Cat curled in chair, in black and white

Rosie’s Chair

Some photographers like to take pictures of the same convenient model, such as their own child, a spouse, or a pet. Often it’s just to test a technique. But sometimes they turn into a famous series in their own right. Perhaps Rosie the cat may become my muse.

Rosie here is in her favorite easy chair. It’s actually my chair, but that chair gets more butt time from Rosie than from me by a long shot. Rosie is getting up in years; about 14 by our best reckoning, so this image will be a pleasant memory for the not-distant-enough future.

I am using a Fuji IS Pro UVIR, a camera modified for full spectrum photography. I have an 720nm IR filter on it here. The chair and the pillows are blue in visible light. Rosie is a dark brown and black tabby. She stands out nicely in the IR image; in a normal color image, she would not be as prominent. I have converted it to black and white, largely using an Aperture preset called “Mono X by SEIM” along with some of my own tweaks.

The image is lit with a diffused Nikon Speedlight SB-600. The lens is our favorite best cheap Nikon lens, the Nikon 18-55mm AF-S DX VR. ISO 800, 18mm focal length, f/7.1, 1/60 sec, -5 EV.