HBW

bokeh (boke-uh)

A Japanese term for the subjective aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas of a photographic image

At first glance, bokeh seems like a clever way to avoid distracting attention from a photo's subject, but it's as important to the overall appearance of a picture much like the "empty spaces" in a flower garden enhance the plants it surrounds. I recently discovered that there's even a flickr group dedicated to Happy Bokeh Wednesday.