I'll put that rug back once I find the cat!
by arron_christensen

Comment by timfythetoo:
Best cat shot in the challenge. I like that he isnt looking at the camera.

I'll put that rug back once I find the cat!
by arron_christensen

Comment by sempermarine:
One of my favorites for this challenge. Not only did it stay within the theme of the challenge, but the quality of the photo was solid. Great Job!

I'll put that rug back once I find the cat!
by arron_christensen

Comment by martinkulik:
Great idea, nice shot it could use more sharpening fix overcast.

I'll put that rug back once I find the cat!
by arron_christensen

Comment by gaurav:
Nice!

I'll put that rug back once I find the cat!
by arron_christensen

Comment by aimeethetoo:
Such a fun capture. I feel like the cat is tense and ready to spring out at any moment! Very nice. Back to bump you up to 8.

I'll put that rug back once I find the cat!
by arron_christensen

Comment by HeiSch:
That looks so cute. good capture. Just the right DOF to help focus on the cat.

I'll put that rug back once I find the cat!
by arron_christensen

Comment by elizadeb:
My favorite cat shot of the challenge! *8*

I'll put that rug back once I find the cat!
by arron_christensen

Comment by andrewt:
really good idea, but IMO the crop could be much tighter to minimize the background 6

My Innocent Face...
by arron_christensen

Comment by kteach:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impressions: Cute kitty. Nice range of tones from black to white, though some of the highlights seem a little too bright (but I have the same trouble with my cat, too). Love the alert expression and pose. Nothing out of the ordinary here to make this shot stand out from the other cats in the challenge except the selective coloring, which I feel might be a tad overdone (and personally, isn't my favorite method of processing).

After reading your comments: I agree. Taking a picture of the cats is a pain! I'm glad you went with a natural pose, I like it. I wonder if perhaps you could have not gone quite as far with the curves to keep the contrast down a bit? Nice small aperture for a shallow dof, and you handled the focus nicely. And you did this with a shutter speed of 1/25? Wow. You must have the most patient cat in the world! It seems like you might have been shooting in pretty dim conditions looking at the combination of camera settings you have listed. Perhaps finding a location with more light would have allowed you more flexibility, and made the photo even sharper?

To grow the vote for next time: I think pet portraits are tough. Everyone wants to enter, and it's hard to be creative and stand out without making your poor pet look completely foolish. I think you did a nice job with this one, and for the most part the voters seemed to agree. It probably just lacked that little extra to make it stand out since voters are flipping through seeing cat, cat, dog, cat, dog, dog, cat... Perhaps thinking more about creative lighting setups, or a more unique composition would help for next time.

Hope this has been helpful. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the critique. Good luck in your future challenges!

OREO's and Milk - Pure Joy
by arron_christensen

Comment by Simax:
fun isn't it. i did a similar shot for Childhood Without Children II.. should take a gander.. you were a lot more clever in the setup than me.. haha i went through a gallon of milk and 80 oreo's.. i like yours better.. especially for the challenge you used it in