I like this which means it'll probably score around a 5.8 or so.
Editing steps:
Shadow/highlights - used to pull detail in both the highlights and shadows
Dodge/burn - heavily used mainly on the eyes, mouth and around the edges of the frame.
Tone mapping - used to pulled out more detail mainly around the mouth/chin area
Cloning - used to clean up some hot pixels, blemishes, stray hairs, etc.
Hue/Saturation - used to desaturate under the chin and a little in the lower left corner
Hue/Saturation - used to saturate the eyes
Curves - used to adjust the whites and blacks and brighten the image in general. Applied in several steps.
Dragonizer - first time I used it in a challenge. I only applied it on the eyes.
Curves - used to give the image it's final color tone (reds/browns)
Cropped/Resized and slight rotation
sharping - applied smart sharpen to the whole image and used the sharpen tool for spot sharpening
Local contrast enhancement - used USM for this
Radial Blur - Set to zoom and then applied at a 34% opacity. Used to soften the sharpening
*Post*
Wow. I guess I was off on my prediction. Still all week I didn't expect this to ribbon since there were so many excellent photos entered in this challenge. This is the same guy that I entered way back in my second challenge called "Watchful Eye".
Outtake:
Statistics
Place: 2 out of 378 Avg (all users): 7.5130 Avg (commenters): 8.5814 Avg (participants): 7.4444 Avg (non-participants): 7.5821 Views since voting: 15713 Views during voting: 516 Votes: 269 Comments: 106 Favorites: 70 (view)
I keep wondering how many times you had to pop that cat in the nose to get that pissed of look. I cracked my camera over my cats head to recreate this shot and he made me bleed a few hours later for it, while I wasn't looking.
I don't know about the rest of you but I find the outtake was better, sure it was super harsh and the winning shot was soft and friendly and yet alert. But I guess the red ribbon speaks for itself!!!!
This immediately invoked memories of my favorite play, "Cats!" Dunno why, but I just saw it and started singing "Jellicle Cats" out loud. Lovely and congrats on the ribbon!!!! :)
One thing i have learned on this site is that prediction is NO GOOD! I never predicted my "original sin" shot to win. I thought it was boring and it only took me 45min to take, whereas my "Poison" shot took me 5 hours and was, in my humble opinion, "ground breaking" cause there hadn't been a shot done like that before...i think. Original Sin got 2nd and Poison got 16th. Bleh. Not that im complaining about my 2place but still.
Anyways, i'm actully looking at your pic to congratulate you on your ribbon and not to give you advice. Good work. Great shot.
Chris
ps: sorry for not submitting anything in the last week but this week i got one challenge submission done so don't worry ;)
This image nudged me to issue a perfect ten on my vote and I am so glad that its appeal was shared by many. This is by far the Best feline capture in the DPC collection! Congratulations on your RED!
Way to go Richard, and am I so very proud of you mate.....
Not only your highest score, but also a great result for our team captain of the mighty "Outcasts".....
8 - Really like this, especially the symmetry and colors, but the overall 'feel' to it seems a little over processed to me (especially around the eyes), but might just be a matter of personal taste. Just like to have seen more detail and texture, in the eyes, fur, etc - looks slightly unnatural. A fraction wider likely have worked well too, but fairly minor, works well as is. As for the age... with clarity in the eyes like that, one lucky cat. Up to 8 from 7.
Stunning. Pretty strong 'wow' factor in this image. The eyes are borderline over-processed (in my ridiculous opinion), but it doesn't really affect how I score this. This is also composed very well and great use of DoF.
Wow! You really got this one right on. The lighting, catch light, sharpness, DOF, cropping, and post-processing are all just right for this image. - 10
This is just an incredibly fantastic photo. It reminds me of a cover on a book (like maybe a Stephen King novel lol). The expression just really draws you in. Love it!
I keep coming back to look at this wonderful face. You did the detail and focus perfectly. Great expression and symmetry. What delicious markings. The eyes are awesome. Bumping up!
Wow, look at that powerful stare. Absoulutely love the colors and all the lovely details that really stand out in the wonderful composition. Those deep amber yellow eyes really pop off the screen and hypnotize you with that powerful stare. The square crop was an excellent choice for this close-up head shot of this cat. It keeps the attention tightly focused on your main subject and keeps our eyes coming back to that penatrating stare. 10
Possibly the strongest and most powerful composition in this challenge. The expert capture pronounces an elegant feline study. The colors of this beauty lend themselves to form such a pleasing visual treat and then te texture but most important the alert eyes with the v wedge angle. Hey, you have my 10 and my best wishes!
Yeah baby! Love this image. Great detail and lovely colors. Has a painting like feel to it. Very nice. Bumping up to a 9 for now and adding to my favs. I hope to see this in the ribbon territory.
excellent shot...there's a lot of wisdom in that look...I did have two cats live to 20 and 21, brothers actually...this is a very good composition; his glance is riveting.
18 years
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Richard!
