Challenge:Despair (Classic Editing) Camera:Olympus C-3000Z Location: Zilwaukee Township, MI Date: Feb 22, 2003 Aperture: f/2.8 ISO: 100 Shutter: 1/400s Galleries:Animals Date Uploaded: Feb 23, 2003
First Impression Such a cute kitten ... I adore cats. Not looking too happy though. Unusual color scheme for a cat photo, but I think it might just work.
(1) Composition / Content Good placement of the kitten up against the back of the sofa, and also within the photo, using the rule of thirds. It works here, because it gives the kitten space to move into if it wanted to. This also emphasizes the feeling of isolation a bit.
(2) Background The background is very unobtrusive and turns this photo almost into a monochromatic image, all shades of brown. The shadows break up the monotony which is nice.
(3) Camera Work / Technical The picture is focused nicely, and not over- or underexposed. The backlighting throws a shadow on the cat which is ok for the purpose of this photo (to depict despair), but in other situations I would prefer to see the light from the left, this could also add some catchlights to the kitten's eyes, which I think would add to the photo.
(4) Post-processing I think this picture could do with just a little increase in contrast to give it some more "umph". No signs of oversharpening or anything like that. The color of the border works well in keeping with the color scheme of the whole photo, but I feel it is a little too heavy for a photo of such a small kitten.
CC review continued ... for some reason I wasn't able to paste my whole review into one window ...
(5) Meeting the Challenge The feelings (other than love for cats ;) that come to mind when I look at this photo are more of loneliness and being lost rather than despair. I don't think animal photos are easily used to show despair, it's more of a human feeling to me. But that might just be me.
(6) My Opinion I have kind of mixed feelings about this photo. I don't think it fits the challenge, but it is a cute cat, and there are only minor things that I pointed out above that could be changed. I think the main reason for me to have mixed feelings is because I liked your entry into the stock challenge much better, the whole image was happier (more appropriate in that challenge) and reflects the playfulness of kittens better. Does that make sense?
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about this review.
Cute, cuddly, and perhaps a little sad, but not really dispair. Lighting might need a little work. It's soo cute! I liked the picture of this kitten in the Stock photos just a little better (seemed more appropriate, too). 5 Swash
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