Cat Photo Competition 5 2013 : Results

Judges Comment
what a gorgeous image. there is nothing i can say about this image other than 'perfection' ... beautiful subtle light, wonderful white balance and tones that accentuate the cold landscape, perfect depth of field and sharpness, glorious richness in textures and colors. beautifully beautifully done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Our cats are curious as all cats, and when it's snowing and "dad" goes out with his camera in the forest, of course they have to follow.. For myself, this shot is much about the colors and the contrast of his red fur against the wintery backdrop. You can tell he's seen something interesting (probably his "brother").. The picture was taken in January, 2012 with a Canon 5D MkII and a EF100mm. Settings were 1/160 @ f/2.8 ISO1250. Main things I've done in post processing is a little bit of tweaking contrast and levels, to which I added a tiny bit of vignette and a bit of selective sharpening. Thank you for the many beautiful words used in your comment, Ilona.
lazyart.se

Judges Comment
what a fun and artistic image ... fabulously conceptualized and captured. i only wish there had been a little more sharpness in focus on the cat. wonderful colors and white balance, beautiful contrast of textures between the feathers and the old painted boards. nicely done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you for such wonderful feedback! I shot this photo using my canon 7d with a lensbaby lens which I had not fully gotten used to hence the cat is not as sharp as I would have liked. It was shot in my house and the floor is actually a vinyl backdrop! I edited this in photoshop and adjusted the colours slightly as well as adding sharpness. Thank you again!
luisaphotography.com

Judges Comment
what a beautiful image. gorgeous light and wonderful composition. this image was an instant fave from the start. great job. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you so much for the accolades Illona!! This sweet kitty is named Eva and she belongs to my good friend Sara. Eva loves to sit by the window and watch the pigeons perched on the railing every morning, so there was just no resisting taking her photo while I was visiting. My name is Stephanie Drake and I reside in Mobile, AL. This photo was taken with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 17-50 2.8.
www.stephaniedrakephoto.com

Judges Comment
the glorious light, variety of textures, soft tones, and overall feel of this image are pure magic. post management is perfect -- wonderful white balance and processing. beautifully shot, from depth of field, focus, utilization of natural light ... an instant fave! well done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thanks for the lovely recognition. This was taken at the barn where I board my horse. Lion King is a recent addition to the barn and when he arrived it looked like his prior life was unfortunately not a good one. He is doing a lot better now. I thought he looked beautiful in the evening light. I shoot with a Nikon D700 and this was with a Nikon 70/200 2.8. It is an honor to be recognized with the other wonderful photos. My name is Maureen Jordan from A Different Breed Studio in Corning, NY.
www.adifferentbreedstudio.com

Judges Comment
besides the adorable face, this fun image offers a wonderful and rich variety of textures. very sweet. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
My name is Sabine Leifes. I took this Photo in the Open Air Musium in Detmold this year. A very nice place to see old houses, gardens, ........ and nice animals, who are living there. Camera Model is: Nikon D5000, AF-SDX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5.-5.6 30.0mm f4.8 1/180 ISO 400 Thanks a lot for selecting this photo. I'm very happy!
www.facebook.com/sabine.leifels/photos_all

Judges Comment
what an intriguing image ... bordering on confusing, with the unattached shadow coming in out of nowhere. the white-balance, depth of field and focus are all expertly handled. the cat's strong expression, and the details and textures in his face are enough to captivate the viewer ... i almost wonder if the shadow is more distracting than intriguing? either way, a great job! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the Mark of Excellence award. My name is Ulrike and IÂ´m a hobby fotographer living in Germany. I also love this look of the Don Sphynx. The shadow in the background is a painting on the wall.

Judges Comment
this is a beautiful executed and managed image -- wonderful composition and depth of field, great color management and white balance, and a lovely variety of texture. nicely done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thanks for the lovely recognition. This was taken at the barn where I board my horse. This is one of the many barn cats that I get to visit with. He was loving the attention and the colors were gorgeous that day. I shoot with a Nikon D700 and this was with a Nikon 50mm 1.4 . It is an honor to be recognized with the other wonderful photos. My name is Maureen Jordan from A Different Breed Studio in Corning, NY.
ww.adifferentbreedstudio.com

Judges Comment
what an intriguing image and lovely play of light. i think the letters distract a little from this otherwise clean composition. nicely done. ~ illona