Can blurry, out-of-focus photos be saved?

[Cassie O]

I found a great, gnarly tree today and snapped a photo of it. When I got home, I realised the photo came out rather blurry and soft. Sharpening just made it look blurry and sparkly, sad to say. Is it a lost cause or is there some editing technique that can save the photo?

It's a tree in my neighborhood, so I can always shoot it again.

[TonyW]

Best to go shoot it again - even the best sharpeners have a hard time with out of focus images. They sharpen the edges but if the edges are really blurred then they tend to make a mess of it.

Tony

[Cassie O]

I had a feeling that re-shooting it might be my best alternative. Thank you!

[NMarti]

Cassie
The best answer is to reshoot if you can. The other option is do something creative with it. In this case I took this photo of a cougar at Big Cat Rescue in Florida. The option to reshoot was not there once I left the facility and came home to Illinois. I used a variety of filters to create this painting of the cougar and managed to save the shot and turn it into a wonderful print to hang on the wall.
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1jQE1e4jibEvrzTHycapfSpVb5mZtH_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1jQE1e4jibEvrzTHycapfSpVb5mZtH)

[Cassie O]

That's lovely, Nancy! What a great idea! Now I'm glad I didn't deleted the tree -- perhaps one day I can give it some new life. At the very least, I can still play with it. Who knows what it may turn into!

[NMarti]

Cassie
Since slightly blurring is a step in watercolor and oil painting techniques it's good to know that you can eliminate the step and save a photo this way. I have this particular print framed and hanging on my office wall. I get a lot of compliments on it from people thinking it is a limited edition litho because I numbered it to look like that in the final print. Only thing is - I have the only print! :D