Cat Photo Competition 2 2013 : Results

Judges Comment
i'll admit, i'm partial to black and white images which are not afraid of the blacks and show good contrast with true whites. and on that, this image delivers. beautiful conversion. the receding line and deliciously soft bokeh draw us to the cat and the minute details of texture of the concrete, fur and whiskers. the action captured mid-stride, along with the curved tail leading us into that receding line simply add to this already strong image. well done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
first of all I am honored . Thanks Illona! My name is Korhan_(korn) . This picture, Istanbul/Beyoglu, was taken in the old street camera: Nikon D700 / lens: nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 . Photography a big part of my life and of my soul ___`

Judges Comment
what a stunning image. the light in this photo is magical ... the rim of low light catching the front of the cat's legs and gleaming of distant car, casting long shadows. also, the variety of textures -- fur, gleaming metal, and cracked concrete -- add to the visual richness of this image. beautifully captured and processed. my only wish would be to have a little more frame ... giving a little bit of space around the cat's tail, as well as some breathing room around the car in the top right. but easily an instant fave. nicely done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Hi, I'm Max Pachernigg from Austria. Thak you for marking my foto as excellent – that's an honour to me! I have seen this strange looking cat a couple of times on the way to my best friends house. But that day instead of driving my bike I had my Leica M (50/f1.4) with me an took my chances. I wondered if the picture was good enough to put it into the competition. Now I know! :-) Tank's! Max.
500px.com/maxpachernigg

Judges Comment
an instantly memorable image, rich with details and expression. beautiful conversion with rich blacks and great light in the eyes. i have to wonder what this image would look like with the chain and lock carefully photoshopped out to provide a cleaner image. but otherwise a wonderful and memorable image. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
My name is Robert Nichols and live in Derbyshire, England. I started becoming interested in photography about 18 months ago. Last summer I went travelling around europe with a couple friends. One of the places we visited was Sofia, Bulgaria. Whilst walking down one of the streets we noticed this kitten sitting on the gate staring at us, so we took a couple snaps. It was only on the gate for about 15 seconds then jumped off. I shot this with a fujifilm x10 which was my main digital camera I brought, along with a ricoh gr1v. I was unsure whether to include the lock and chain, I made one edit with and one without. The tighter crop can be seen on my flickr page. I personally thought it made the photo more interesting with the lock and chain creating irony with the kitten looking like it was locked behind bars even though it could fit though the gaps. First time entering this or any competition so I'm happy with getting a mark of excellence.
www.flickr.com/photos/robertsnichols/

Judges Comment
what a strong and beautiful image. the receding lines in this photo stand out even more due to the black and white conversion, drawing the viewer's eye to the cat again and again with each viewing. nicely done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
illiona, thank you for awarding this your Mark Of Excellence. My name is Richard Weathered and I took this photo in Istanbul's Sirkici Train Terminal with an 84 year old Leica II and Elmar 5cm 3.5 LTM lens using Ilford HP5 Plus film. It was on a fine sunny day and a rare moment with a lone cat and no people around in a normally crowded location, like the cat owned the place and deigned to allow me to photograph it.
www.rweatheredgallery.com

Judges Comment
this image was an early favorite in the competition ... the echoed pose of the kitten and the bird on the post, the simple background and composition, and the story-telling quality of this image make it an instantly memorable one. i only wish there was equal "breathing room" room around the kitten as there is around the framed print. but otherwise a beautiful image. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank´s to all of you that voted on this picture. My name is Torbjörn Lingöy and I´m from Sweden. The picture shows one of my two cats, a Norwegian forest cat, who have a big interest in art photography. In this particularly case, a Yellow Wagtail. I have been using a digital camera for the last five years but still love to work in my lab with traditional negatives. For this picture I used a Nikon D200 with 50/1.8.
www.facebook.com/pages/Ling%C3%B6y/268724643257276

Judges Comment
oh, how very "cat". great image, great conversion, and wonderful framing. well done! ~ illona

Judges Comment
there is something very strange and wonderful about this image. it's the little kitten outside of the field of focus and just beyond the shadows that keeps the viewer coming back and gives this image the story-telling quality that it possesses. very nicely captured and managed in conversion. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
A definitely unique and fleeting moment! Micino and Micina, brother and sister, to the left and to the right respectively, waiting for the first warm light in a late winter sunrise. What impresses me, as their owner, is the way their symmetrical position reflects their character: bold and assertive the male, standing on the porch; shy and reluctant the female, retreated to the garage. A job for my Nikkor 70-200/2.8, stopped down to f9 to keep a decent DoF while maintaining a selective focus effect. -Roberto D'Antoni
www.robertodantoni.it

Judges Comment
what a dynamic image, and an instant fave. great colors and white balance, and of course, an absolutely perfect angle. nicely captured. ~ illona

Judges Comment
the tones and white balance in this image are bang on ... the hunter's stance and energy are captured beautifully. wonderful depth of field and light. well done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank You! I really appreciate this! My name is Randy and this is our cat Tessa who was sitting on the deck railing when some birds flew overhead and I captured this picture with my Canon 20-D
rkrollart.com

Judges Comment
You don't get too much more "cat" than this. Even well outside of the field of focus, this cat's intensity and expression is very clear. Beautiful tones and softness. nicely done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the Mark of Excellence! This image features "Andy", a mischievous tabby kitten. He was fascinated by the beads in the foreground of the image. Just as he was preparing to pounce on them, I captured his determination in this photograph! A Canon EOS 60D at 1/800 sec, f/5.6 was used. Minimal post-processing included minor adjustments to the tone and sharpness. More photographs of Andy and other adorable critters can be seen on my website.
www.flashbackphoto.ca