Cat Photo Competition 1 2014 : Results

Judges Comment
there's just so much about this image that captures the viewer -- the blowing snow, the force of the wind, but probably the most compelling is the intensity of this cat's stare as it heads towards the camera. wonderful capture! congratulations on a splendid shot. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you so much for selecting my picture to win this competition. Much appreciated. It made me very happy and proud! :) My name is Jane Bjerkli, and I live in Eidsvoll, Norway. This picture was taken a windy and snowy winter day. I saw my cat was coming up this little hill, so I laid down on the ground, and took a lot of pictures! I really love the cat's expression, and that you actually can see the wind is blowing in her fur. The picture was shot with a Canon eos 600 D.
www.facebook.com/jane.bjerkli

Judges Comment
this beautifully lit shot is an instant favorite. wonderful management of color and light. fabulous shot! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Kim Slonaker - Corpus Christi, TX Nikon D600 - existing light, no Photoshop except for crop, slight adjustments. 24-85 Lens - ISO 1250, f6.3, 1/80, 55 mm I was playing around with high ISO as an experiment. Ty, the little cat, was looking up at the ceiling fan when I shot this. He was standing on the couch arm and I was sitting in my recliner beside the couch. Congratulations to the winning photo - I knew the second I saw it, it would be the one! I'm just happy to have 3 of my photos place with Mark of Excellence! Thank you!
www.kimslonakerphotography.com

Judges Comment
wonderful image and an early fave ... the framing, the simplicity, and that perfect stare make this image instantly memorable. wonderful handling of shadows and light and depth of field. nicely done. ~ illona

Judges Comment
beautiful warm light and tones, and the texture of the grasses are lovely. fabulous capture. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
My name is Mari Page and I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. The photo is from Jackpot, my Norwegian Forest Cat and he is a large breed but a very gentle and friendly nature that loves being around people. I used a Canon 600D with f2.8 24-70mm Canon zoom lens at 50mm. I shot in Aperture Priority because I found that manual mode and animals are too difficult. ISO 100 f2.8 1/800 sec I did some post processing in Lightroom and increased the exposure (brighter) and vibrance. It was shot in the late afternoon during the "golden" hour, approximately an hour before sunset.
www.maripage.com

Judges Comment
wonderful wide-angle shot, and a fantastic face. the decision to present this in black&white keeps this image simple so that the focus can be on this subject's fabulous face. nicely done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Kim Slonaker - Corpus Christi, TX Nikon D600 - existing light, no Photoshop except for crop, slight adjustments. B & W conversion with Topaz B & W filter. 24-85 Lens - ISO 800, f5, 1/60, 24 mm Part of my high ISO experiment. Ty, the little cat, sitting in his favorite spot on the couch arm and the light from the back door was highlighting him nicely. Although he is beautiful in color with his green eyes, I felt B&W would concentrate the light on him with no distractions.
www.kimslonakerphotography.com

Judges Comment
another fabulous winter-running shot of a very brave cat. beautiful capture, color management and white balance. nicely done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you so much selecting my orphan cat "Günter" for a Mark of Excellence, you make me very happy. (Canon 7D, lens 70-200, f4, 1/4000, Iso 400 - March 2013 - Magdeburger Börde, Saxony-Anhalt - gave a little brightness, wiped out a blade of grass ) Caren Kluth
www-cuk-bilder.de

Judges Comment
love the combination of the perfect focus on this cat's eye and action blur of the paws in this image. super capture, and great handling of black-and-white conversion. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Kim Slonaker - Corpus Christi, TX Nikon D600 - existing light, no Photoshop except for crop, slight adjustments. B & W conversion with Topaz B & W filter. Topaz allows a lot of individualized adjustment within their presets. 24-85 Lens - ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/60, 85 mm Pushing my ISO fairly high as an experiment. Ty, the little cat, was laying on the couch arm. He likes to be on his back, so as he was wiggling around, I shot this, focusing on his eye.
www.kimslonakerphotography.com

Judges Comment
this detail shot is so cat ... the outstretched paws and the open toes. beautiful use of depth of field, lovely tones and color-management. nicely done. ~ illona

Judges Comment
this is a wonderfully dramatic image and perfect for black-and-white. great play of textures and strong contrast. nicely done. ~ illona

Judges Comment
what a fabulous action shot. i'm not sure where people are finding these super brave cats to go running in the wintry landscape, but what a wonderful image. perfect white balance and color management. a lovely capture. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Photographer: Sandy Klembt Model: Ragdoll Gasper Gato Bellaza Camera: 5D III
www.facebook.com/naturbildnis

Judges Comment
what a splendid and dynamic image. great low angle and wonderful capture. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Corsica, 06/2013
fabricedeutscher.com

Judges Comment
what a sweet shot. lovely textures and tones, and a great expression. i find the red-labelled bottle a little distracting and would probably try to edit this out, but otherwise a very cute image. nicely captured. ~ illona