there are times it’s beneficial to be soft. Sometimes it’s most beautiful to let go of the desire for perfection and believe there’s more to the story.