The magic of soft focus

I've lived to a ripe old age, but I still can't grasp the magic of soft focus, its appeal...

If we look back at the history of photography, these blurry, unclear images were initially the result of imperfect optics and photographic materials. But technology advanced rapidly, and soon perfectly designed high-resolution lenses were created, negatives were also huge by today's standards, and the smallest details of landscapes and portraits could be seen in photographs. And in modern digital cameras, whose sensors reach 150 megapixels, with a huge dynamic range and color gamut , everything has become even more serious.

But at the same time, neither monoculars nor pinhole cameras (more on that another time) have disappeared from the art of photography, with their mysterious and poetic reflection of reality. In addition, the perfection in the transmission of color subtleties and the technical splendor of lenses began to be "combated" digitally, with the help of various image "dehansers"! Nostalgic images required something that had been quite successfully combated in the past - film grain and various color deviations. Nowadays, there are few programs that do not have tools for "degrading" the final result. It seems to me that imperfect images engage other parts of our brain, evoking memories, vague desires, and forgotten sensations.