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A Dark Handsome Stranger Cat Portrait

Today’s selfie is a lucky chance, as photographs of cats often are. This is a local neighbourhood cat. I do not know it’s name or even if it is a he for a she.

I am calling this picture Tall Black Stranger Cat after the ‘tall dark handsome stranger’ people are often told is in their future when they visit a fortune teller at a fair! I don’t think there are any tall black cats in my Kuykendall Tarot deck, I had better check!

Tall Black Stranger Cat Portrait — The Dark Stranger – ISO 400 f6.3 1/20

How I shot the Tall Black Stranger Cat!

I saw the black cat out on the fence next door and took the chance to grab a quick portrait. I had seen it cross the garden then stop by the deck where it sat still!

Grabbing my DSLR camera I put on my 55-250 mm telephoto lens and sidled as carefully as I could in the cat’s direction. I began at a ‘safe’ distance, taking photos as I moved in. I said hello and approached at a very slow and patient pace.

I tried to keep the light ISO as low as I could, 400 worked for this portrait and added a small amount of dodging to lighten the deepest areas.

I wanted to experiment a bit with my camera settings, which I always encourage you to do, I tried Manual mode and also TV (S on a Nikon) with results that varied from inky black to super sharp. Aperture Priority worked best here, but always push the boundaries of your camera.

Pushing the limits of your smartphone camera too

Push your camera gently by moving in close, or zooming in from far away. Check slow-mo, time-lapse, panorama and portrait.

Use every idea you can think of – high up, low down, behind, in front. Sometimes you will be rewarded with a fabulous picture, like these cat photos of Toulouse, and Jack. If your image will not be a success it’s no big deal, you will have fun learning your smartphone’s capabilities. Some of your failures will make you laugh which is always a bonus.

Never forget to have fun with your cat photos!

Dash Kitten Cat Photography Receives CWA Awards

Blue Banner for Dash Kitten Photography Blog Posts

The results are in and the Cat Writers Association Certificates of Excellence have been announced.

I am proud to say that three of my cat portraits received Certificates and my series ‘Sam’s Journey‘ was awarded a Certificate for a Photograph Series.

This is the first time I have entered images in the series category, so it’s a proud moment for me at Dash Kitten. The other Series certificate was awarded to Kate Benjamin the wonderful woman behind Hauspanther so I am in the best company.

My Winning Photographs

Toulouse the artful tabby with soft focus background

Looking Up With Hope

Proud winner of a Cat Writers Assocation Certificate for 2021 this close-up cat photography is a favourite portrait I took of our tabby boy Toulouse.

I was a beginner with my zoom lens and so I was delighted to achieve a real level of sharpness and focus on his eye.

Photograph details: ISO 200 f3.5 1/400

The Big Stretch

This photo of Toulouse meant I had to get right down on the floor (and yes, I got dirty too). I loved capturing the brief time when he stretched, then he rolled over and the moment was gone.

You can see how I used the 55-250mm telephoto lens to focus on the middle distance and keep the background and foreground softly focused.

Photograph details ISO 200 f7.1 1/200

Ginger cat with a tooth missing yawns in the sunshine

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Another snatched moment that I could never hope to repeat.

I was laid down (I seem to do that a lot – right?) and focused on Jack from further away. My aim was to capture him enjoying the garden not long after he recovered from his dental surgery.

I got something a little better. Note the missing incisor!

Photograph details: ISP 200 f7.1 1/2000

Sam’s Journey – Series Certificate

You may remember our family’s foster cat Sam. A beautiful but thin ginger youngster who spent time sheltering with us, before finding his forever home.

I submitted a series of photographs that told his story in a handful of pictures. I am so thrilled it was thought worthy of attention.

Photograph Details: ISO 1250 f4 1/180

Congratulations to Fellow CWA Members

I want to congratulate some of the awesome people I have been in touch with over the past year in the cat blogosphere. These people have been so inspirational and encouraging, and they continue to make blogging a pleasure. There are dozens more proud winners including authors, cat artists and cat poets and I hope to see them online at the virtual Awards Ceremony on 15th of October.

