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McMillan Cat - WC #616

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted January 8, 20148,404 views4 comments

As stated in my previous post I rarely photograph any scenes that show the hand of man. So this scene I feel meets that out of the norm posting for me. This image was captured in the historic ghost town of Bodie State Park. CA. In it's day there were about 10,000 residents in the 1870's.

This composition was totally intended to be a bit symmetric in it's framing and capture. The golden thirds rule I never break...

The placement of the windows, door, porch and yes the cat too, have some purpose behind this a bit centered shot.
I wanted the two windows to provide a partial reflection from each pane. The difference in color is an effect of the light angle, but I suspect of different glass too. It was noticeable during the capture. The actual reflections are of the large foothill in Bodie where the gold mine stamp mill is located.

The rest of the composition was a simple matter of it being in a normal placement for a home, again, including the cat. The cute feral cat I gave the name McMillan from the long abandoned house which belonged to the McMillan family back in those gold mining days.

Thank you in advance for your C&C's and please review the LARGER version too.

Mamiya RB67 ProSD
Mamiya 90mm C lens
Hoya 81b filter
Velvia 50

Comments

4 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on January 9, 2014 at 5:18 AM

I think the symmetry of the comp. works really well here, Paul. The bits of blue in the corners are a nice change of pace colorwise and the angled riser pulls my eyes right to the cat, who is clearly in charge.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on January 9, 2014 at 11:30 PM

Paul: This is terrific IMO. I really like your compositional thought processes and the result. Superbly crafted image.>=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on January 10, 2014 at 12:56 PM

I like your close-up comp of these interesting elements, Paul. The placement of the two windows provides a nice balance, and the blue color adds a great contrast to the worn boards throughout the rest of the image. I like how the windows provide a partial reflection of the larger surroundings too. The cat lounging by the door adds a real soft and homey touch. . .but also a bit sad too since it seems to be waiting for some nonexistent homedwellers to let him in. However, cats are tough, and I'm sure the many visitors to this area help provide for some of this cats' needs. In fact, you even gave him a name!

Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on January 16, 2014 at 4:34 PM

Interesting comp, really appreciate you sharing your thoughts on how you went about this Paul.
Everything came together nicely, I like this..
All you need to do is replace the cat with a dog

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments