Successful pictures have several things in common. One of these is that the subject doesn't have to compete with other elements in the photograph for attention. A case in point in this portrait of a mountain I took during my winter wildlife workshop in Minnesota. The background is so out of focus that there's nothing to look at. In addition, I used the burn tool in Photoshop to darken the background, thus making the cat the lightest part of the picture. Our eyes are always drawn to light areas in a picture, and this technique helps to direct all of our attention on the subject.