What's The Deal With Depth Of Field

A deep dive into implementing depth of field as a post-processing effect in graphics programming. Covers the camera optics behind the effect (aperture, circle of confusion, near/far field), Gaussian vs. bokeh blur kernels, nearfield bleed using max filters, and the challenge of achieving realistic bokeh highlights in SDR color buffers. Introduces techniques like inverse tone mapping (using the Lottes tone mapper) and an inverse Caris luminance-weighted average to simulate HDR behavior and accentuate bright highlights without firefly artifacts. Also touches on custom bokeh kernel shapes (hexagon, octagon, star).