The Last Word
“Jabber the Cat”

Australian Mercury Megaloudis is not really a fancier of cats. He’s more of a dog man. However, in 2003, he was awarded the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) Pet and Animal Photographer of the Year Award (quite a big deal in Australia), so he decided to be a little more broad minded and quickly acquired some good feline shots in his portfolio.

This cat’s name is Jabber, and he belongs to Lesley Downie of Queensland, an excellent wedding and portrait photographer in her own right.

According to Mercury, Jabber has a personality somewhere between a dog’s and an outgoing adult’s, but his personality is, in most ways, definitely not like a cat’s. He is playful and talkative (hence the name), but when he’s relaxed (a prerequisite for being photographed), his eyes start to close and the proverbial cat nap begins.

Mercury devised a means of keeping Jabber wide awake and alert. Mercury is capable of making a high-pitched noise that sounds either like air being released from a balloon under pressure or tires screeching on the freeway. Either way, it’s a jarring sound that would keep any creature on edge.

The photo session took only about a half hour and was done outside. Mercury first used his Canon EOS 10D and 50mm f/1.4 lens, focusing only on Jabber’s brilliant blue eyes. The shot was not tight enough, so he opted for the EOS 100mm Macro lens instead.

After moving in close and isolating Jabber’s one eye and snout, and making four or five different frames, Mercury knew he’d gotten the great shot. Shooting wide open allowed Mercury to capture the eye in full focus but blur the whiskers. He toyed with the idea of bringing in sharp whiskers from a similar shot in Photoshop but eventually abandoned the idea.

The only Photoshop work done to the image was a slight increase in the contrast of the eye in Levels and Curves and a little sharpening in Unsharp Mask. That’s it. The shot happened in the camera.

All sorts of good things are happening to Mercury as a result of this image. The Australian postal service saw the image and wants to use it as part of their series of stamps with domestic pets. For more, see www.mega.com.au/.