Self Discovery
Otto Von Killaratsky is rarely this still. I patiently followed his antics around for a day and was rewarded with his first glimpse of himself in this portrait...
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Otto Von Killaratsky is rarely this still. I patiently followed his antics around for a day and was rewarded with his first glimpse of himself in this portrait taken as the sun streamed through a nearby window.
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Aug, 2014Views
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One Of A Kind
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I was visiting in the Bay Area of Northern California to shoot a community festival my father had put together. It's a photographer's Disneyland of image opportunities. The quality of light in the fall there holds particular emotional connections for me, part of my childhood love of long shadows and soft twilight. I've yet to experience the liquid, golden beauty of it elsewhere. This little rapscallion of a kitten had recently been rescued from a parking lot by family and I spent some fun, quality time stalking him around the house as he explored his new home. Catching him making his first self-discovery in the highly polished reflection of the chair was one of those moments photographer's live for, but never really can plan for beyond spending the kind of patient time I just had with Otto Von Killaratski. About 2.5 hours (with breaks for kitten naps), one awesome shot. It's to be noted this was one of the final shots of the day. Lighting is everything.Time
The late afternoon light at this time of year slants through the large picture window of my brother's home in bold, golden light, it's irresistible. Bright, late afternoons in the fall are without question my favorite light to shoot in. Really, you could shoot a picture of a doorknob in that kind of light and call it art. Had I been outdoors I would likely have used a hood, though there are times when that kind of light is perfect for deliberate flares in the shot.Lighting
Often we make grand plans when we shoot in natural light. We find the perfect location one day while scouting; we come back at those times of day we expect the light to be best (morning and afternoon) and come back to shoot at those times. Patience is everything sometimes. For this photo, serendipity was my friend, but there are other times when we can really plan our lighting by being patient. Time of year can change the quality of a shot ten-fold. Late afternoon light can change dramatically in a matter of minutes, even seconds during weather. I try not to take my lighting for granted, but I also try to hang around to see what else it can do for me after I think I've gotten the shot. We're fortunate in the digital age that we can shoot the same subject over and over with every imaginable setting and for as many minutes as it takes, but I've learned to compose every shot as if I'm shooting film, otherwise I end up slogging through far too many images in post-processing, utterly unable to decide which image really IS the best, there are so many with slight variations to choose from. Trust your instincts, but compose each shot carefully, allowing the light to change enough for the naked eye to notice and you'll save time and develop really good composition habits.Equipment
I shot this with my workhorse Nikon D5000, hand-held, and a simple little 18-55 lens. Not expensive glass, just useful in varied situations, like stalking a cat through a house with 10 different light values. The key with animals, even pets, is to not be noticed. I always shoot in manual using RAW and import through Lightroom. I like the maximum control it gives me.Inspiration
Pets actually make wonderful subjects when approached as opportunities to produce artistic work rather than merely snapshot portraits. Other people's pets allow you to make "discoveries" that you might be missing with your own animals as well. This little kitten's hilarious personality and antics screamed for documentation. That he was active during a time of day when the light was absolutely perfect for artistic renderings meant that I could not possible have let the opportunity to shoot him go. Honestly, I'd have missed an important appointment before missing this opportunity. Everything was perfect.Editing
I used some minimal post processing in Lightroom. The most significant was flipping the photo around horizontally for the sake of composition. Some dodging and burning to play up some highlights and shadows made it more 3-dimensional, a filter to remove a little noise that resulted from all that dark gray fur shot with a higher ISO and that was it. I loathe over processed photos, so I tend to be very strict with myself.In my camera bag
My Nikon D5000 is still chugging along, and a bomb-proof D60 for back up. My go-to glass is an AF-S Nikkor 18-200 1:35-5.6 G ED, DX. Extra battery and SD cards, remote shutter release, a polarizer filter, and a Nikon Speedlight 900. That's basic, each shooting opportunity changes what I've got with me. Wildlife, landscapes, macro require proper lenses obviously. My super-duper, magical-could-probably-bake-a-cake-on-its-own Vanguard Alta Series 60 tripod is ALWAYS in whatever car I'm traveling in. A waterproof GoPro Hero Plus is always with me, but I'm considering trading up to a 4. It's pocket-sized, no point in leaving it behind.Feedback
Shots like this can be planned, up to to a point. Like small children, much depends on their mood and energy. If you have a friend with a new kitten or puppy, get thee to their home or invite them to yours! If you don't, do your local animal shelter a HUGE favor and offer to shoot some of their adoptable pets. Again, patience is key with animals, and trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Some pets are actually frightened of that big black thing you're pointing in their direction. I'll usually spend some time allowing them to explore it on the floor before pointing it at them. Be certain wherever you shoot has tons of natural light, and failing that, set up your flash remotely to create the illusion of natural light. Finding a good balance between shutter speed, ISO and depth of field are probably the most challenging part of this kind of shot. On the one hand, you're often shooting in relatively low light this time of day, so a high ISO is going to be required, but not so high that you risk a lot of noise. Getting a fast enough shutter speed is critical, pets move pretty fast and still moments like this one can be pretty rare. The kitten was actually turning his head side to side as I shot this. Had the shutter been too slow the sharpness would have suffered. In this exact shot, the light was so strong I simply bumped the aperture down, allowing me to get great sharpness throughout. If you're concerned with exposure, bracketing is useful in these situations, especially since you won't have a lot of time to fiddle around with your camera settings between shots. Windows are your best friend with pets. Rarely have I seen a silhouette shot of a pet in a window that wasn't simply lovely to look at.
