Meet Stevie, my cat. You don't see him much on my blog because he's hard to photograph. He's either sleeping buried under a pile of blankets or moving non-stop following us around. If I see Stevie in an interesting spot or in good light and leave the room to get my camera, it is likely he follows me as I leave the room. Occasionally I get a good photo of him, like this one yesterday when I already had my camera in hand for other reasons. I got two shots, and then he was gone.
Yesterday I talked about context, and how photographers, or any artists really, choose the context they share in their art. Nothing is a reproduction of reality, it is always influenced by the artists point of view and what they wish to convey.
This photo is no exception. I could have focused in tighter on Stevie, but I wanted the context available around him. It is not just a portrait of Stevie, it is also a portrait of Stevie in our apartment in Italy. The green pot shows one of the colors of our kitchen, the radiator shows how we get our heat. The windows are typical Italian - simple glass and wood frame, with the turn handle to open. There are no screens on the window but you can see the wood bar, which we've guessed is to prevent small children or things on the window sill from spilling out the window when it is opened. Stevie sits on the window sill, made of marble. All of these things tell more of the story, not only "who" but "where" Stevie is.
I find it interesting to think about this concept of context. Some of the context in my photographs comes from split second decision making, some of it comes later with cropping and post-processing. How, and when, do you decide the context in your art?
I love your cat! great name too, sometimes I will walk past something and see it in the light and quickly grab my camera and sometimes I think about composing a photograph.
ReplyDeleteWonderful picture of your cat Stevie. When I work I go with my gut feeling.
ReplyDeleteWhen it makes me smile. Sometimes I see it ahead of time, know what I want and make it happen and sometimes, I don't see it until it is sitting right in front of me, staring me in the face. Stevie, nice to meet you...
ReplyDeleteGreat capture of your cat - they can be so difficult to photograph but I love that you kept the context. I tend to shoot really tight frames which means I leave out a lot of context. I need to get better about leaving the details in the picture so I can remember parts of my house or neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteLove Stevie!!
ReplyDeleteInstinctive eyeballing, but I am no professional. ;)
I think I also leave out the context most of the time, now you've made me more aware and I will consider that in my future shots. I love your Stevie -- he's beautiful! Wonderful composition in the photo.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Kat and a good example of telling a story as opposed to picking out detail (as in narrow DoF). I love your cat - he's looking beyond you to the next thing he's going to do. I can see the thought process going on through the eyes!
ReplyDeleteIt is early Monday morning and I love your question so much, I don't want to botch it with a smudgy, ill-conceived response.
ReplyDeleteI see context like a container, one which we choose and also conjur from intention, inspiration, and a bit of that divine nudge of 'be aware' in a precise moment.
My most commonly used context is to witness the moment, precisely as it is... and oftentimes from very very close up and then slowly move out into a wider view. I tend to be quite surprised how the least appealing from a distance spaces and subjects are absolutely fascinating when we give ourselves the privilege (the context) of becoming intimate with the subject.
I am going to stop there and perhaps come back later.... I will, come back later. Making a note of where to find you! I am grateful to have clicked on your posting at CED2011~
My CED2011 check in.
You have a beautiful cat, I think.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Sometimes creativity loses the flavor and essence of the moment especially with contemporary tools (apps) that tend to blur and distort images and made us believe that this is the way to coolness. I'm guilty of that. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBut reality, not just from our human context, is not all real, because our human eye has blurred out or made invisible a lot of interesting and real images that inhabit our world...
Kat - This is a wonderful shot, made even more so with your explanation of context. It is definitely something I want to try to remember, as I think many times I focus on a particular subject without a lot of thought as to what is around it, and how that might add and at times detract from what I am trying to capture. Thank you so much for such an informative post, and for sharing it today at The Creative Exchange.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful evening.
lisa.
What a wonderful photo - I really love it! I tend to go for a close-up with cats - so thanks so much for your tip about context!
ReplyDeleteKat, I love this post. First of all, it's such a nice photo of your cat looking back over his shoulder and with his tail hanging down to the radiator. And I appreciate the context that you've given. BTW, thanks for stopping by my blog :)
ReplyDeleteI've thought a lot about this, especially since I have a camera with a wide-ish angle lens and no zoom. So often I get the whole context of a shot whether I intended to or not. Then the question of whether and how much to crop needs to be answered. But I find that I tend to keep the whole context since most of photography for me is telling a story.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts to ponder, Kat!
A delightful portrait of Stevie! I do think the context of a photo tells us something more about the subject.
ReplyDeleteLove your cat, Stevie. What a wonderful subject. I paint so most all of my planning comes before I put my brush to the paper. I've been known to crop afterward though on pictures that don't develop in the way that I've planned. Thanks for visiting me (I'm from CED)!
ReplyDeleteinteresting thought, have to think about this more...
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on my site. It's really brilliant how we spark off each others ideas and concepts.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI love the simplicity of this shot and the way that simplicity allows the eye to take in all of the subtle complexity of the patterns in the cat's fur, in the lines of the radiator, in the windows, and even in the prickly things in the cactus plant. Lovely.
Dear Kat
ReplyDeleteI love your photo of Stevie - and I love your blog as well! Such lovely photography and beautifully thought out posts - I am going to enjoy exploring your archives! I signed up to follow you and hope to see more of Stevie in the future!
Ramona
I am going to admit that I rarely consider context! But I should! I love Stevie and the cactus...and the radiator...together!
ReplyDeleteAs an untrained artist, I don't really think about things, just go with the flow. I am not happy with the way I draw so when I am working on a canvas I take a photograph, pick a the size canvas I feel like using, and use a projector. I love tinkering with the composition this way...then make a quick contour drawing and get to work.
ReplyDeleteI love the context of Stevie's photo, it is perfect.
I feel my role or "job" as an artist is to convey what is important or moves me about a subject. I try to find the best composition on site to serve this purpose. This often means viewing my subject from many different vantage points. I don't take a multitude of shots but instead try to make each one count. Later, working with my photo editing program (Aperture) I alter my photo further to fit my "vision" of the day or subject.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting topic, Kat - and a beautiful cat. When I first saw the picture I immediately knew that it was shot in Europe, because of the context (the very same picture could have been taken in Germany or Austria, those window and radiator say it all!). If you had zoomed in on Stevie it could have been anywhere. - I was wondering whether the wood bar in front of the window might be for hanging window boxes?
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence that I should come across your post today. Yesterday I had commented to another photographer that I've learned over the years that what surrounds the obvious main subject in a photo can often be as important or even, ultimately, *more* important. It helps give context, convey mood and can even place an image in a particular space in time.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I'll just 'point and shoot', often when I see something fleeting. Most of the time I like to move around, zoom in and out etc and often end up quite contorted to get what I think looks just right! (Sometimes to the consternation of my family)!
I really enjoyed the whole of this post. Stevie (love that name!) is a beautiful cat and this is a lovely shot.
Lovely catch of Stevie. I enjoyed reading your "context" thoughts. I have been shooting pics for less than a year, but somehow the word context got planted in my brain early on. I want to refine my ability to include/exclude the "right" amount of context.
ReplyDeleteWith absolutely no visual artistic background it's nice to hear someone else say something I put in my head as appropriate. I am reassured.
I love the way you described the items in your photo that I wouldn't have really seen without your prompt-thank you. I definitely would have enjoyed Stevie no matter what.
Love the capture of your cat, AND your philosophy on context. I find every time I pick up my camera, I have an ulterior motive. Sometimes I shoot on the fly, but most of the time it's a shot I've already seen in my mind.
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