Nice work, Adam. Good experience, I’m sure you learned lots. And in the meantime, I can now kill time browsing your site! W00t.

Thanks, Andy. Haha, your comments always put a big smile on my face. :D

Also, it’s a cool pic, but a little “soft” for a macro. With macros I think the user expectation is crispness; if it isn’t crisp, I think it’s visually assumed that the picture was taken “incorrectly”, as it were.

This was a shot I had never planned on using because, as you noted, it was shot incorrectly. But I looked it over again, converted it to black and white, and noticed that I really liked the blurry lines that the whiskers created. I’ve seen absolutely stunning photographs that are completely out of focus, so I thought this could fall into that “blurred photograph” category.

Glad you finally got all your issues worked out.

i think it’s a great shot, and a very interesting view of whiskers!

Spectacular shot! Despite not being what you were expecting, it really turned out great.

a walrus?

:P

>*.*<

Thanks, guys! Haha, petch… actually, my cat! :)

Absolutely LOVE the site: You have some incredible photos! I like the way people drop comments on diverse topics, like the running Powerbook discussions. Personally, I like to get the store’s extended warranties. Here in Florida I go to Best Buy for my electronics and they offer 2-year in-house replacement plans for cheap. I have had about fifteen items in about four years with the plans and have had to replace about five. They are so nice, I got replacements that day, not having to mail it in or “jump through hoops”. I think it’s totally worth it, especially on more pricey portables that can take a real beating.

Adam,

You should be commended for your diligence, professionalism.
I was directed to your site, its being “featured”, favorably, on Yahoo’s Daily Picks, probably a whole lotta other people will visit, too.

As to the Cat Profile… Please understand that this critique is from an old-timer, who still shoots B&W film occasionally, traditional prints (and Canon Digital Rebel).
Since it is your cat, thus still available as “model”, I challenge you to re-shoot this image (because it is good, worth the effort, but could be better.)
I understand that getting a cat to model is easier-said-than-done, but you can do it…

(1) Don’t cut-off the ends of the whiskers. They are a strong diagonal, strong line, the light value catches our eye, thus strong “leading-line” toward the cat’s other features (eye, nose).

(2) Get SOMETHING in sharp focus, try small DOF on whiskers, then another several shots focusing on eye and nose, then, if possible, a small aperture (large DOF) for the whole profile (direct sun , or flash, @ f/22).

(3) Crop a little larger in the camera (per #1 above). You can always crop it smaller in Photoshop.

… I’ll try to do this re-shoot “assignment” myself, if I can hire a cat-model.

Keep-up the good work.

-Mark Tulk,
Lansing, Michigan USA
marktulk@yahoo.com

Thanks so much, Rick! It’s great to hear that you like not only the photographs, but also the conversations that sprout from them.

Hey, Mark! Great to see another Michigander! Thanks for the challenge and awesome tips. I’ll definitely take them all into consideration from now on, and perhaps you’ll see the reshoot on the site! :)

The cat is so cute. He or She looks like my cat so maybe your is a long hair tuxedo cat, by the looks of it?

Aw, thanks! I’ll be honest, I have no idea what kind of cat she is, but she does have long, gray hair with some sections of white, including her chin, chest, and one of her paws.

Hi Adam. Just a note to say that the world really is’nt always in focus as you’ve demonstrated in your ‘so called ‘ incorrectly taken picture. We own a particularly aloof Manx/Siamese mixed cat. He is our ‘kitty boy’ and he looks very much out of focus until we get our glasses on. Nice pic. Have you ever considered taking this distorted effect with the lens and creating a series or grouping of a subject and show it as in comes into focus with a sequential focused clarity.Just some food for thought. Please feel free to comment. Thanks!

Len, thanks for your great point of view on unfocused photos. I think you’re completely right about things not always being in focus. Perfection can’t be expected 100% of the time! Great series idea… I’ll keep it in mind!

Muito legal, ótimo …

Wrong again, sucka!