Photo Session Blog: General Zod & Ursa | Seattle Cat Photography

February 21, 2012January 14, 20163 Comments

General Zod

It has been an impossibly long and busy week (and more) filled with appointments, taking rescue photos at Animal Talk Rescue http://animaltalkrescue.org and at a cat foster home, a private session, a location scout, preschool duties, a gig at a casino…all kinds of things. We also have our ‘peripheral domestic drama’ looming once again. And amid all of that, hundreds of photos were taken, many an iced tea and caramel latte has been sipped, and I’ve had a lot of headaches (that’s pretty normal though!).

Ursa

I have often thought that in my next life, should I have one, I would like to come back as a well-loved house cat, one that is adored by its owner and would likely have to only contend with competing with only one or two other cats for attention and treats. I would eat sumptuous dishes of salmon and greens, have my fur coat brushed, sleep at any hour of the day that I please and I could lord over my household from high-up places such as the shower stall (as my cat does) and the fridge. All those silly responsibilities and all the trappings that make us crazy, frustrated and dissatisfied humans, would be gone. I could handle that. And maybe I wouldn’t get as many headaches. Millions upon millions of animals don’t have it nearly as lucky, and it’s what keeps me taking all those hundreds of photos of rescue kitties (often in a 2 by 3 feet space on top of a filing cabinet!).

Scarlet

When the first rescue cat (Scarlet) that I photographed was adopted after her new ‘profile pic’ was posted, it was true motivation and proof positive of the power of photographic imagery. Just to catch the eye of a potential adopter is all I/we can hope for and it can make the world of difference.

Trixie…looking for a home!

Right now I have 3 of my 4 animals lying on my bed with me, one under the covers, sleeping. Such is the life. Sleeping is what I should be doing too…Mama Kat is exhausted!

xo ~ K

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.” ~ Thomas Merton

My tricky little Valentine | Reflections

February 14, 2012January 14, 20162 Comments

Long week, longer weekend, and lots of tricky subjects in between…

My first tricky subject, as in one that I photographed, was my little stinker who despite the pouts, still pulls it off as a cutie-pie. I think that these moments of unplanned imperfect photographic moments are what keep photography fun; most posed shots would have everyone believe that all children are angels that comply to every request, and as in the case of the many cats that I take photos of, they are magically entranced by the camera. I laugh when I think of myself (now) trying to get Valentine photos of my little boy at the gorgeous Kubota Gardens http://www.kubota.org/ with my Seattle Momtog meetup; there we were trying to get cute-as-pie photos, but what we really end up doing is having to bribe and threaten for anything that will work with our own children (as they’ve heard all the posing cues many times before, and our two boys hadn’t seen each other in ages so they just wanted to goof off). It was chilly and grey out but luckily no rain…the boys kept themselves warm by running off and we get warm chasing them.

And it’s probably needless to say that it’s also beyond tricky to get photos of my feline friends sometimes; cats may well be the most uncooperative animals of all; no sitting, rolling over, coming when name is called, none of that. They seem to do the opposite of what you want so you just have to go with the(ir) flow when you plan to get great cat photos. When I get photos of the rescue cats at Animal Talk, I literally am trying to keep the cat up on a 2 by 3 foot space on top of a filing cabinet in a tiny closet room space, and usually have 5-10 minutes to get the ‘winning shots’ with often nervous or shy kitties. This week though, I got to take some pet cat photos in a private home, and naturally it’s the cat’s domain, so I must naturally work around what they want! I will get to posting those – General Zod & Ursa – on my next post.

Valentine’s Day itself doesn’t have to be tricky; my man will be working a double shift at the restaurant as usual, which means (I joke) he will be wining and dining other ladies all evening and not me. It’s just another day though; I should be getting chocolate and flowers on many a random day, right?

My biggest tricky subjects this last weekend involved none other than our usual blended family drama; it makes everything else so much harder to bear, and other tasks and projects slower to complete, but they end up being the respite from the chaos. Focusing on something that brings us joy removes us from our complicated lives, even for a short while.

This week I have much planned in the way of photos; a location scout tomorrow, a foster cat shoot ( I will only ever talk about shooting with a camera, btw), much editing, and more rescue cat photos too!! And I guess I will still feel like I am owed a Valentine’s date at some point…

Much love to everyone for Valentine’s Day and EVERY day; show the people you love, how you feel very single day, not just when a stupid Hallmark holiday tells you too, and well before it’s too late.

The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost. ~ G.K. Chesterton

xo ~ K

Sadness in the Seattle sun | Reflections

February 8, 2012January 14, 20164 Comments

Today was another glorious day in Seattle. For the last few days it has felt like spring has hit us early and everyone is enjoying the sunny weather; if you know Seattle, you know that we lap it up…suddenly you see people in sunglasses and shorts, yet it’s still technically winter. We tend to associate the sun with happiness and that feeling of warmth both inside and out, with vacations and summer, with family get-togethers and BBQs, with light and life. But sad and tragic things happen every single day, no matter the weather; life doesn’t stop because it hits a whopping 60 degrees Fahrenheit in February.

