Kiki’s Routine

Early morning light is when Kiki would first come to greet me. Pressing her nose against the screen door, I’d push it open gently while balancing freshly brewed coffee to give her a few pats as I stepped outside to start the day. As I recall, based on the shutter speed set at 250, the lighting was not as strong as some Kauai mornings can be. The sun was behind me, still low in the eastern sky, and muted due to some tropical cloud cover that lingered around for the first four days of our trip. 

The lower light allowed me to open up the aperture more than I usually would with an F-stop of 2.8. I loved how the open iris of the camera blurred the background trees and support structure for the roof as well as the stairs and potted plant, making the chair and cat the main focal point of the photograph.

Kiki would have just gotten up from being curled on the railing of the deck and was mid-stretch as she came to greet us (ask for food) once more. I’d been hesitant to use such an open aperture because I’d liked having the deep focus of a higher F-Stop, as I’d typically been shooting with an eye towards overall clarity throughout my images. The lighting and elements of the day all came together to push me out of my routine as Kiki enjoyed her own, and to welcome the revelation that a shallower depth could bring.

This photo has me itching to try more lower to mid-light larger aperture settings to draw the eye towards personal areas of interest.

Learnings

• Using a lower F-Stop helped blur the background and focus the image on the chair and cat
• 200 speed film worked well in early morning low light
• Capturing the cat in her morning routine added interest to my own, as well as this everyday scene

Shutter Speed 250
F2.8
Kodak Gold 200, 35mm color print film; process C-41