Of the Night
This is the barn cat, Tigger, a 14 year old tabby. She's a little firecracker, and she loves to model for my camera :)
This is the barn cat, Tigger, a 14 year old tabby. She's a little firecracker, and she loves to model for my camera :)
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Mar, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in the farm where I horseback ride. The cat is Tigger, and she's the 14 year old barn cat. She's always interested in sitting for my camera, and in this instant I called her name, she looked right up into my lens, and I snapped. You'll see her featured in one of my other photos, Into the Darkness. That was also taken a few moments after this one.Time
This was taken in late afternoon, on October 30th. Just in time for Halloween!Lighting
The great thing about being an equestrian is learning how to use barn light to your advantage. Our barn, while small, has some of the most beautiful natural light I've ever seen. It's pure magic. This shot was created with that light--a little bit of magic took place in that moment. I noticed how the light was falling on her face, and I knew that if I got the exposure down, I'd get the haunting image I was looking for.Equipment
I used only my Nikon D750, and my Nikkor 85mm f/1.4, which is probably my favorite lens to shoot with.Inspiration
Tigger inspired me. Yes, you read that correctly. I was inspired by the cat! I don't consider myself to be a cat person, per se, even though you'll see my gallery is full of photos of them, but Tigger bonded with me the moment I met her. She is what pushed me to go past my comfort zone, and she's actually one of the first cats I've ever photographed artistically. There's something about the way that she connects with me through my lens, and while I've captured many sweet photos of her, I wanted to showcase the bad-ass side of her, for once. She is a barn cat, after all, and barn cats are tough.Editing
I did my post-processing in Lightroom 5. Because I already had a mostly black background from how I shot the photo, I used the clone tool to fill in the black completely, and then boosted the clarity and contrast of the eyes. I changed the color from green to yellow, simply because I liked how it worked with this shot. It made her almost feel like a wildcat. Then I just brightened up certain areas of her face and ears.In my camera bag
I always have my Nikon D760, Nikkor 85mm f/1.4, and Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8. I still use my old Nikkor DX 18-200 when I'm shooting landscape or traveling. I also have a TTL flash with me at all times, extra camera batteries, a polarizer, and about a million lens cloths.Feedback
Learn how the light functions in the location you are shooting. I really can't stress this enough. The more I've learned about light, the more my images have improved. A lot of my work is created in familiar places, where I shoot frequently. I know where the light is the best in this particular barn, and how it changes at different times during the day. I primarily work with natural light, mainly because my shoots are outside, and with animals, so it's forced me to learn how to use light to my advantage. When I shoot in unfamiliar locations I often take a walk around (if I have the time) to look at the light in different areas, and see where I can set up a good spot to shoot.
