espector

Hi, Chuck!  Thanks so much for stopping by.  

Thanks for the comment Carlos; glad you like it.

A lovely low-key portrait. I especially like the way her crocheted top has elements that echo the leaves in the background (which itself has a nice patch of light and dark "lace" on the RH side). Her connection with the photographer/viewer is very strong, too, with a nice ambiguity in terms of her expression and pose (lots of possible interpretations, which I like).

LOL, Carlos; your interpretation is spot on She is certainly queen of her castle now, but she was once a scrawny stray who cleverly adopted us, moved right into her new quarters and seems to have no desire to go back outside. She loves to gaze out the window, though! Thanks so much for the comment.

An honest, thoughtful and even poetic critique--thank you for that. I don't disagree strenuously, if at all, with the characterizations of "contrived" or "funereal." This one is certainly not reflective of my usual optimistic, Pollyana-ish outlook, and taps into a more somber mental place due to various life circumstances of late. I'm glad to have photography as an outlet, though. I really appreciate you taking the time to visit and to offer your thoughts on this one. I'll take a candid and insightful critique every day over 100 with empty words of praise.

Thanks so much Saad. I take way too many photos of her, but she's such a sweet and cooperative subject. I almost get the sense that she enjoys having her picture taken. :-)

Thank you, Stephanie. I know cat shots are cliché, but she's such a sweet and willing subject. ;-)

I love owls! He really is well-camouflaged, isn't he? The repetition of pattern in the bark and in his feathers is remarkable. I also like the fact that the color of the lichen repeats the golden color of his eye. I think the camouflage effect could be even stronger without the chromatic aberration (the cyan fringing around the branches, easily corrected), but it's an enjoyable image either way. I'm off now to see what other owl images you have in your portfolio.

This is lovely, especially the way the blossoms pop out from the background. I also like the way most of the branches *almost* disappear into the black background, and the way a few of the branches reach bravely into the light. And although I do like the fact that the background shows a bit of welcome texture and isn't uniformly black (allowing those wonderful shadows to appear), it's disappointing to see the obvious cloning artifacts in that portion of the picture. :-( Still, those artifacts are easily remedied, and I enjoyed viewing this a great deal.