Leading the Eye

By the time you read this blog on Friday, I may have already led three dogs to the bathtub.  We have 7 dogs, and so that means, should I get through the three, I have four more to go.  There are no lines to the tub.  It's not a valued commodity among our dogs.  They prefer outside baths in the summer in the dog tub.

It is due to the unruly dog state of being that I asked the cats to help me out this week for our theme of "leading lines." Someday we will get to the groomer again.

Whenever I set up a photo session, or later in post processing, I am always analyzing where my eye goes first in terms of viewing the photo. 

For instance, in the photo above, where does your eye go first?  Does it rest on the pop of red from the ball?  Does it follow the baseboard line into the kitty?  Does it land on the kitty's paw outstretched to move the ball?  There seem to be many opportunities for the eye to land in different places in this photo, even though "leading lines" are being used.

It's still a cute photo, and really shows the personality of our cat, Matty, but let's look at other examples.

The following photos were taken around 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. (sunset time) near my studio.  Our cat, Barney, was keen to help out with this week's experiment, and unlike his usual self, most cooperative.  Barney is the cat that arrived here one spring day and never left.  We were his choice.  He is a bit ruff and tumble, so I can understand why he might have been "put out" of the house, but we are pretty easy going about ruff and tumble cats, and Barney has decided he likes being a house cat.  I do have him trained to stop what he is doing if he hears his name in a certain tone of voice, which is helpful to the overall peace among our cats in house.

In the photo above, hopefully your eye lands right on Barney to begin, then wanders later to look around a little bit more.  He has many lines to bring you there:  the lines on the steps, the downward lines of the trees, and the light which concentrates mostly on him (off camera minimal-powered flash, camera right).  Twilight adds a little more blue than I'd like to Barney's coat, but his tones blend in well with the steps.

Here's another one, different location.  I let Barney pick the locale, and he decided a drink was in order for the evening, so he pawed himself up to the bar.

This is my favorite from the few I took Tuesday evening.  Besides the bench lines which sort of box Barney in and lead your eye to him, even the circular route of the rustic bird bath brings you around to Barney.  By this time the light was dwindling, but the moon was as bright as could be, and so I used some of that initial moon light to locate my off camera flash (left side and behind).  Barney stayed right in place the whole time, and eventually got his drink.

I think I will make a hanging canvas of this image for my pet wall in our family room. 

To read more about "leading lines" and see more great photographs, let the following link lead your eye to the blog circle starting with Jo Lyons Photography, the down-to-earth, dog-loving photographer for cherished dogs of the Great Lakes NSW.  

Believe it or not, we have a snow storm headed our way for Friday night into Saturday morning.  Oh joy!