Moonbeam's Blue Eyes
Unique Perspective to show Moonbeam's Eyes
Unique Perspective to show Moonbeam's Eyes
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Jan, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This shot was in the Den of my home, which has now become the "Cat room" . . . 'Moonbeam' is one of our Feral cat "family" that was tamed, and then brought inside to live the "Indoor Life." Which, incidentally, also became the name of his Public, FB page.Time
This is Afternoon; Moonbeam was watching out the slider doors where he used to live outside, in the oppressive heat of Summer, in Florida.Lighting
I have found through the years that the Best way to capture the eyes, and beautiful fur of a cat, are to shoot with Semi-direct Natural lighting. As you can see with this photo it works best for capturing every nuance of the detail. Natural light works best, rather than a spotlight which I use for studio shots of Flowers. Flash absolutely does not work well, especially when capturing the features of the eyes.Equipment
Interestingly enough, I used my Canon SX 130 camera, handheld, for this shot of Moonbeam. The cats were afraid of huge cameras, and I wanted to distort the perspective of the shot by coming in close with the lens. This camera has an excellent Macro ability, as you can see the effect I wanted worked perfectly well at the focal length of 5mm!Inspiration
Obviously, the inspiration for this photo, and for many photos to come, was 'Moonbeam.' Since these early shots of him, My interest in photography has been renewed, after many years of leaving it in the background. The discovery of the Feral Cat Family, including the "kittens," Moonbeam and his litter mate sister, Baby Star, have brought tons of joy and opportunities. I might have never found my calling, and great love of photography, if it weren't for them.Editing
Believe it or not, when I "processed" this photo, I did not own Photoshop. This was probably refined a little with the 'Editor Pro' that comes with Canon Cameras. I have since upgraded it's processing, colors, sharpness, etc, with Photoshop's basic tools.In my camera bag
In my bag, presently, is the Canon T3i camera, a Canon 300 mm lens with a 2x extender, and a basic 18-135 mm lens. Also, my favorite, Canon 50 mm portrait lens. I sometimes carry along LED lighting and reflectors in a separate bag. I carry filters, ND, Macro, etc.Feedback
To distort perspective, as I have done here, you must get close to your subject. Use a Macro lens, or, what I sometimes have done, is set the mode to M on the SX series Canon Cameras, then "Macro" setting. Natural light that is NOT entirely direct is imperative for clarity, and to avoid a "noisy" photo.
