I drive by this scrap metal yard several times a week, and I always thought to myself that I could get some good images with plenty of contrast in the highs and lows. It was a warm (relatively) and sunny Sunday morning yesterday so I finally made a stop. I am a creature of habit who likes symmetry and would normally square up the above image a little better. However, shooting through chain link fencing made for awkward positioning at times.

The M Monochrom (Typ 246) is getting its paces, and this was a test of its dynamic range. I am very pleased with the results. Plenty of shadow detail, as I shot most of my images slightly underexposed to preserve the highlights.

I was making my way to the right to get shots of these I-beams when—surprise—these two curious siblings emerged from their hiding spot to see just what the heck I was doing by their yard. I was looking through the rangefinder at the time, concentrating on the cat that was stepping down to the ground that I did not even notice the second one at the bottom of my frame.

The smaller one of the two was the also the shier one, preferring to keep an eye on me from a distance. I missed focus on this one, as the cat was just slightly out of range of my focus (I was at either f/5.6 or f/8).

The larger one was still unsure of me and moved around from spot to spot to watch me shoot. Here, I chose not to edit out this shot from my series, as the blurred out piece of chain link fence added an element of interest to the image.

I would have been happy with the shots of the metal in this yard alone, but having the cats in the shots made them much more interesting. There was abundant highs and lows in the images, with great textural details in the different metal materials. I will return to this spot to shoot some more soon.

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When photographer Marcel Heijnen moved to Hong Kong he noticed that there were cats in many of the shops, and he started a book project resulting in 2016's "Hong Kong Shop Cats." He has since expanded the project to include cats in outdoor markets and to dogs as well. Cats are kept in shops because they are seen as creatures of luck (a guess), or because they keep the mice and rats away, or for both reasons.

Heijnen's project brought back memories from my childhood of seeing cats in shops here in Chicago's Chinatown, as Chinese immigrants brought the practice of keeping cats in shops to America and elsewhere. The practice waned here as the years went by and I saw less and less cats in shops as I grew up. I was also going to shops with my mom less and less. I only go to such shops with my now-elderly mom when she needs a ride.

I drove her to an herbal shop a few days ago. She was at the counter talking with the shop owner and making a purchase. I did not notice the cat for the first five minutes I was in the shop. It had the chance to observe me. When I turned and saw it I immediately brought the camera to my eye. My original exposure was slightly under, as I forgot my camera was set at ISO 200--a little low for the setting. I made a quick shutter speed adjustment and took this shot.

I believe that having manual focus allowed me to take this shot. Animals notice the beam or signal emitted by cameras with auto focus, and they will look or run away. I got some decent eye contact from my subject that I may not have if I was shooting with AF. Sometimes low-tech is better.

I tried to crouch down to get a shot at a different perspective, and perhaps a better one than the first. However, I am not as quick as a cat. It decided to jump down and come over to greet me. Head to chinesewhiskers.com to see Heijnen's work.

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A Curious Surprise

Ode to "Chinese Whiskers"