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The Shaka Khan - surveying her domain
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The Shaka Khan - surveying her domain



behind the lens badge
cameraSONY ILCE-7M2

settings Aperture 16/1 ISO 12800 Shutter 1/250 Focal Length 2400/10 

upload_dateNov, 2016

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1031

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Awards

Contest Finalist in Green Eyes Photo Contest
Peer Award
IonNedelcu Karl-Heinz sophiedv gryphonjewel Skykink JenniferWhitePhotography MjBain +32
Superb Composition
Hellrach bml40400 AnjelEyePhotos Dacemac Millerat72 cristinacovas Dmitry1995 +6
Absolute Masterpiece
SettingSky charlesdpeters winnerslens31 EloIm RLP073 darylchamlee sweetpea72 +5
Top Choice
robinh_7535 JayneBug mcluck whitedeer
Magnificent Capture
DELETED_paulbloch annchalker
Outstanding Creativity
piathelandersonsmith rachelhelenhudson
All Star
naturisk

Emotions

Impressed
MjBain

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Eye Addiction Photo ContestTop 30 rank
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2 Comments |
ahmedfouadibraheem
 
ahmedfouadibraheem March 25, 2017
The look is perfect.
ricklecompte Platinum
ricklecompte March 25, 2017
Merci Ahmed, a 12 pound Tigress in the soft light shadows of the trees camera left
MjBain PRO
 
MjBain June 23, 2019
A stunning capture! Congrats on your finalist award, well deserved.

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#cat #eyes #green #stairs #yellow
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Behind The Lens

Location

The Shaka Khan, as she guards the stairs to my new studio. She likes to sit here and look over the entire backyard, scan for birds and squirrels, and be ready to discipline either of my two dogs that to their woe, might happen upon the scene. She reposes in this image ready for action with her big green, watchful eyes focused on me as I focus on her... both of us unsure of what the other will do next. Both us try to prepare for all contingencies.

Time

Mid-morning is great time to be in studio. The morning rush is over, the day has taken on a life of its own. The serious has been handled and the time for creative thinking, planning, and doing has come about. As I headed up to the solitude of the studio, I came upon Ms. Shaka sitting and approving or disapproving the world around her.

Lighting

The lighting here is important. An exterior shot with intense Louisiana southern exposure but softened by an iconic live oak - the kind you see in the south's plantation image... and you can see in other images on my page. They are sprawling and open structured with thousands of small leaves. The diffusion of the light allows the subtle colors to 'glow. The harsh light that plagues so many mid-day shots is diffused by the these gentle giants that offer shelter to the birds and the photographer's lens, few hot spots, and a break from the deep south's heat. To her left out of frame is the exterior of the building which I had painted neutral gray. The light's reflection off the wall did not lend a color cast of any sort.

Equipment

I am a Sony guy. This is my first full frame - A7M2 with Zeiss 24 - 240. Hand held and shot at 1/250 with Sony's faultless iso of 12,800

Inspiration

I saw this image in my eyes and in my head as soon as I started towards the stairs. Her eyes glowing green and the reds of the stairs. R G missing only the B. Camera already in hand, she became alert and filled me with the 'lioness' look that I knew I needed to capture. She is a part of the whole. The short walk from my house to the studio is through my backyard that is filled with nature. Flowers and trees and splashing water and bird feeders and squirrels line the path. It allows a deep breath that separates the life of noisy morning news shows and the peace of the studio life. I purposefully make it a Habit to look around, to see what the light is doing that day. To see what is glowing in a transient shaft of light. To see what is peeking out from behind a new bloom. To see what is crawling on the pavers, constructing new nests, gathering teeny tiny morsels of food to feed the young, invade the plants, or what has been cast around by the previous evening's breezes. I have a name for it. I call it the "Backyard Safari". And the tickets are not expensive :-)

Editing

This image required little post. The lighting (described above) was just about perfect. The sharpness of the Zeiss lens legendary, the quality of the Sony sensor a strong foundation, What I did do was to create a soft vignette centered on her fabulous green eyes. I did this by creating another layer, using the PS expose layer to tweak the gamma for the darkness quality I wanted. Then I inverted the automatic mask created by PS. Then, working on the mask with a white brush set to very very soft at a 7% flow, brought back the natural light of the original to the areas i had seen in my mind's eye, creating the vignette

In my camera bag

I am a Sony guy. I carry my Sony A7Rm2 with the Zeiss 24 - 240 as my number one choice. At 42 meg, the distant shots become flat and the macros become huge. I always have a Manfroto tripod I use depending on the shot On "mega important can't goof up not matter what you better be ready dummy" shoots, I carry Sony A7M2 with a nifty 50 as a back-up. I have polarizing filters but rarely use them. Same with neutral density filters, in my bag but never seem to come out. Back up batteries, a gray card, camera strap, complete my set up.

Feedback

Be AWARE! Not beware! I love the quote, "The only Zen you find at the top of the mountain, is the Zen you came up there with". Today! I challenge you to seeing how many different images you can get in your yard.I care not if it is the front of your apartment complex or the 100 acres of formal gardens. Concentrate on every few feet. Look up to the sky and the trees and the clouds and the spiderwebs blowing. Look down to the ground to the cracks and the crannies and the bugs and the trash, the wonder of the beauty and tragedy of nature. Look to the corners of the buildings all around you for the lines and the shadows, the peaks and the valleys, the doors and the hallways, passage ways and parcels, protrusions and protections. The wonder of the light, the coolness of the shadow, the wonder of the eye, the wandering of the heart, it is all there for the taking. Do the new. It is said and I so agree, "The meaning of life is in the verb 'seeing' "

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