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Stray Cat Slinking Into the Safety of the Shadows
Stray Cat Slinking Into the Safety of the Shadows
MaryO


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Time Lapse (Advanced Editing VI ("Time Lapse")*)
Collection: Cats
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Nikon
Location: Springfield, VA
Date: Jan 4, 2008
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/100-1/80
Galleries: Candid, Animals
Date Uploaded: Jan 5, 2008

 Trying to convey how the cat hurries and tries to show himself as litle as possible in the sunlight, then takes his time once he hits the shadows.

This really is a stray cat, complete with great big patches of missing fur from various fights he's been in. He's been in the neighborhood for years and won't hesitate to beg for food from anyone, though he won't get very close to people. He just sits and yowls at you and stares meaningfully at where he thinks the food is.

Handheld (he just happened to come by when I was shooting something else) so some alignment of images was necessary. I used the paint chip missing below the siding on the house as my alignment point. Zoom was at 75mm for all shots and f/8, ISO 200; speed varied slightly as I was shooting in aperture-priority mode.

Tried to get pre-validation from the overworked SC but so far no luck, and I've decided I don't like the B&W version so I'm doing a slight re-process. If the processing was legal before then so is this version, so what the hey. We're all learning from this one.

PP - converted all from RAW with same parameters (set color temperature, saturation, sharpness and exposure compensation). Started with last image as my base. Layered them one at a time starting with the next-to-last and going backwards in time, aligning the image on the paint chip at 50% transparency, then changing blend to "if darker" and 5-20% transparency and masking out pretty much everything but the cat and his shadow from each layer. Left a couple out of the sequence due to too much overlap IMO. Dodged a bit on the base layer so the cat was darker than the grass in the few places it wasn't. Burnt kitty in a few places. Cloned some lighter grass onto the shadow of the wooden wall by the corner where it overlapped the cat. Merged layers.

Cropped. Increased saturation and contrast. Burnt and blurred license plate. Colored red bud on plant same color as rest of plant. Desaturated cyan/blue range. Added border, resized, sharpened. Cloned lighter paint color onto missing paint chip to de-emphasize it, cloned out light branch sticking up against the black drain tube and burnt metal rod on trash can.

Statistics
Place: 64 out of 84
Avg (all users): 5.2649
Avg (commenters): 5.0667
Avg (participants): 5.1724
Avg (non-participants): 5.2869
Views since voting: 1606
Views during voting: 662
Votes: 302
Comments: 17
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Sony Alpha a6000
Sony E 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ OSS
 01/13/2008 06:21:39 PM
the first two on the right seem to be blending right in with the grass.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-20D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 01/13/2008 02:04:49 PM
Love the title of this shot, it really sets a story. If you look at the 'two' cats on the left you are able to see the grass through them, so that could be an improving point. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-10D
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM
 01/11/2008 05:27:33 PM
This picture just doesn't grab me. I also don't like the fact that some of the cats are completely solid, while others are partially opaque.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D800
Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED
 01/11/2008 12:53:47 PM
There are a few distractions that take away from this shot. The fence in the foreground, and the transparency of the first image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300s
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 01/10/2008 10:21:52 PM
yikes! a black cat crossed your path ;)

nice work putting that all together
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon PowerShot Pro1
 01/10/2008 07:04:08 PM
are you superstitious?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus C-2500L
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D
 01/09/2008 11:46:09 AM
Caterpillar cats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-50D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 01/08/2008 04:05:41 PM
I like the concept. It looks like the the kitty is a little green for some reason. Nice job,.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C
 01/08/2008 07:51:28 AM
I think you have a neat idea here, but the translucent cat kills it for me. 5.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 01/07/2008 11:30:14 PM
ursula: that's not natural. a black cat crossing your path is bad luck.

sher: but there's seven. Seven is a lucky number!

scalvert: pshaw. superstition.

sher: did you just say pshaw?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 01/07/2008 11:07:36 PM
Weird the two cats on the right are showing a bit of green fur. I like how you have the cats spaced on the left, not so much how they are touching each other on the right.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 01/07/2008 08:58:32 PM
Bad Luck Bad Luck Bad Luck Bad Luck Bad Luck Bad Luck Bad Luck. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D200
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 01/07/2008 06:12:39 PM
Not sure the rear cats with the transparent affect really works for me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300s
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM for Nikon
 01/07/2008 01:53:53 PM
not bad work on the overlay, but the scene is not too interesting
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D700
Nikon MF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AIS
 01/07/2008 10:47:33 AM
Rather snap-shotty. Nice try, though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus E-510
Olympus 14-42mm f.3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital Zoom
 01/07/2008 09:11:03 AM
I'd have allowed the trailing cats to be a little more transparent... Cute idea, though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM
 01/07/2008 12:31:24 AM
Wow, that's gotta be some bad luck, for sure! LOL!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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