Janet and the Kitties Blue
Kerry Barbero and Valentine at Noir Kitty Mews
Layla Morgn Wilde – Cat Wisdom 101
Carol Lowbeer – Peaches and Paprika on YouTube.
Melissa Lapierre and Mudpie

How Your Cat Gets Your Attention (Computer Sabotage!)

This photo was another snatched moment, like all the best smartphone cat photos are. Not the cat sat on the mat but the cat sat in front of the computer! Thanks Thomas.

Sometimes a snapshot from real life is much more fun than a carefuly staged portrait it is genuine and fun. Thomas has a way to hold his head that melts the cat lover’s heart. You can see that he is sat in front of my Mac and you might notice the clutter of festive Post-It® notes and the stuffed New Zealand native animal the Tuatara.

I was preparing for a student’s literacy lesson and exploring the excellent learning sites at Starfall and ABCMouse.com when ‘someone’ decided he needed attention and sat in front of the computer. Work stopped for a while and cursors were played with.

Tuxedo cat sat in front of computer screen

Bonus Video of Cat Cursor Hunting

Just to prove Thomas is a keen cursor hunter! I posted a short video capture of his antics to Instagram. Because I am able to downoad the short video (Reel) I can share it here.

A Bonus Selfie

This weekend Great Britain is celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. Her Majesty has been on the throne of our country for 70 years and this is unprecedented. Of course most British people are very proud.

A four day Bank Holiday was announced and there has been a lot of coverage in the media, parties, beacons and celebrations.

The frame was pre-made and I was able to chose a photo and use the Canva Pro background remover so that I only had Jack himself in the frame.

The Dash Kitten Crew were all eager to be involved in the fun so I hunted through my Canva Pro account and discovered this splendid frame based on the flag of Great Britain. Jack was chosen being the one closest to the Queen in cat years wanted to be in today’s post.

Miranda and Silver can be seen on Facebook, and this short video from the BBC from the small island of Orkney far to the North of the British and Scottish mainland is lovely and so genuine.

Smartphone Drama With Simple Lighting and Your Cat

Pale banner with curly text and smartphone image

Today’s how to was a totally unexpected capture although it looks as if it was carefully composed and took so long to set up. The photograph shows a dramatic soft light, (carefully placed for dramatic effect) and a single cat surrounded by deep shade. I can hear your questions now. Didn’t it take an age to set up? How fancy is your lighting setup, it must have cost a lot of money?

Dramatic Cat Capture Revealed

The truth is I ended up with an awesome cat selfie using my new smartphone and a single lamp. The lesson I want to share is be prepared to take photographs in any kind of light, not just the light your camera tells you is the right kind.

Here the light was the only one left on in the living room before the family went to bed. Toulouse the tabby cat jumped up on to his favourite perch which is a mushroom shape at the top of the living room cat tree. I just HAD to try and grab the shot, wouldn’t you?!

The smartphone was looking for light and found it on Toulouse.

How I Did It

I turned my iPhone12 to Portrait mode and left it there. I did not have time to add any fancy effects.
I made sure my subject, Toulouse, was as central as I could get in the ‘phone window.
I took a dozen photos really quickly. (You might use burst mode).

TIP If you try this kind of shot remember to make sure (if you can) that your background is reasonably plain and uncluttered.

To show you how effective this kind of photography can be, I took a couple of photos of the shabby chic cat tree the following morning. You can see how I managed such a great shot. The tree is nearly 2 metres (6 ft) tall and the photo perch Toulouse perched on is the high mushroom shape. As you can see, we have had this tree a long time and Toulouse is the first cat ever to use the top spot on a regular basis.

With the curtain drawn there was no reflection from a window and the lamp is about a meter (1 yard) down on your left hand side on the breakfast bar as you look towards the cat tree and the window.

Take A Chance On The Light

My top tip is to try anything and everything with your smartphone.

You have nothing to loose and everything to gain by being fearless with your photos when the light is less than perfect. Try out shots in the half-light, or even moonlight. You will find yourself amazed at how fantastic the results can be. If they work let me know, I’d love to see them!

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