First Tae Kwon Do Master Vernon Low was back in Perth recently. On this occasion, he spent considerable time with several senior belt members preparing for their black belt grading, and Junior Black Belt members preparing for their 1st Dan black belt grading.
I shot the photograph above with my Nikkor AF-D 85 mm f/1.4 prime lens, set at f/2 and ISO 800. Although I did not plan it at the time, this shows the beautiful rendering this lens has for out-of-focus (or defocused) areas both in the foreground and the background. The woman in the middle is the main subject, and clearly in focus. Master Low is on the right, and this part of the image demonstrates foreground defocus. The image of the Junior Black Belt member facing the camera, and just to the left of the main subject, shows background defocus. The image of the instructor in the upper left of the frame is even further away. Ideally, for portraits at least, defocused areas should be soft and smooth in appearance.
In the coming months, all of the First Tae Kwon Do members pictured above should be undertaking their gradings under Master Low. The preparation for this event will have required exceptional dedication and hard work; there are no shortcuts for a test such as this.