Dee Dee ready for supper
Aug, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photograph was taken in my home at the dining room table within a day or two of my Nikon D5200 kit purchase. I was getting a feel for my new camera and saw that Dee Dee sitting on a chair at the table looking at me as if to say "I'm waiting for my supper". She has such a photographic face and a fierce independent character for a rescue cat so I had to capture this look.Time
This shot was taken November 13, 2014 at 2 pm. I was walking around the house looking for opportunities to capture some of our pets and familiarize myself with my new camera. I did not have a tripod yet so this was handheld. I did brace my body against the kitchen island so I could keep any body/hand vibration to a minimum.Lighting
I was still a novice to the DSLR camera systems which included my re-education of fundamental photography rules. November in Canada can create some nature light challenges for even the most experiences photographer. Any available nature light disappears around 4:30 - 5 pm in southern BC in late fall which means you have to take advantage of the sunlight when you get it. Thankfully our dining room faces west and we get the afternoon sun streaming through the windows so I was able to get some good nature light on Dee Dee at the table.Equipment
I used my brand new Nikon D5200 with 55-300 mm kit lens. No tripod and no flash because I had the afternoon sun to light the shot.Inspiration
Although, we normally do not let our pets sit on the table or kitchen counter tops, I "caught" Dee Dee sitting at the dining room table with this look of "my humans get to eat at this table, maybe if I sit here they will feed me supper too". She has such unusual facial marking and I was looking to take any and all photos while it was light outside so I was snapping any pet I could find that day. I probably added over 300 shutter counts that day and managed to capture some good shots.Editing
I did very little post-processing of this image. The only thing I did was crop the image to frame Dee Dee's face using the photo editing software that came with camera.In my camera bag
I have added a new camera and lenses to my camera kit over the last few years so now I have Nikon D750, D5200, AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm ED VS lens, AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G, and the AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED. I am also packing the Manfrotto 290 tripod with a ball head, the Manfrotto Element monopod and batteries, lots of batteries.Feedback
Make sure that your camera is handy, your batteries are charged and you've brought a chair, a hat, some water and lots of patience. I have been fortunate to capture some great photographs because my camera was close by when an opportunity comes up especially these days of the new normal of being stuck close to home base. My other piece of advice is to not overthink a photograph unless that is a requirement of your career. Some of my best shots have come from being in the right place and time with very little planning other than the obligatory "what am I going to shoot today - I need this lens mounted and a bunch of batteries" and then I wait.
