# Sam and Suzy goes to a show...



## CyberPet (May 12, 2004)

... and does great!

The first *ever* show and they both get an *Ex 1* and Sam even gets a *NOM*. Might it be as good tomorrow? We hope so!


Suzy gets a good luck kiss from a nervous mommy. Daddy holds Sam:









Sam is judged:









Suzy is judged (nervous mommy looks on in the background):









More pics from the show will be posted on their homepage shortly.


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## AddFran (Jul 10, 2004)

Well hurry up, I'll be stalking their page in about two seconds. 

For those of us who have no idea what the ratings are in cat shows, what does Ex 1 mean?


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## CyberPet (May 12, 2004)

OK, lots of pictures up now!!! 

Ex 1 is a good grade (I think they go Ex 1, Ex 2, Ex 3), which means they got more than a certain amount of points by the judge (exact numbers I don't know, what requires to what). Unfortunately we don't get to know what was getting the good points and what didn't. The judges can give maximum 100 points. I guess Ex is short for Excellent.

The best cat in their category, who gets a Ex 1, are taken back to the judge at the end and he/she then nominates the cat (NOM) forward in the competition.

It's a tad complicated to explain all the grades of stuff that happens at a show, I'm VERY new myself... but I'm sure there's some good links online to explain the judging better.


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## AddFran (Jul 10, 2004)

You're right, I'm sure I can find lots of info. online. 
Anyway, congrats to Sam and Suzy (and their parents too!).


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## jonsgirl (Nov 7, 2003)

Congrats little Sam and Suzy!!!

Is there a such thing as cat shows for "mutt" kitties?  

I joke with my bf all the time about taking Stix to a show....he responds with "yeah, right..they will think he has rabies." It got me thinking if there really was such a thing as a show for non-purebred cats.


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## AddFran (Jul 10, 2004)

There should be. 
It could be like a beauty pageant for kitties. :wink:


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## Payge (May 12, 2004)

There is. Its called the Household Pet Category. Both CFA and TICA have them.


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## CyberPet (May 12, 2004)

Actually, on all cat shows here in Sweden they have a category for "mutts" (Cat V, Siamese and orientals are Cat IV). For some weird reason there's not many cats each show though. It's sad, because it would be great to see more of them!

I found a Canadian site about how cats compete. Here in Sweden we call them "Ex 1, Ex 2 and Ex 3" but it's the same thing as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place (and they are given ribbons - I'll show you mine after tomorrow!).

http://www.cca-afc.com/compete.html


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## kitkat (Sep 22, 2003)

OOoOooh, congratulations, now they deserve an extra treat! I am going off to see more pics now :lol:


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Cngratulations Sam and Suzy. You two are adorable. Im sure you are going to go a long ways in competition.


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## Lucy_minas (Sep 4, 2004)

awww sweet


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## CyberPet (May 12, 2004)

This is the awsome amount of ribbons one gets for two days (and then some!).










To the left is the two Ex 1 ribbons Sam got (one for saturday and one for sunday) and the red NOM ribbon for being nominated to the panel.

Then there's Suzy's two Ex 1 ribbons (one for saturday and one for sunday) and her BIS (Best in Show) ribbon and the two plaques (the larger one for her NOM and the smaller one together with the BIS).


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## jessamica8 (Aug 17, 2004)

That's great! Now your kitties need their very own trophy display.  Very pretty ribbons and plaques for gorgeous cats. Congratulations!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Congratulations to Sam and Suzy! And hugs to the nervous mommy too. I know how proud you are!


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## KittyCute (May 23, 2004)

*Wonderful!*

Congratulations to your kitties and yourself!! As always. . .great pictures on your site--you really do have a special talent.

BTW: On S&S's website > the phots of the cat show premiere > the first kitty with the tortie markings . . . .what type of breed it that??


