Lanterns over the River Kamo

Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of a photograph. The term is Japanese, from the word boke (暈け or ボケ) meaning blur, and is created by using wide apertures on the lens. People can get extraordinarily snobbish about the type of bokeh produced by a lens, be it swirly, creamy, bubbly or harsh. This photograph shows traditional lanterns on a rooftop bar overlooking the Kamo River in Kyoto, Japan. The bokeh is a mixture of light bubbles and just enough blur to maintain background detail.