Of course I must start the month with a picture of cats. Truth is, I have so many around right now that they hold a fairly prominent place in my life. For those who don't know this from previous challenges, a couple stray cats in the rural neighborhood I live in had litters and of course I fed them so I ended up with a dozen kittens. This is on top of the six cats I already had (four of them were stray cats as well I took in the previous year). The kittens are coming up on six months old, so I will be getting them fixed this month. It's going to cost a fortune to get 12 kittens fixed and vaccinated and such... ugh!! But I guess this is just my one little stab at trying to make a difference and reduce the stray cat population in a place where people treat cats like trash...
I know that part of this challenge is to challenge oneself with new techniques and such. Taking pictures of cats is hardly new for me :-) But I used my Sigma wide angle lens at 10mm and got right in the cat's face going for a bit of distortion, which is not my usual style. The selective desat is different as well, since I generally suck at B&W conversions and for the most part don't care for selective desat. As for processing steps, I duplicated the background layer and applied LucisArt Whyeth filter then adjusted opacity on the layer to taste. Then I added a channel mixer layer for the b&w conversion then used black paintbrush at low opacity to bring a tad of color back to Lily's face. Resized, applied a little usm and saved for web. Nothin' too special!
His eyes look so trusting and innocent. I like how the distortion makes him look even more slim than he probably is. Good luck rounding them all up and getting them to the vet. Some vets offer discounts if they know they are strays. The calendar thing sounds like a good option. I'd buy one to sponsor the project. only it's have to have multiple pictures on each page because it'd be to hard to pick just 12.
That is a lot of cats!! I like how the background also includes cats. If they were people instead of animals, it would look like one of those photojournalistic type shots where they are interviewing one person, but several of the family is hanging out behind them.
Very cool image with tons of cat essence! Love how you captured so much in one frame. Nice tones, lighting and fantastic composition. The detail and DOF are so nice. Good luck with your kitties, I can tell they are so well loved!
Now this photo says CATS. Even without seeing them, one can almost sense the presence of more cats off-camera. The angle (slight distortion?) is really striking. Makes me smile. :-)
Cats are awesome and what a fantastic thing you're doing! The processing on this is great! She just pops right out at you, the wide angle was the perfect choice. Great detail and sharpness.
The cat's expression.
The distortion. Getting in the cat's face was a great decision.
The sharpness of the foreground cat.
The layered-ness of the photo, with the sharp foreground, discernable middle ground (giving a small hint as to the number of cats you might have running around), and blurry bokeh.
great shot. Looks like it belongs in a calendar to me. A calendar sold to raise funds for spay and neuter! oh my gosh, you should totally do that, at say lulu.com or something, to help defray the costs of getting them all altered. How many good cat shots do you have? I have a friend I'd buy one for...
But you know how we love your cats! :) And this one is no exception. I adore the comfy cozy look of the cat in the background just watching the portrait session of its "sibling". And you have captured the essence of your foreground kitty beautifully! Looking forward to seeing more. You are the master at kitty photography.
Thanks for posting your processing steps that kind of thing is very helpful for me and others too I'm sure. Good on you for taking on so many cats! I love cats I am looking forward to seeing more of your brood ;)
LMAO! The expression along with the distortion makes a great mix! I love how the other cats aren't quite in focus, just there for the background. Very adorable shot.
Great expression on kitty's face. Really get the feeling she's not happy with the grub. The partial desat works very well to draw attention to her eyes and pretty face.
I love this picture because the cat on the left has the look of "who me?" on its face. The distortion and out of focus background really add to the overall fun feel of the picture. Great shot!
OH this is great. I like the desaturation and the kind of helter skelter sense of it. IT's busy with the stripes of the kitties, the kibble in the bowl, but I really like it. Something about the processing really made it more than just a snapshot of cats. Oh I just spotted the one in the window. LOL Darling.
just totally love this picture .. and of course the lucisart .. i'm an addict .. in fact i think i've got a problem !!! ... excellent effect you got with the lens .. those cats make the best photographic subjects ... great to see you here too !! :)
edit to say .. i love all the different postures and expressions etc ... my fav is the one lying down in the background .. sooooooo relaxed .. !! :)
LOVE the angle of this image very much, I also love the look on the cats face.....priceless, and I love the DOF, and also love the black and white tones.
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