I can haz nikon?

Earlier in the year my niece, Amy, got two new kittens and asked if I could take some photos for her. I jumped at the chance as kittens have such a great ‘aahh’ factor.

The photos were taken in Amy’s back garden. We put a purple blanket down as we thought this would be a nice contrast against the white fur. The kittens were really playful and did not want to keep still. We had lots of cat toys and my daughter Jasmine played with them to try to keep them occupied but they were too busy exploring. I had the idea to put something down that they could climb into as all cats seem to like climbing into boxes. My niece brought out the glass fruit bowl and my camera bag, both of which worked a treat. I ended up with dozens of shots but liked these the best.

I needed a fast shutter to keep things sharp so I increased ISO to 640. I tweaked Levels in Elements and added a Glamour Glow and detail extractor in Nik Colour Efex. I also used Nik Viveza to darken the background and highlight the fur and edges of the bowl. Tim Hadfield, via email It’s very difficult to photograph anything that refuses to keep still, and as you say, Tim, a fast shutter speed is essential in this sort of situation.

Might we recommend a blower for removing cat fluff from your lenses?

I used to be a real Canon buff, and not that long ago. I was looking at the Nikon D7000 back in 2011 when they first hit the market here in New Zealand. It was reading your reviews and the reviews in the WhatDigitalCamera magazine that swung me more towards the Nikon SLR, so out I went to buy one and I didn’t regret this investment at all. I got it with the 18-105mm kit lens plus the 55-300mm lens, which is a cracker. I do not see the point in upgrading to a D7100 as the D7000 gives me such amazing photos. I even covered a wedding with this beauty. Are you a Nikon convert? Then get in touch with us today at