Cat Photo Competition 5 2015 : Results

Competition Winner : First Prize
$174.00 and a Leica C worth $700

Judges Comment
what a fabulous and immediately compelling image. the story-telling quality of this photo adds to its strength. the choice to convert to (shoot in) black and white keeps the elements simple. the distant buildings directly behind the cat, with the strong horizontal lines, are a little distracting, and if there was a way to edit these 'harsher' buildings out, i would advise that. but it is still a magical and unique image. nicely done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
My Name is Dejan Ivković and I currently study Design at teh University of Applied Arts in Vienna. When I shot this photo I had just begun to develop my love for photography. The picture depicts the view from my apartment where my young tomcat is sitting at the window bench, closely observing the flight of the birds. Fortunately, I had my Nikon D3100 next to me when I realized that the birds are about to fly by our window very closely. I dialed in hysterically the right exposure and pointed my camera towards the happening. At first, I was not too optimistic about the outcome. Later I realized that cropping out the frames of my window and converting the image into black and white, I might get a quite decent composition with strong shapes. I seek inspiration from many different fields and artists like Stephen Shore. I have recently started to shoot on assignment for actors, scholars, performing artists and other interesting people. I use Instagram mainly to document my everyday life.
www.instagram.com/dejanivkovic/

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
what a fabulously creative image. the simple, almost abstract lines and shapes make for a strong image. i would love to see this image with a few more 'whites' to give it a little more 'punch', but all in all, a very compelling image. nicely seen and captured. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the Mark of excelence! My name is Stelios and this picture was taken in Athens-Greece during an afternoon walk around my neighborhood. Camera used is an Olympus em-10 with a 14-42 pancake lens. Glad you enjoyed the picture! For more of my work you can have a look at my website:
www.steliospapadopoulos.com

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
what a fabulous image. the choice of converting to (or shooting in) black and white is excellent as it simplifies the image down to the essentials -- the window, the shaft of light, the cat and its shadow. beautifully seen, captured and managed in post. well done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the Mark of excellence! This picture was taken a winter morning at a friend's house in Syros island-Greece. It was really early in the morning and quite cold so that gave the long shadows in the frame but also the need for a sunshower! Camera used was a Nikon D600 with a 24-70 2.8 lens. If you'd like to see more of my work you can have a look at my website: www.steliospapadopoulos.com
www.steliospapadopoulos.com/

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
the leading lines and the simplicity of this image immediately draw the viewer in. the subject being centered among the limited palette of colors, draw the viewer's eye directly to the cat. although the vignetting may be a little heavy, it keeps the image centered. beautiful white balance and tones. nicely done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
This image was taken right in from of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul is one of the most interesting cities in the world and particularly good for cat shots. The camera used was the CANON EOS 30D, as this was a few years ago. Post processing was performed using the now redundant Apple's Aperture. Thank you for a giving a mark of excellence to my first ever competition submission. Spyros Gennatas
worldphoto.org/profile/256689/

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
what a strong and captivating image. the depth of shadows and expert exposure, as well as the variety of textures -- from the concrete and bricks to the old wood and then the cat's fur and whiskers -- all add to the draw of this image. nicely done. ~ illona

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
what a fabulous image ... beautiful bokeh and depth of field, superb focus, spot on white balance and tones ... absolutely dreamy. well done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thanks, Sony A7, obj. Samyang 85mm f1,4. Peter S.
atrejatrej.wix.com/petersarek

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
what a beautiful, minimalistic image. wonderful white balance and focus, and strong framing...and the cat's focus with those pale blue eyes in this sea of white is piercing. nicely done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you so much for the Mark of Excellence! This is Snowflake - she was the model for the cover of The Cats of Oakville book. A natural in front of the lens, she posed and enjoyed the attention. It was shot with a Nikon D7000 in her Oakville home. I'm an amateur photographer with a passion for spending time with animals and my camera
www.dogsofoakville.com

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
what a fun family portrait. very nicely set up and captured. well done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
My name is Marco Pang from Hong Kong. This is a selfie with my Leica M9-P + Summicron-M 35mm f2 ASPH. It was taken in front of the mirror inside the toilet at home together with my wife and our cat. Welcome to my Flickr for more photos:
www.flickr.com/photos/marcopang/

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
what a fabulous image. wonderful framing and focus, and the variety of textures allow the viewer's eye to wander through the image but always come back to the staring subject. well done. ~ illona

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
what a fantastic and fun action capture. great white balance and exposure. everything works. well done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thanks a lot for the Mark Of Excellence I'm very honored ;o) My name is Vinni Bruhn I come from Denmark. The picture is showing my cat trying to catch the snow back in 2010 (by the way he did get it ;-) ) I have used a Canon 7D and a Canon 70-200 f/2,8
vinnibruhnphotography.zenfolio.com/