Today is…was, the birthday of someone I loved very much, and he would have been the same age today that I was the year he died, almost 7 years ago. The day he died was a sunny day too. Birthdays are when we celebrate a person’s life, yet when someone dies, birthdays, anniversaries and just about every holiday season, it is hard not to think of the person that is now gone. Now that I’m a parent, I can’t help imagining how a (his) mother feels on the birthday of a child you have lost. I do know the grief I have felt and feel at the loss of a partner… And that grief was unbearable, and I felt as though I went to hell and back after he died.

I felt the need to visit a cemetery today; there is no grave site for me to visit and I have always sat with my thoughts and feelings alone, but a place of rest and peace was where I wanted to be. We went to Lake View Cemetery, up by Volunteer Park; Roman and I wandered through the tombstones and grave sites of all these people we didn’t know but who other people have lost and loved. There I was telling my 4-year-old boy to not jump on the graves, to walk around them, to help me look for Bruce Lee’s grave (as if he knew where it was…), and I tried to explain in preschooler terms, what all those grave stones represent.

There’s a lot of sadness in my heart when I think of who I have lost, yet a lot happens in 7 years. Whole lifetimes happen and happiness can be rediscovered. I didn’t see just see just a cemetery today, I saw my little boy and his whole life ahead of him, one that shouldn’t end before mine. I never want to know that loss. And I no longer hold the belief that we ‘should live each day as if it were our last’ but that we should appreciate all we have now while we still have it. Life as we know it can change in an instant.

*I couldn’t make sense of this sad lonely stone that says just SINGLE on it…

xo ~ K

PS. I promise a happier blog post next time! I still hope you enjoyed the photos…

Sharing Memories, Sunsets | Reflections

January 28, 2012January 14, 20167 Comments

I spent – well, my computer spent – half the evening doing registry cleanup and optimization on my computer, with the plan to get some time in to go through some photos from back in December. I still have yet to go through all the photos I took for my son Roman’s birthday party and for some reason, Photoshop Elements has decided this evening to not cooperate with me, so maybe tonight isn’t the night. The photos from his superhero-bonanza of a birthday will just have to wait; I just particularly want to share all the color and fun with family (in England); I hate that they miss our family celebrations here but I’m grateful that I can record it all with my camera and that the web makes it so easy to share memories.

I think many of us have forgotten what it was like back when we printed out photos and actually mailed them to family and friends. We share ourselves in such a different way these days…but I still love to actually feel real photographs in my hands. All that picture-taking with the infinite possibilities of digital photography make the process so different from analog; I float between digital and analog formats because the satisfaction that comes with each process is so different. My mum is requesting I catch up with sending ‘real’ photos to her from last year…isn’t that what makes the photo-taking so worthwhile? Isn’t it more satisfying to actually have a real copy of the photograph in your hands? There is something so special about getting a roll of film developed and not being completely sure what it is you will see once you get your prints back.

I am very behind on printing out photos for my own albums and I am vowing to myself that those memories get printed very soon. Kids especially love to look at themselves in photos; it was seeing my father’s constant photo-taking and the many albums he filled with photos from our childhood in Hong Kong that likely first inspired me to explore the medium myself. I also worry that should my memory fail one day, that if I don’t have real photos, those moments in time will fade too. Photos play a central role in our memory-keeping…the connection fascinates me.

I also didn’t get cat photos done today because of one thing or another; tomorrow I have every intention of getting photos at the Lunar New Year festivities and hopefully some of my feline friends. Hoping for less dashed plans this week; I have lots I want to get done!

Leaving you with a sunset photo from the other day; I enjoy getting the view of the Space Needle from a moving car on the freeway…as a passenger…

We do not remember days; we remember moments. ~Cesare Pavese, The Burning Brand

xo ~ K

Billy, backdrops and moggy memories | Seattle Cat Photography

January 26, 2012January 14, 20162 Comments

I have quite a few different photo projects in the works and am busy deciding on oh-so-many things I would love to have in order to make photo shoots extra pretty and special. Spending ‘just a few minutes’ on Etsy is dangerous (for the shrinking wallet), but I have stumbled across one particular shop, Una Chica’s Chic Boutique, where I adore the photo backdrops and hope to be ordering a couple of them very soon. I just entered their giveaway (as I wait for their baseboards to dry…) for one of their ‘fur’ photography props; how sweet would a kitten look on one of those??! Head on over to the blog here to link and share away for your own entry…although I am crossing my own fingers for myself….http://unachicaschicboutique.blogspot.com/

It’s been a grey, windy, chilly day or so here in Seattle, so some photo editing is an ideal way to spend the afternoon and evening. This handsome old Siamese kitty is my friend Christina’s dear Billy; here he is with his birthday hat on. Those iceberg blue eyes show years of wisdom and devotion… As my own old moggy Milo is around the same age, I understand wanting to capture a dear friend with photos, before crossing that Rainbow Bridge. It’s difficult to see an animal that you have shared your world with getting older and more frail, but I think you can still see a kitten in those pretty eyes. I hope to help many new and old friends capture memories of their animal companions with that handy dandy camera of mine.