Catmera: A Senior Surreal Photo by Elisabeth Temme (2015)

My surrealist photoshop project involves a 35mm camera turning into a cat. The camera is growing ears and the lens sports an eye. The background is a picture of flowers, with tiny cats poking out of them. The most important part of this project was the surrealist, high contrast HDR look. I also used layer masking, the paintbrush tool, the quick selection tool, infrared filters, black and white filters, and cut-and-paste methods to create this photograph.

I've always been fascinated by the connection between eyes and camera lenses, and my intention was to create a combination of the two. It seems like the cat is looking at the viewer. This captures the intensity of a cat's stare, and also captures the pressure of being in front of a camera. Being stared down by a hungry cat is similar to my experience with people taking pictures of me, as both make me uncomfortable and create pressure to act. My color scheme is mostly black and white, but the cat's eye is restored to its original piercing green to create a heightened sense of discomfort. The juxtaposition between the whimsical cat flowers and the eye closeup creates a confusing combination of feelings, which resonates with what I feel while standing in front of a camera.