I’ve always had pets. I honestly can’t remember a single moment of my life when there were not furry, four-legged children running around my home. Since I’ve moved into apartments and other rentals, though, I’ve only had cats — and it has been a parade of unique individuals ever since.
Of the three I have right now, it’s definitely the baby, Copperfield, who takes the cake the most unique. He’s named for the magician David Copperfield for his tendency to completely disappear, but it’s one of his other penchants that’s the subject of today’s image:
Public Domain for Katherine Stanford
Photo taken May 17, 2023
This is a photo I took of Copperfield while I was preparing to cook dinner late one evening (as you can see by the clock on the stove). Copperfield fancies himself a bit of a sous chef — and I’m not one to disabuse him of that notion, so he gets to sit on the side cabinet while I explain him everything that goes into the pot and each step that I’m taking next. As long as I don’t use any burner but the one the pot is currently on in the picture, it is a perfect working relationship.
Even in this photograph, though, he’s still a bit of a blur, though, because he’s never fully still.
I had about eight photographs that I was trying to choose from before I selected this one. From its original form:
Public Domain for Katherine Stanford
Photo taken May 17, 2023
I had about eight photographs that I was trying to choose from before I selected this one. From its original form, I tightened the image, trimming it down to focus just on Copperfield and his laser tight attention on the stove. I also paid attention to the Rule of Thirds, bringing one point up to his eye. Likewise, I also gave him plenty of room to move across the screen.
Granted, if this were the real kitten, he would be more apt to run the other direction, but the way he’s focused, you would never know it!
Hello!
I love to see another fur parent have to deal with their fellow chefs. Mine are two doggies that act like vacuum cleaners the moment something falls to the floor. Although I’m sure they would love to sit on the counter like your kitty does should I let them.
I liked your vision of cropping out the distractions in the bottom of your image. If I were to make a suggestion, I might leave more of the cooking pot exposed on the left side, allowing for that to bring balance on the first third of your image. That being said, I love his mischievous look, full of intentions to pounce.
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Katherine,
first off I love your subject matter! I am very much a cat person and this is such a cute cat. With that being said, I think the photo was a bit over-cropped. You could have left a bit more space on the bottom of the cat rather than cropping off his feet. I think that since there is also so many black and dark colors in the photo, the bright blue is going to always pull the attention first.
Hi Katherine, nice to meet you! I’ve seen that look before. This image is nicely composed within the rule of thirds, and I personally like that you weren’t afraid to crop into the pot, which he was focused on. There is more than three quarters of it in the image to understand what it is and having any more of it wouldn’t frame as nicely because Copperfield observes from a safe distance in the far-right side of the image. We also want to avoid cropping on any joints, like wrists but a little further into the forearm is okay, however the pot would have been over cut. The edited image has been significantly improved as the cat now takes center stage, allowing us to closely observe the intensity of his curiosity. The original image is flat in comparison and has a lot of distractions that aren’t important to the story of what is happening here, so nice work!