ThomasKutina

Backyard Cats 20150228 5

Mar, 2015

Views

1300

Likes

+406

Awards

Zenith Award

Creative Winter Award

Curator's Selection

Featured

Peer Award

+75

Superb Composition

+44

Top Choice

+32

Absolute Masterpiece

+23

Outstanding Creativity

+17

All Star

Magnificent Capture

Superior Skill

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 2

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 30 rank week 3

Top 20 rank week 2

Top 20 rank week 1

See all

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

We have 4 feral kittens that live in our garden that are fun to shoot. I shot this with my EF-S 55-200 Lens on a Canon Rebel T3 Body with Macro rings.

This was taken from my hotel room during a business trip to Chicago in Jan 2014 during the record cold snap. It was about 5 deg. outside and I had to

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in my back yard on the edge of where our lawn meets the wild grass on our property. We live in a rural area and one day we found 4 cute little black kittens by our barn so we took them and now they have grown into 4 beautiful cats that are part of our family as well as our other Maine Coon whom we adopted from the local shelter. Our yard and surrounding area is a perfect playground for our cats and we love to watch them hunt and stalk and chase each other.

Time

This photo was taken in late evening just as the light was starting to fade past the capability of my Canon 7D. Cats are naturally most active during the early morning and dusk hours so those are the best times to get good action shots and really push your ability and your equipment. I typically go out after work to photograph our cats as a way to relax and also practice my low light and wildlife photography.

Lighting

My favorite time to shoot cats is when the sun has already set and there is a very subtle glow to everything with low contrast. I see cats first and foremost as near apex predators who use stealth and cunning to capture their prey and like to express this through my photography. I always try to shoot my cats from a low angle and the twilight light helps keep the background of the photo from blowing out from a bright sky as well as adding mystery and tension to the shot.

Equipment

This photo was shot with my Canon 7D and a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lens. I absolutely love the 85mm 1.8 lens for low light cat photography. The focal length with the 7D crop sensor is perfect for keeping your distance to give your cat some space and the lens is tack sharp even wide open which you will need to be to capture these unpredictable and often moving subjects in low light. Flash and cats dont mix whatsoever as you will most likely anger and offend your feline subject and the light from the flash gun will reflect back from their eyes and ruin the photo.

Inspiration

When I first started photographing our cats it was simply a way to unwind from the day and practice my wildlife photography skills but the more i did it the more it grew into a deep passion on its own. Cats are incredibly enigmatic creatures with their own personalities, habits and traits and it is such a thrill to express this through the lens. The subject of this photo is one of our cats named Willow who is typically very mild mannered but sometimes gets into a certain slinky and aggressive mood. There is actually another one of our cats behind me and this photo was taken a split second before Willow sprinted over to ambush him. There is such an exciting buildup of tension as a cat gets ready to strike and my main goal was to capture this in my photograph.

Editing

This photo was shot in RAW format and processed in Adobe Lightroom which is by far my favorite post-processing program. Adobe did a wonderful thing with their Creative Cloud subscription which has allowed amateur photographers access to top tier software which was once too expensive of an investment. Given the flat light of dusk I like to bump the contrast slightly to add some impact to the photo and increase the vibrance to boost the colors back as well as the sensor has a hard time in the low light. I made some slight adjustments to the cropping and added more vignette than I typically do for dramatic effect and to highlight the point of view of a prey being stalked. I also did some selective editing to add a slight Clarity bump to the cat's eyes to make them pop a little more, it is a fine balance with this though and its easy to overdue the effect.

In my camera bag

For cat photography around the house I typically just grab my Canon 7D and 85mm 1.8 lens as I have found it to be the best tool for the job. Sometimes if I want a challenge I will use my 24mm 2.8 pancake lens which forces you to get up close with the cats but you can get some really cool perspective shots. For a general outing I always pack my Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 although I almost always shoot it at the 250mm range. This is a decent entry level telephoto lens but once you start shooting primes, its low speed and softness really become apparent. I also always bring my 24mm 2.8 which almost always ends up on my camera for most of the day. There is just something about the 35mm focal length on the crop sensor that adds just enough perspective to bring life to your photos. I also always make a point to bring along my Rokinon 14mm 2.8 wide angle lens for landscape shots or action sports where I can pre-focus. This lens is fully manual and a challenge to master but offers immense rewards and is an incredibly sharp lens to the point that even large prints look holographic they are so real. Beyond that, I usually grab a lens cleaning kit, extra batteries and cards and a tripod. I like to bring a lot of gear to play around with different lenses in different situations and the weight has never really bothered me. As for my backpack, my Dakine Sequence has proved its worth time and again as an impregnable fortress for my gear with great shock protection and the deploy-able cover keeps everything bone dry and still allows quick access to my camera and lenses.

Feedback

Cats are amazing creatures and in a way they are the perfect wildlife photography subjects as they are independent enough to do their own thing without interacting with you but at the same time wont run away like other wildlife. The first and foremost technique for cat photography is to get low! Perspective is everything here and is the difference between a mundane photo of a pet and a dramatic moment in their world. The trick is to actually get the camera below the eye level of the cat and even inches make a difference to highlight the fear and tension of being stalked. Also, program your camera so an extra button triggers between Single Focus and Servo Mode. This is crucial for great cat shots as you can focus on their eyes for the tense buildup and immediate switch to servo mode to hold the focus to capture the action. While this photo breaks the typical rule of thirds it was done intentionally to employ an old fine art technique that works very well for a cat facing you. The trick is for the most prominent eye to be as close to the dead center of the frame as possible which gives the impression the subject is always watching you no matter what angle you are viewing the photo from. This is partially why "The Afghan Girl" is such a powerful photo because you seemingly cannot escape her haunting gaze. Now combine this technique with a extremely low perspective and timing and you get the tense point of view of the last moments of hapless prey who cannot escape the ever watchful eye of a masterful hunter.

See more amazing photos, follow ThomasKutina

ThomasKutina

ThomasKutina

Backyard Cats 20150228 5

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow ThomasKutina

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.