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Confessions Of A Dangerous Cat Lover


Confessions Of A Dangerous Cat Lover
Photo Information
Copyright: Ay Da (chiaraluna) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 435 W: 90 N: 567] (2560)
Genre: People
Medium: Black & White
Date Taken: 2005-02-03
Categories: Mood, Portrait
Camera: Toshiba PDR-4300
Details: Tripod: Yes (Fill) Flash: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): E y e s [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-02-14 14:24
Viewed: 1037
Points: 22
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
a little Valentines dedication to one of the great loves of my life.. CATS! - for all the wonderful kitties who have filled my life with affection and joy and saved me from succumbing to despair more times than i could begin to count... each and every one of them remain endlessly in my heart... a particular dedication to my sweet Bodmin, the black beauty seen in some of my previous TL posts.. i adopted him Dec 20th after he'd spent almost a year at the humane society.. unable to choose between all the wonderful cats who needed a home so desperately i asked the staff to decide who amongst their longest residents would most benefit from my lifestyle (who wouldn't have problems with more cats & dogs joining the family etc..) and they thought 'Gopher' as he was then called with his easy going nature would flourish most.. so i brought him home and discovered one of the most cuddly cats i've ever known! i chose the name Bodmin (officially Sir Bodmin Ebonyzer ihih :D) do to his striking resemblance to the legendary 'Beast of Bodmin'! a big black Puma like wild cat who is said to roam Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England.. there have been photos claiming to show this large cat on the misty moors and when i looked at my sleek black 15 pound majestic fellow i thought.. 'that's you!' :)

well.. my brave boy is spending valentines day (has he did new years) in hospital... only 10 days after i adopted him he became very sick and i had to rush him the the emergency 24 hour vet.. (thank god such places exist!) his bladder had become obstructed and needed surgery before backed up urine caused organ failure... thankfully i'd caught it early but his surgery was very difficult and only half successful... after several days in hospital and weeks of medication and special diet we thought it was over but saturday night he had another crisis... :( this poor guy spent the first 2 years of his life homeless on the street, then a year in a cage at the animal shelter and now he finally has a home and a new life he has to spend it in and out of hospital... animals are so amazing in their resilience both in body and spirit... get well soon baby!!

as for the picture.. just a cheeky self portrait i did recently :) when i saw this mug i simply had to have it! and with such a light-hearted subject i thought it would be funny to strike a really serious moody pose.. ihih - well, cat love (as fellow lovers know) is a very serious thing! :D

what was done:
cropped, resized, converted to greyscale, sharpened, brightness/contrast increased
lettering on mug repaired (the 'a' in cat was messed up and so i had to repaint it)
blur tool used to soften, uniform noise added to give a grainy look
omni lighting effect used with exposure & ambiance slightly increased for a dramatic feel
matte style frame added

thanks for looking and i hope you like the photo :) happy V-Day to all & i hope in one way or another love will grace your day and every other to come..
fotofrancis, lilycat, LoneWolfREV, Ah_Thong, DigiSpy has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Ah_Thong: ^_^chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:55
To LoneWolfREV: thank you :)chiaraluna 1 03-04 14:02
To Nessuno: Thanks Wout ^_^chiaraluna 2 03-02 06:50
To fotofrancis: Thanks Francis ^_^chiaraluna 1 03-01 02:29
To cloverstar: Thanks Diana ^_^chiaraluna 1 03-01 02:25
To lilycat: Thanks ^_^chiaraluna 1 03-01 02:18
To chefcop: thx :)chiaraluna 1 02-25 21:39
To Miqra: thank you :)chiaraluna 1 02-25 21:37
To Arusem: thx :)chiaraluna 1 02-25 21:33
To paul_bk: thx :)chiaraluna 1 02-15 05:25
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Critiques [Translate]

fantastic title.... and the note too!!!
About your shot.... next time could you give us the colours of your eyes??? ;-)))

Great self portrait Ayda, your pp work is very impressive. Well done

Peter

Thank you for sharing so one of your no doubt many loves there. Get well Bodmin!

I realy like your stare here. It is entrancing. Reading about your choice of name for your dear cat is most interesting. I have heard of this legendary cat. It reminds me of other stories from the moors of Wales. Especially those penned by Emily Bronte.

I get this notion of passion from your looks, although to be honest I have very little to go on. I would say that also there is a softness here, much softer than the 'Kathy' that I am thinking of. So hope to see a more full and inner revealing self portrait some time.

Life is for the living, in more ways than can be said. So here is to life, and your dear cats health. Slainte.

You like B&W (smile) As I am also a catlover and because you have such beautifull gentle eyes I gladly add points to this photo, well done!

A Valentine for all cat lovers. Thank you. I love cats as you can see on my photos. You have a big heart adopting Bodmin. I like the self portrait of yourself. Even your eyes look like 'cat' eyes. The idea of putting the mug up to your face is very creative, and I like that.
Tip: When you sharpened an image, make it the last thing you do after post processing and resizing for the web. This way you don't loose any quality.
Sorry, but ran out of points this morning.

Agreed with the comments above.

I enjoy the grain in this and lighting...

Nice job on the *a* restoration.

:o)

Hi Ayda (nice to use that name :) ),
You did a lot to make this into something special.
I owed a cat when I was really young... had to do away with it because of allergic reactions.
The story of "The Beast Of Bodmin" reminds me of the Sherlock Holmes story, "The Hound Of The Baskerville". It has about the same setting.

I love your picture, but what I like most is the shape of your eyes, and the look in them! Really beautiful! Would like to see them in natural color, in natural setting... your whole face ;) You think that might be possible...?

A great self portrait(I really like the graininess) and an even better story. I adopted my older cat Max just before he would have been put down and he was only a kitten. But at the shelter I went to they only keep them for 2 weeks. Whew-I made it in time to save him. He is still with me over 14 years later. My younger cat, Lily, was part of a litter of a stray mama cat. I adopted Lily and she has flourished from the runt of the litter to the very, very content, and large, cat she is today. Cats and all animals, really, can be amazing and very resilient. ps-really love the mug, too!!

Very nice photo and such a nice note :) Very well done, puts a big smile on my face :)

hi ayda... a very nice photo.. with great meanings.. i read ur notes..and it really touched my heart.. my ex-girlfriend is a great cat lover like you... and it sounds very familliar to me.. those experience. accompany her to the human society center to adopt catds (and dogs too).. rushing to vet clinic... etc..this and that.. i really misses her and her cats a lot...

we are now seperated for almost 1 year.. and i still think of those times a lot.. and she is the one that brought me into all this cats and dogs stuffs.. and i am a great cat lover also now.. you can also check out some of my cats photo posted here in Treklens.

and about Bodmin, really wish he will get well soon.. please love him and make his life happy..:)

take care
-thong-

Wow Aiada, how I love your eyes! Great eyes, I like the angly they make the most. A bit cat like...
Your photo is great too, good crop and creative PP. The hard light on your forehead combines very nice with the overall grain. You completed is with a well composed note.

As for the cat, I hope so too he will recover soon. He's in a good place finally, and you may be proud you have him and to care for. He's lucky after all...
Thumbs up, Richard

Clever portrait. Your eyes resemble a cat's eyes here, too. I like this, the composition, the grain, the fun.

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