I think there is a sort of "tyranny of focus" out there that implies the only good images are sharp across the image, and thereby implying the only good lenses are sharp across the lens. Witness the obsessive reporting of sharpness of center, edges and extreme edges.
Its not that i'm opposed to that kind of photography, but i'm begining to appreciate the more "impressionistic" type of photography where images imply but don't explicity show details overall. for one thing, you don't always want to show background faces that aren't part of the story, or may require you to get permission to publish. Also, customers don't usually want to see someone elses face in their living room if they purchase your art.
This is the kind of image that intrigues me in the last few weeks: (it was taken with a DA-35 ltd at F4, but taken close enough to provide blurring in non critical areas)
Restforwearysouls-5648 by
philnw, on Flickr
To me, the subject is about the attractive sidewalk bench, and the viewer doesn't need to see the detail of the faces of the musicians sitting on the sidewalk, or store detail in the background.
Yet another image, FA50 @f3.2,
What got me thinking like this is the ongoing discussion thread on the Sigma 30 f1.4 which has somewhat softer edges, but excellent center sharpness, fast focusing, and 3-d appearance. In short, a flat focus field is not all that desirable when it compromises on rendering qualities such as high contrast properties that lead to fast focusing.
Anyway, i'm appreciating bokeh more and tons of focused details less - nice change of pace.