Cat Photography Texture and Color

by Michael
(London, UK)

This isn't a Helmi Flick special but then it is an informal photograph of a cat rolling contentedly on the ground and yawning. Nothing special there but for me the picture has a special quality in two particular ways that are important to photographers, color and texture.

Color

I get an immediate sense of coordinated texture in this cat photograph. There is the cat with the mackerel (striped) tabby brown coat that appears to be "diluted" in color as the brown is light with a hint of grey.

There is white around the mouth and eyes and down the belly. The white is mirrored by the white spots on the ground. There is a definite harmony in respect of color.

I like also how the shade has resulted in the faint blue shadow that contrasts nicely with the warm brown. This dilute brown compliments the blue on the wall, nicely.

Texture

The ground on which he or she is lying has a texture and it compliments the texture of the cat's coat but it is different. It is rough while the coat is, well, the texture of a cat's coat. This makes a nice contrast but it is integrated nicely with the color too.

In all the photograph is harmonious for these reasons, I feel.

To the above the timing of the photograph capturing the yawn adds a nice bit of dynamism to what might otherwise be a passive picture. The picture though is still restful.

I am impressed with this well executed cat photograph. It seems that daylight was used. It is rare for amateur photographers to use artificial light of any sort. But occasionally they do. One such photographer is: jewdan_jorcobs

Link to the original on Flickr. Photo published under an Attribution 2.0 Generic creative commons license.

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