grey cat on wall
Grey cat sitting on a wall
Grey cat sitting on a wall
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May, 2013Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
In my front yard, on a wall that separated my portion of the yard and the driveway. Fallbrook, CA - took this several years ago but it's still one of my favorite images.Time
It was late afternoon, probably around 4 or 5 p.m. (I think, don't quote me on the time of day because it was so long ago, LOL) It was evenly lit because of clouds passing before the sun and the dense trees that lined the driveway that also helped block out the sun. It was bright enough that his fur was illuminated and the colors were muted and not casting a harsh shadow.Lighting
See the aforementioned notation, no flash used because I didn't have time to grab it. The lighting was purrrfect anyway.Equipment
Hand held. Canon EOS-1D, 70-200 zoom lens, Aperture was 3.5, ISO 400, Shutter speed was 1/500 of a second. I wanted to catch him in a meow so I used a higher ISO and shutter speed to help catch any action. I was hoping he would start walking towards me but that didn't happen.Inspiration
My roommate's cat rarely liked being around other people. He was mostly outdoors on the three acres where I lived. He wasn't a friendly cat. There would be times he would let you pet him. One stroke - "okay human, that was nice." Two strokes, he would let out a growl or start to walk away - "okay human, now I'm done with you and I'm getting agitated." And by the time you petted him a third time, if you dared - you might be pulling back a bloody stump. So, for him to come around and actually sit on my wall in view of my front door (separate entrance to my room from the outside) - he was actually being a bit friendly. What inspired me was that he was such a beautiful cat and he was just sitting there, waiting for something to happen. He was probably looking for the mice or the bunnies that would frequent the property. He was a good mouser. His looking directly into the camera lens with what I thought to be an expression of disgust - "go away human" or "get on with it" or "just one photo and your done silly human" was what I love about this image. This was his typical look and he was holding it just for me. He had a very expressive face when he was interacting with people and it was like he was talking via facial expression. I knew what he was thinking.Editing
Maybe some sharpening, a little color correcting and some exposure but nothing else. I'm not big on overly processing images. When it comes to color - I prefer more real tones vs. toned or styled images.In my camera bag
This was shot with a Canon EOS 1D and when I chose to upgrade, I stuck with Canon. Now I carry with me a Canon 7D and a 60 D. I still carry the 70-200 (my favorite lens and my sharpest). I also carry my 50 mm kit lens, and two other smaller zoom lenses, Tamron 18-200, Canon 18-135 as well as a 6MM fish eye (manual) lens. A Canon 600 RX flash with an external battery pack with cord and an L-bracket for off to the side flash and flash sync cords complete my kit. It can be a lot to carry around but I try to figure out what I need before I photograph someone or something so I'm not overloaded. Often times however because I'm in a situation that requires multiple shooting techniques (flash and available light) I have to carry everything.Feedback
Be patient. Animal portraits require (like with children) patience, spontaneity and quick thinking for framing, watching the light and watching the subject. It's a delicate ballet of light vs. movement vs desired outcome vs. framing. It's a good idea to know your subject's behavior. It's a better idea to understand light and visualize your desired outcome. I knew he wasn't friendly, I knew that if I made quick movements, loud noises to get his attention or tried to work with him by posing him, I wouldn't achieve what I ended up capturing. So I moved slowly across the gravel in the yard to position myself in front of him and along the wall. I took my time and made sure he knew I wasn't a threat by not being overly aggressive to take his photo. I made sure I was a good distance away from him so I would not interrupt him sitting there on the wall. I started photographing him positioned dead center in the frame. I figured I would crop later if I had to. BUT HE DIDN'T MOVE! I decided to go with horizontal vs. vertical because I didn't like what was at the top of the frame (cars in the driveway). I also didn't want to get the driveway or the background in focus because I thought it would detract from the beauty of his fur and he would blend in vs. standing out. I knew I would only get a few frames, so I shot as quickly as I could, moving him from center to right and then to the left side of the frame. I made a few kissy noises to try and keep his attention and called his name. He didn't stay long. After a few frames, he left. It was one of those serendipitous moments. I happened to have my camera out of the bag, put together and right by my door. He happened to jump on the wall and meow to get my attention. I debated on how to photograph him before when he's sat on the wall and missed it because I wanted to use flash (and of course it was in the bag or not attached) or I didn't have my camera ready in time. Timing was key and knowing how he would react was another factor. The key for me was to watch, notice all the surroundings, be ready to move and be ready for the right timing. Inspiration and luck often work hand-in-hand.
