Separation by backlighting and selective focus. I shot this using 35 mm Tri-X in 1974 and the lens was at least 200 mm. It might have been a 500 mm catadioptric lens, but the bokeh does not seem weird enough on the various images on this roll (no doughnuts.).
Hey Andrew - First, I love the overall idea of the shot. The composition is great. DoF is nice. But there are also some issues.
The bokeh is not doing the flowers any favors. It is too dominant and I look past the flowers at the bokeh. The grain is a little rough too.
I'd like to see some of the others. I'd like to get this working as you have the bones of a niece piece here.
:)
No, that can't be mirror-lens bokeh, Andrew! Far too smooth. Nice image.
Chris, I agree this is almost certainly not shot with a mirror-lens. As you said, the bokeh is wrong. What seems more likely is that it was an 80-200 zoom with a 2X extender as it feels like a very long lens. And I do remember doing that in those years (especially at Veteran's Stadium for Philadelphia Eagles games.)
Ruth, this is actually decent grain for 1974 Tri-X. I could show you far worse. One of my guiding principles has always been, "If the grain ain't sharp, neither is the print." Or scan.
wow I really like this shot