I really like this photograph. It's simple, it's unassuming and, oh, so appealing. My eye quickly lands on the focal point [that still-life cat in the dark] and then pulls out to put the image into perspective: sharp barn lines, the open and weathered door, contrast in colours, mere hint at an interior, the wash of red dominating the frame. I enjoy the voyeuristic effect of peering into this scene through that open door and quietly seeing this cat in a private moment. You know not only how to frame a subject but also when to frame a subject. Sometimes, as in this case, a photograph can be viewed as a single frame in a narrative. I slip into the frame, just before it moves to the next frame, and my eye "sees" what this cat, this barn cat sees. I'm fully engaged because I can't really see the barn's full interior and yet I can sense, most apprehensively, the solidly fixed line of that cat's vision. I complete the narrative, I run out the plot: a barn cat pouncing on a unsuspecting mouse, the swift but silent movement of this top predator, the wet jaws around the fragile body, the playful yet deadly toying, the sounds. All this spills out of this single frame so artfully posed. It's the classical shot of a wildlife photographer. You're in the right spot, at the right time, and you know what to do with it. Here's what I believe you deeply "know": It's not only about the look of the photo but also the experience of the "reader". You want the photo to give us the experience of "seeing", of feeling and not merely the frustration of looking. You want us to care about how it makes us feel and what it tells us. It is simply a beautiful image, Heather, on so many levels.
I really like this photograph. It's simple, it's unassuming and, oh, so appealing. My eye quickly lands on the focal point [that still-life cat in the dark] and then pulls out to put the image into perspective: sharp barn lines, the open and weathered door, contrast in colours, mere hint at an interior, the wash of red dominating the frame. I enjoy the voyeuristic effect of peering into this scene through that open door and quietly seeing this cat in a private moment. You know not only how to frame a subject but also when to frame a subject. Sometimes, as in this case, a photograph can be viewed as a single frame in a narrative. I slip into the frame, just before it moves to the next frame, and my eye "sees" what this cat, this barn cat sees. I'm fully engaged because I can't really see the barn's full interior and yet I can sense, most apprehensively, the solidly fixed line of that cat's vision. I complete the narrative, I run out the plot: a barn cat pouncing on a unsuspecting mouse, the swift but silent movement of this top predator, the wet jaws around the fragile body, the playful yet deadly toying, the sounds. All this spills out of this single frame so artfully posed. It's the classical shot of a wildlife photographer. You're in the right spot, at the right time, and you know what to do with it. Here's what I believe you deeply "know": It's not only about the look of the photo but also the experience of the "reader". You want the photo to give us the experience of "seeing", of feeling and not merely the frustration of looking. You want us to care about how it makes us feel and what it tells us. It is simply a beautiful image, Heather, on so many levels.
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