So people had very different definitions of this challenge, and I greatly appreciate the comments both from those who thinks the eyes are a distraction, and those who don't.
When I started thinking about this challenge, I figured distracting elements were usually a negative. So I wanted to figure out how to turn it into a positive. My first thought was humor:
You're standing in bar in a prime hunting area in Minnesota. You take a picture of your friend and you forget to watch your background. When you look at the shot, you realize that he was standing in front of a hunting trophy, and now it looks like he has antlers growing out of his head!
But, I didn't know anyone that had hunting trophies, and just a light pole growing out of someone's head was a distracting, but wasn't interesting.
So I tried to figure out what would be an interesting distraction.
Moriarty decided it for me.
I don't have a soft box for my flash, but I've been thinking that I really could use one. I do, however, have two softboxes for constant lighting (with some nice big lightbulbs.) So I figured, why bother buying a softbox when I already have a couple!
So I took my flash, and tied it into the softbox using varigated yarn (lovely red, orange and green varigated yarn!) and started to experiment. All I had handy were some flowers that had seen better days. I wanted to see if I could get this type of look:
I wasn't particularly succeeding, but it was an interesting experiment.
The thing is: Moriarty doesn't understand that he's not allowed on the dining room table!
No matter how many times I tell him.
That's where I do my photography, and he thinks we're being buddies when we're in there.
I think I spend more time shooing him off than I do photographing things.
He's definitely a distraction while I'm photographing, so I decided to try to turn him into a distraction in a photograph.
Distractions in photography, imo, are things that draw your eyes away from the main subject. They can be positive or negative. I wanted to see if I could make a positive distraction.
So here was the plan: Change to a black velvet backdrop so that the cat disappears and just leaves eyes. Get Mo into a position so he's relatively far away from the flowers. Too close and it will look like it's part of the design. So a good chunk of negative space and then a pair of eyes.
Yeah.
Right.
While that might be what I had in mind, it wasn't what Moriarty had in mind.
He thought he should eat the leaves of the flowers.
I picked him up and put him behind again.
He thought he should flop down on the backdrop and rabbit kick the backdrop. Not the best thing with a vase of flowers and water on a velvet backdrop.
Pick him up and put him down again.
Then he thought he go after the flowers again.
Repeat the cycle a couple of times.
Then he got bored and wandered off.
I think it will be much easier doing Mo photography in a couple of years when we're not still in the kittenish stage. Though it won't be nearly as amusing. Luckily, I was able to get two that I liked before he wandered off. :)
The other choice:
Btw, I thought jomari's comment was spot on. Though this meets my definition of a distracting element, I now understand the opposing point of view. This is one of my all time favorite shots -- where it was, again, Mo deciding to interrupt a photo shoot.
Jomari is right -- that type of shot would have been a much better distraction shot.
Thanks for the wonderful comments. I had a lot of frustrating fun while shooting this. :)
Statistics
Place: 3 out of 79 Avg (all users): 6.6126 Avg (commenters): 7.5455 Avg (participants): 6.2143 Avg (non-participants): 6.8551 Views since voting: 3448 Views during voting: 252 Votes: 111 Comments: 28 Favorites: 2 (view)
I think I will go to Art and purchase a stamp ;) I just can't keep up with the congratulations anymore :) time and time again you always seem to get it right.
See as soon as I saw this I knew it would ribbon. Man if only I could pull out more shot's like you do, when you don't think it will do well at all, but then it goes and ribbons... you have the touch girl, hope the jaw is better when you awake.
The distractin element on this to me makes the shot ... I would love this in a free study, I have to score you high because there are 2 eyes, and your intention is distraction away from the flower, but OMG it soo works this shot! Kudos on an awesome shot!!!!
I'm really having trouble voting in this challenge and this image is a prime example of my dilemma. I love it, I've been thinking about it overnight, usually this would mean top spot and 10. It does mean favourite. But (you knew one was coming, didn't you?) I can't accept the distraction as a distraction (or two distractions). The focus is perfect, the composition is perfect - those eyes are very much part of the beautiful picture, and a deliberate, designed part. If there were some random parts of a curious kitty which just accidentally intruded on your intended setup, that would be distracting. I know that your interpretation, mine and a lot of other people's are different, so I'm not going to trash your score for DNMC, but I do have to reduce it somewhat simply because it's my vote. I considered not voting on it at all, but I'm not going to go that route.
I am one of those who finds nothing distracting. The cat eyes add a nice balance to the negative space. Their color coordinates with the center of the cosmos flowers. I rather like it. Odd but very interesting.
Still Life Corrupted
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