Intruder

During this shoot at the Fonthill Museum, I gradually worked my way in for some closer shots of walls and windows. The museum had closed, so no one was around, but I still felt a little bit like an intruder.

 

I may have tipped my hand with the previous image, and maybe I shouldn’t say this, but there was no cat inside the building. At least I didn’t see one. Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes I just can’t resist placing things into shots with prominent empty windows. Perhaps it’s a bad habit of mine! I know some people, those who are into photorealism, no doubt, look down on this sort of manipulation.

 

Nevertheless, I do like playing with the meaning of an image by inserting a new element into it. What you add makes a big symbolic difference. It’s also a technical challenge that I enjoy. All sorts of questions and decisions come up. How big should the intruder image be? Is that the right size for the cat's head relevant to the window? Does the perspective of the inserted image need an adjustment? Does the cat’s head appear as if I am looking down at it? Are the colors, contrast, and shadows consistent with the background image? After placing the cat in the shot, I had to give it a blue tint, lower the contrast, and create a shadow along its left side, consistent with the direction of the light.

 

Inserting a new element into an image helps me develop my eye for what makes an image look “real.”

 

Done