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Apr, 2015Views
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Awards
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Well Done
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Superior Skill
Superb Composition
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken at a Cat Rescue in Prescott, AZ. United Animal Friends has a cattery at Petco, called Kitty City. I took this photo for them to use either in their websites, flyers, or for The Cat of the Week in the local newspaper.Time
Kitty City is indoors with over head lighting so it doesn't matter what time of day. My usual time to take these photos was between 9 am and 10 am.Lighting
The overhead lighting is sometimes harsh on some of the pretty cat coat colors. It also casts heavy shadows. I had to be careful to select an angle to avoid the shadows and to avoid green eye glare in the cat face.Equipment
My camera is a Canon 50D, Canon 50mm 1.8 lens, handheld, no tripod, no flash.Inspiration
This little cat kept coming over while I was trying to take pix of other cats. It seemed it was saying "pick me, pick me", so eventually I listened to this little mewing, and took this photo. After I took a few shots of him/her, off it went, seemingly satisfied it got what it wanted. Post possessing was inspired by a young photographer, Peyman Az, noted as a "best photographer" in 2014. I was searching photographers on Google to get ideas for a photography group challenge, and was astonished by one of his photos I found. So, I decided to try to emulate it.Editing
Yes. Tying to recreate the phot I found on Google, I decided to use Topaz B&W effects to convert the color photo to B&W, then I used Topaz Glow to pull out and emphasize the eyes and fur. I use light room so I had to proscess the photo twice to get this effect.In my camera bag
Canon 7D, Canon 24-105mm L lens, Black Rapid Women's camera strap, extra battery, extra flash card, squeakers (I take a lot of dog photos), cleaning cloth and brush. My back up lens, depending on the situation, is the 50mm Canon 1.8mm or Canon 70-200mm L lens.Feedback
Pick a subject, I suggest an animal, as that is all I've done using this post processing, so can't suggest anything other, that has fairly simple lines and a good angle to photo. This will help bring out the eyes and other parts of the photo you want to emphasize (ears, teeth, etc), depending on your subject in post-processing. Use a light hand when applying Topaz Glow to avoid ghosts, unless you like that look better. Experiment!
