A Cat named Bruce.

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A Cat named Bruce.

Postby owen on Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:15 pm

Here's one of our cats, bathed in the afternoon glow that was lighting up our loungeroom.

Image

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Postby Alpha_7 on Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:20 pm

Owen,

I have to say I'm not a cat person, but this is a gorgeous portrait. Lovely light that suits the subject and the eye is nice and sharp. Well done!
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Postby stubbsy on Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:29 pm

Owen

I AM a cat person, but I have to say this is WAY too orange. It looks almost monochromatic. Try dialing this down a little. Remember the D70 has a penchant for red so you'll gte more orange than the eye sees. The warm glow is fantastic, but we need to see some of the colours of your lovely cat too.
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Postby owen on Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:44 pm

Image

How's this stubbsy?

The colour in the first one is how the camera recorded it. I wasn't aware that the D70 saturates the red channel moreso than others, but I know now.

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Postby JordanP on Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:06 pm

Great capture. The catch highlight in the eye does it for me. I think it enhances the effect of the sharp point at the cats eye and then the soft light makes the fur soft and almost silky looking.

I don't mind either version but would be interested to see what photoshop would do if you used the auto colour function :?
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Postby Zeeke on Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:21 pm

I dont know if its the size difference between the 1st image and the 2nd image posted.. and the slight colour difference... but i prefer the 1st one.. dont know why.. im not a cat person.. ive got a "Looking for your cat? check under my tyres" sticker on my car.. but that is a top photo.. i will admit ive got a cat.. and he is the hardest thing to photograph.. he insists on putting himself in places with extremely distracting backgrounds.. and its hard to work with him.. he's not very people friendly unless youve got fresh fish... but i do like your image, its nice..

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Postby owen on Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:23 pm

Hi Jordan.

I just tried the auto colour and it turned his ear into a mass of orange... it's like a blown highlight only orange. Otherwise it just dulled the orange, much like my second attempt.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

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Postby JordanP on Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:32 pm

owen wrote:Hi Jordan.

I just tried the auto colour and it turned his ear into a mass of orange... it's like a blown highlight only orange. Otherwise it just dulled the orange, much like my second attempt.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

Cheers,
Owen.


Yeah I though it wouldn't cope but was interested on how it would try and resolve the colours.

Is the light coming through a stained glass window or something with a tint?

very cool shot.
Craig
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Postby sirhc55 on Thu Oct 06, 2005 12:55 am

I must admit that #1 is my preferred choice. :D
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Postby johnd on Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:58 am

Owen, I'd like to make a suggestion. The orange wall and the orange cat make the shot look very, aah, orange. It would be interesting to desaturate a lot of the orange out of the wall (so it's almost monochrome) and pump the mid tone contrast (of the cat) up a bit in shadow/highlight. You'd have to watch it a bit with the mid tone contrast as it'll cause a sharpened effect and it might make the fur look a bit crunchy. It won't be an easy couple clicks getting the selection right but might be worth the trouble.

I tried a similar effect on an image of a couple green lizards that were bathed in green light at the reptile house at the zoo. When I started it just looked far too green, but when I finished it looked a whole lot better (I even pumped the green in the lizards up a bit).

Nice cat BTW.
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Postby owen on Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:12 am

Thanks for the comments again guys.

As mentioned the orange light is just how the evening light was. The wall is actually a pale cream colour too, and the light is just coming through a normal window. It was only moments before sunset though, which is when it's the warmest it gets.

I'll try what you suggested John.

Cheers,
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Postby stubbsy on Thu Oct 06, 2005 10:29 am

Owen

It's a tough call isn't it. A little like sunset pics. How much orange is natural. For me I do prefer the second version, but I'd be interested to see the outcome if you have the time and inclination to follow John's suggestion.
Peter
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