Awaiting Spring

I was taking shots of Oreo looking longingly out the window, and was getting some bad shots of the back of a black cat looking out a dull window, when he suddenly turned, jumped down onto a small table, then leaped up to the other window sill. It took all of about 1.5 seconds, but on the way he paused, and I leaned back and pushed the shutter button. If you knew Oreo, you'd swear he was just giving me a better shot. What could have been set differently to get a better picture? I'm really winging it.

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I think that as a candid pictue of a cat, it would be hard to beat. Using a lot of fancy ancillary props and lighting, you could create a glamour shot or any number of other creative scenes. However, as a candid shot, this is excellent.
The lighting, the exposre, the color balance and the depth of field are all set quite well for this shot.

The aspect that really makes it for me, is the paws on the window sill. That is so unusual for a cat in my experience. They either have their paws on the floor directly in fron of their hind feet, or they are prone with the paws tucked under. For them to be in this pose adds a great deal more interest to the shot.

Thanks, Bob. That's exactly what I was looking for: your advice on the settings. I'm experimenting every day, and sometimes actually learn something. Usually when I do, it opens up a whole nuther box of my ignorance though. Oreo, of course, gets all the credit for the pose. It was captured as he was getting up on the sill. And, yes, he is unusual for a cat.
~marty