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## CyberPet (May 12, 2004)

That's my friend Maria's cat, a Norwegian Forest Cat.... Anuket. She did a great show and won BOX both days (Best Opposite Sex, i.e. she didn't win BIS, but it's harder when they are grown up so her win is better than Suzy's).

The grey cat a bit further down on the first day is an Egyptian Mau, very rare. Strawberry green eyes.


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## Doeremi (Aug 21, 2004)

I love all your pictures. I have the same camera unless you upgraded recently (Nikon Coolpix 5700)...how come my photos don't look like that!? :? Did you read the whole manual and set it ? What's your secret?


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## CyberPet (May 12, 2004)

Doeremi, Yes still got the same camera as you... but drooling over something bigger (a Nikon D70 would be a nice xmas present)... my husband said "no, she read the manual 3 times". But it's not completely true! 

Yes, I did read the manual, but the trick is Photoshop. You can make a photo stand out much better with a few tricks in Photoshop.

I'd recommend a book called "Photoshop CS for Digital Photographers" by Scott Kelby. There you get many good tips about fixing your pictures to look good.

There's no digital camera that takes 100% good pictures. They may be acceptable, but for a nitpick like me, they always need some "darkroom work" and my computer is my darkroom, where I fix the finishing touches to a picture. You should see the originals, not even close to what you see posted, so there's some work done before they are posted, like adjusting white balance, adjusting levels and then I add some sharpness after I've resized them to fit on the web.


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## Doeremi (Aug 21, 2004)

Okay, thanks Petra. But I can't even get close ups inside with my camera..maybe it's too dark. Constantly adjusting...darn thing drives me mad!!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Petra, if you get that camera you want, and need a good home for this one, you know where I live! :wink:


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## CyberPet (May 12, 2004)

Doeremi, well the camera is known to do badly in low contrast, so it's not really bad lighting, but it's bad contrast in low light.

A way to help it along a bit is to add more light of course (an external flash can help, but if it's searching for focus all the time you need to help it focus)... and also use the macro mode for close-ups. The surest way for the camera to focus on close-ups is to have the tulip turn yellow, i.e. when you're half-way zoomed in. Also... turn off AF Area Mode in the second menu under FOCUS.

If you have a low contrast situation, try to hold up something vertically at the same level as where you want your focus. The camera seem to have easier to focus on vertical things than horizontal. I often use a bright orange straw, I lock focus on it, then while holding the shutter half pressed I remove it and hope that the cats aren't going to go after the straw before I can fully press the shutter button.


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## Doeremi (Aug 21, 2004)

Aha, I can't wait to try this out!!! I just need to recharge my battery. That thing eats batteries. At least it's rechargeable. My only two complaints..that one and eating the battery. Thank you so much!!


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## CyberPet (May 12, 2004)

Get a second battery! You will not regret it! Oh, and turn off Continous Auto focus as well, set it to single focus. That will eat less battery since the camera won't hunt for focus as soon as you turn it on, it'll only find focus once you half-press the shutter button.


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## Doeremi (Aug 21, 2004)

CyberPet said:


> Get a second battery! You will not regret it! Oh, and turn off Continous Auto focus as well, set it to single focus. That will eat less battery since the camera won't hunt for focus as soon as you turn it on, it'll only find focus once you half-press the shutter button.


I turned off AF area mode in the second menu under Focus is this the same thing as what you said above (can you tell I don't want to open the manual..lol)? I do have a second battery but I don't think it's Nikon brand and it doesn't hold the charge, stupid thing. I do need another..blast. I'm so excited to take some close-ups and not use my SLR!!


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## CyberPet (May 12, 2004)

Well try to concentrate on vertical lines and find focus there (like on the ear or something like that if you shoot your cats) and then just keep the shutter half-pressed and compose the image. Or use my vertical straw trick... a high contrast vertical line is good.

The new models, the 8700 has a focus assist, so you could also try to get hold of a small laser pointer with a vertical line and see if you can focus with the help of that (might be easier for the cats, but don't point it on their eyes).


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