Why such a handsome cat should be so photo-shy is beyond me. Taking pictures of Kernal is a lot like taking pictures of most people, he starts looking shy or walks up to stand next to me as soon as he sees the camera pointed his way. The key is getting the shot set up while he is distracted and then getting the shot as soon as he takes notice.

There are times when having a good portion of the photo out of focus is desirable. In this case, the feel of the dandelions on a sunny afternoon in the background comes through strongly, but without all of the distraction it would cause the foreground if it was full of crisscrossing little details. Keeping track of your depth of field can be the difference between beautiful and distracting. Most good cameras have a depth of field preview button somewhere, on mine it is right below the lens release.

• Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
• Lens: EF-S60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
• Shutter Speed: 1/160
• ISO: 100
• Aperture: 4.5

Post Processing: A tiny contrast boost, a bit of sharpen, and I clone stamped a piece of lint off of his left ear. Cropped it for composition.