Custom Holiday Bokeh 12.28.11

It has been rainy, windy and stormy in Astoria where I am visiting my dad. We still spent some time at the beach and exploring the area, which I plan to post in the next few days. But until then, I decided to experiment with some custom bokeh I have been seeing everywhere. The perfect rainy day project. I followed this tutorial and this tutorial and had to experiment with the size of the cut out because my kit lens only goes down to 3.5 in aperture. I ended up with a star stencil (the second to the smallest size) and black construction paper. I found it worked best when I manually focused without the construction paper cover, then put it on top and turned it until I liked the look. I also found that the less in focus, the bigger the bokeh and the bigger the shapes. Here are my results, taken into a mirror with the reflection of the tree in the mirror and the window. Processed in Lightroom with a clean edit and some cropping. I can't decide if I like the shapes bigger or smaller. What do you think?

Settings: ISO 1600, 50mm, ss1/8, f/5.6 (full manual, tungsten wb)

Settings: ISO 200, 46mm, ss3.2sec, f/5.0 (full manual, on tripod, tungsten wb)

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us." - Hal Borland

Linking up with the link ups below! Take a look at the other amazing photos and enjoy the end of 2011!