"Fluffy" by Fred Widall:
First off, a great job on cropping. I love the way the bottom of the chin and the eyes form a nice triangle - very pleasing. I don't know how much you had to crop out, but there's still lots of detail left, evidenced by the fact that one can still see individual hairs quite easily. Focus (manual, of course - are we seeing a pattern here? <g>) is spot on, with nice softening as we move away from the plane of focus. Again, I'm guessing that the 55mm 2.0 was wide open or close to it. As an aside, that has long been one of my favourite lenses, one that always seems to be overlooked when someone starts a poll of favourite lenses. Sharp as hell, nice colour rendition, great bokeh - but, back to the photo <g>. Another winner in this month of winners, Fred. You've also reminded me to take my Spottie out for a spin soon!
"A Stack of Cats" by John Francis:
Great job of capturing cats doing what they do best - not much of anything. Top one looking at the camera, middle one deciding whether to swat at the hanging rope/toy ("Is it worth the effort? Yawn..."), bottom one pretending to ignore you when we really know he's paying really close attention. Great humour in this one, John! Well composed, and a moment well captured. Only criticism is that it seems a bit fuzzy to me, but I won't "take off points" the way I have some others, due to the genre (I'm going to be more critical of lack of sharpness for macros and tight shots), and the other redeeming features. Cute shot!
"Kitty Cat" by Youri Shostak:
Interesting and different feline shot. He/she (or if it's like mine: it <g>) almost seems entwined in among the branches. The branches alone are interesting, all knurled and twisted as they are. The cat is captured in an interesting pose, and we're left wondering what it's looking at. I love photos where you can make up your own little story, or imagine scenarios, as you can with this one. Well done.
"Repose" by Amita Guha:
I have a photo of my "old" cat (the one that lives with my ex and kids) that's very similar to this one, and I was considering submitting it to this PUG. This certainly wins the award for "rudest shot" of the month ("Hi, I'm Misty, and I'm a 7 year old SST [single spayed tom]...") <g> This is a nice sharp shot, quite surprising to me when I looked at the lens (!), but maybe this is one of those sleeper off-brands? Nice detail of the cat and in the foreground, the wall is nicely warm and slightly fuzzy. The shot has a nice rustic feel to it; it makes me feel very comfortable. Thanks, Amita.
"Male Cheetah" by Max McRae:
The eyes grabbed me first. That gaze - somehow cheetahs seem to be able to stare forever! Further examination of this wonderful image reveals lovely bokeh both in the foreground and background - now here's a situation where the foliage in front of the animal, being off to the side a bit, doesn't obscure the subject, but adds tremendously to the 3D feel of the shot. Focus and sharpness are excellent, and the composition again shows why we don't put things dead centre. Those leaves in the left foreground balance the animal so nicely! I really like this shot, Max.
"No Fair" by Butch Black:
Social commentary in an animal photograph. I like it. Had I not read your narrative, I'd have thought this a rather cute shot, but I don't anymore. I wonder how many hours a day that poor predator has to look at his "meal" through that glass? A nice detail is the cat's face reflected in the glass - one can almost see the frustration in that face. Nice and sharp, well composed, quite poignant. Thanks for the image, and your comments, Butch.
"Lions" by Tim Marsden:
You've really captured the majesty of these animals, Tim! That is one sharp lens, and the focus is dead on. Nice dark background to bring out the wonderful lighting - these lionesses seem to almost glow! I also like the moving tail of the one on the left, behind the other's body! Nice touch. Great shot. Thanks!
Now, I'm off to make supper. Might get a few more done this evening - oooo, I hear Monty Python on the telly downstairs! <g>
cheers, frank
"The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
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