i was simply taking some pix of the sky when my cat sat on the mat. so as i was thinking about reading a dr. seuss book, i ran inside, got a flashlight and exposed a few frames.

oh, and thanks for the comment, phototext!

by the way, i'm curious to know how you think this version compares to the original:

http://www.jargonhunter.com/images/daily/1206_articles/December92006.html

I think I prefer this one. The other still works but I prefer the mood this one conveys with the blurred backgound.

Merci beaucoup to All for your comments! Expecially the bitchy ones ;-)

Speaking of bitchy ones...scroll the image down so as to remove all the sky and here you have a "truly minimalist photo" to my eye. I'm not sure if that, however, has impact...or, perhaps I should say, *the same level of* impact as the full image above. What say you?

Now that I know the technique, I guess this wasn't as processed as I originally thought. I prefer the original one though.

George,

If I had had any hint that you lit the cat with a flashlight, I've have been floored by this image. So now I think it is a great take on the theme.

Myself, I would have lit the cat with Zippo lighter fluid. [kidding! all you cat lovers out there]

King, it's interesting that knowing how a shot is done can make or break it. I'm glad it now makes more sense to you :-) The only "gimmicky" thing is that I blurred the background (i.e. the silhouettes and sky) so as to minimize its effect.

George,

I know you blurred the background. It's not a gimmick. You could have done that in-camera or under the enlarger as well (and you don't use Photoshop, as I recall).

Here are three examples of how knowing after seeing can change the perspective on what has been seen:

A photo of three stuffy old men might have different meaning if you knew that the old men were Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.

A person might not know that Gollum (the best actor in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings") was a computer animation. Finding that out could be revelatory.

I was bowled over to find that the male role of Billy Kwan in "The Year of Living Dangerously" was played perfectly by Linda Hunt, the diminuative woman. An amazing performance.

Getting a cat to sit still in the beam of a flashlight while daddy takes a photo of the sunset almost fits in with the above.

George- The original image is to me just outstanding and alleviates everything I felt contrived about the first one. That image is just plain super and would have gotten 5 across from me.

Dan, If the conversation around "what is negative space" had not come to pass, I probably would have submitted the original image rather than this one. (Note to self: beware the "second guess!") Oh well, no biggee. It's all part of thinking these things through, having a dialogue, learning to see, and learning to be objective about your own work.

I appreciate your thoughtful comments!