Cat Photo Competition 4 2013 : Results

Judges Comment
what an incredibly evocative and story-telling image this is. the film-like quality and graininess to this street-photo give it an grittiness which only adds to the story we imagine behind this little troop of street cats. the depth of shadows and expert handling of contrast demonstrate a photographic skill as well as a sensitivity to the subject. the only thing i think might have made this a stronger image is to have panned out a little farther to show a little more of the alleyway/street instead of being such a tight crop ... but this could almost be a personal choice versus an artistic one. nicely done and congratulations! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
This photo,taken on December 2011 in Moscow. These cats like actors posed to me. In my opinion they are abandoned house cats. Before people are buying, feeding, loving,and then leave the street when they are finished...I condemn these people!___Leica M8 + Voigtländer 35mm lens.Thank you Illiona. Korhan Kalabak [email protected]

Judges Comment
what a wonderful image, and a very VERY close second to the competition winner. it was a tough call for the judges this time around. the composition of this image, the contrast of textures, the conversion to black and white and masterful management of contrast make this an instant fave an extremely memorable image. thank you for sharing! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
These lovely legs belong to my sister's cats. They are both about 13 years old and were both rescued from uncaring owners. The legs on the left belong to Podgey, and the legs on the right belong to Lady Lamb. A few years Lady Lamb jumped up on a pile of bricks which fell down on top of her, and snapped her foot in half. $5000 later, she is as good as new and they both live a life of luxury which is no less than they deserve after a rough start to life. I took this photo when I was visiting my sister and saw the 'girls' having a PAWsome catnap on the end of the bed. THANK YOU very much to I Shot It & Illona Haus for the Mark of Excellence. I am very excited and thankful for my photo to be acknowledged. My camera is a Nikon D5000. My website is currently under maintenance for 24 hours.
veryuniquepix.com

Judges Comment
what a fun, whimsical and beautiful capture. the choice of a slower shutter speed to capture the action blur is perfect for this image, as is the rendering to black and white, giving this image great depth. wonderfully captured and managed. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
My name is Mark Adams. Camera:Leica x2 Oddly enough I made this photo on a floating platform in Tonle sap lake in Cambodia. While the rest of my associates were taking photos of the sunset I was capturing these cats playing together. Minimal post in LR4, b&w high contrast. Thank you for the mention.

Judges Comment
any true cat owner can instantly connect with this image. beautifully captured, and wonderfully converted. deep shadows and great contrast make this a strong black-and-white image. beautifully done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
My name is Sacha Dohmen from Belgium and I took this shot from my cat Mephisto with a Nikon D60 and a Sigma 30mm f1,4. I´m really honored to see my picture featured here. Many thanks!!!
www.flickr.com/photos/maktub77/

Judges Comment
one of the very few color images in this competition selected for a Mark of Excellence ... with so many strong black-and-white images in this particular competition, it took some truly spectacular color images to standout, and this one absolutely does. rich colors, rich shadows, wonderful framing ... a truly memorable image. nicely done. ~ illona

Judges Comment
a kitten in a box ... a yawning kitten in a box! hard to beat that! what makes this image intriguing is the depth of shadows and the perfect framing -- the box filling the frame so squarely. wonderfully captured and rendered. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Aww Thank you for the Mark of Excellence, and congratulations to all of the selected entry. My name is Christopher de Bethune and this is the picture of my lil kitten, it was taken when she was between two and three months old, she grown up quitte a bit now. That box was her H.Q for months, now the little lady way prefer my bed for spending her lazy days. Shoted with Fuji X-pro1, 35mm.
saintempire.tumblr.com/

Judges Comment
what an interesting image. what makes this stand out is more the oddity of a cat in a yellow truck/van, looking out the window like a dog. the capture of his reflection in the mirror adds to the composition, making it instantly memorable. nicely captured. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the kind judges comment. Nice to finally nab an "excellence" after entering many categories. It always pays to carry a camera with you as this was the case when my wife and I moved from Washington state to South Dakota where I took a job at a Watertown newspaper. Enroute, we stopped for a break and being a nice day, opened the window to allow "Henry" to catch some fresh air. Simple shot, however, the moving van's mirror reflection made the image using a Nikon F90x, 105 mm lens, on Ektachrome-X 35mm film. Somewhere in Idaho. - Wayne Specht, Astoria, S.D.