blurred lines (soft focus, memories, and visual conventions)

[Portia]

I guess the word for what I was describing (I'm in a photography class now, which is probably the best thing for self-improvement I've done in years) is indeed soft focus ("produces a dreamlike image"), although some films use bokeh as well. (I know (500) Days of Summer did.)

All of my dreams are crystal-clear, like I'm actually there. There's no fuzzy aspect to them. The same with the past: I re-experience the past as if I'm actually living it. Maybe this is unusual. I think I have an excellent memory, but not a savant-like one.

Is it like, if you don't re-experience the event, or you're not conscious, the impression is not as strong, and fades the way an actual photo would in the sunlight? I always thought of it as merely a convention, like stage whispering, not a reflection of experience.