Eyes of The Ape | Seattle Animal Photography

May 28, 2012January 14, 20162 Comments

Sitting through ‘Dumbo’ for the second time this weekend (Roman has decided it’s his favorite Disney flick for the moment), I was thinking a lot about circus and zoo animals and their various states of captivity. Instead of wrapping my thoughts around how depressing that topic can be for me, I thought I’d go back to this photo this evening for some therapeutic processing time. I find the big apes intriguing, and I can never resist taking a shot or two of them when I’m at the zoo. But I hate seeing them look so bored and listless, and so wish I was seeing them in their natural habitat but that will never happen for me. I don’t want my child to grow up in a world where gorillas and tigers and elephants (and all those animals that fill childhood literature and picture books) only exist in captivity in zoos…even with all their benefits of breeding programs and conservation awareness. That will be a very sad day for us all.

Anyway, I thought I’d go for my high contrast black and white edit version to share with you; it seems timeless and draws me in to that expressive and fascinating face. Since this is actually being written in the wee hours of the morning again, I must sign off; Folklife festival shenanigans at Seattle Center today. Have a safe
Memorial Day, all my (ape) friends!

xo ~ K

If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. ~ Chief Seattle of the Suquamish Tribe, letter to President Franklin Pierce

Learning about Lightroom, Scissors & Mud | Reflections

May 13, 2012January 14, 20164 Comments

It never stops, does it? The learning, that is…

I learned quite a lot about the above said things over the last few weeks. I’ve got Lightroom 4 up and running on my computer and I’m finding out how best to streamline my photo editing and organizing. And I know I’ll continue to learn more about what LR4 can do for my photography ‘habit.’ I’ve also learned that little boys like mud. They really really really like mud. So much that you have to strip them down to their birthday suits in the ‘Tulip Town’ parking lot so they don’t get into the car like dirty muddy piglets. Side note: Roman was born in the Year of the Pig.

I’ve also learned that my 4 year-old should not be left in the living room with his craft scissors (aren’t they supposed to be blunt?) while his parents have a bit of a lie-in lest he starts cutting his hair off. Okay, maybe he did need a haircut and it will grow back, but now my boy has a ‘fade’ on one side of his head and the shortest hair he’s had since he was a baby (the lop-sided mullet he gave himself had to be fixed). I will now cross this experience off my parenting bucket list.

As usual, I am posting to my blog in the wee hours of the morning. I’m still a night-owl, even though I’m actually exhausted with a headache…but I must sleep. I have a lot of kitten and cat editing to do ‘tomorrow’ (adorable photos coming!). It’s also Mother’s Day here in the States; maybe my boy will let me sleep in bed a bit longer as a treat (and if I bribe him probably). And yes, I have hidden the scissors.

Happy Mama’s Day, everyone!!!

xo ~ K

Tulip Town

Proud Muddy Piglet

Kitty’s ‘Good Side’ | Seattle Cat Photography

April 12, 2012January 14, 20164 Comments

It has been one of those weeks!! So today’s photos are kind of inspired by some of the feelings that we all have when we’re tired and weary, and certainly don’t want a camera in our face. Many people ask how I get the cats that I photograph to pose for me and how I capture their many pretty sides; it usually takes shooting off quite a few photos of my feline friends to give me the ‘money shot’, especially since cats are generally not as inclined to cooperate compared to dogs and people.

Well, like us self-conscious humans, animals appear to have their ‘not-so-pretty’ moments that they might not appreciate me sharing with you, but I happen to think they’re still adorable. I always see a lot of character behind these funny, perturbed and ‘why are you flashing that camera thing in my face’ looks.

And of course I do know that it’s only us silly homo-sapiens that care about what we look like to the world around us. I take the photos at the cat rescue so that I show off the cats’ best ‘side’ so that a potential adopting home may be drawn to the animal by their profile picture online (match-making at its finest and most useful, I’d say). Sometimes it’s the quirks and imperfections that make us/them more appealing anyway.

I also need to get beyond my own need to look half-way good in every photo of me, and let (aghast!) more be taken especially of me and Roman; I take so many of everyone else around me, that from my photo albums you’d think I didn’t really exist. But until then, everyone may sometimes see some of these looks appearing on my face in photos. I will post smiles and pretty things soon, but I hope these at least give you a chuckle.

xo ~ K

PS. Feel free to comment with your own captions for these photos!! I’d love to see what you’ve got.

This much is certain: when a man is happy, happy to the core and root of beatitude, he is no longer conscious of himself or anything else. ~ Meister Eckhart

Some Spring Thoughts | Seattle Animal Photography

March 31, 2012January 14, 20162 Comments

My boy and I had a lovely day together at the zoo recently, and I’m looking forward to more sunny spring days here where I can get out and about taking photos. Once I figure out what my naughty stomach is doing to me, and once I’ve shaken this cold and got some energy back, maybe that will be possible. And this is assuming we have some more nice days…we have had some wacky weather lately.

The giraffe shot was taken with my brother in mind, since he understands the ‘skill involved’ within that shot. Although, since the funny-looking fellow seemed to be looking right at me, I’m not sure what to make of his ‘gesture’ personally. Catching the bear basking in the spring sun made for an adorable sight, but take a peek at the long claws on his paw in that photo…

When I go to the zoo, I always have mixed feelings come up. I am happy to take my little boy so that he may see all these rare, many almost extinct, fascinating animals; I want him to learn about the different amazing creatures in the animal kingdom, and hopefully learn to appreciate that zoos are there to help with conservation, education, and breeding programs.

He’s excited to see the animals that fill the pages of children’s story books, and see that they really do exist. But I’m constantly reminded of the sad truth behind keeping these animals in their enclosures, in zoos, in wildlife preserves…we need them because all kinds of animals, birds and marine life are losing their right to live wild and free, safe from poachers, hunters, polluters and land developers. I read an article in TIME Magazine recently entitled ‘Nature Is Over’ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2108014-1,00.html and the whole concept made my heart sink. I don’t want nature to disappear. How could that be??! I don’t want my child to know a future where humans have obliterated all that is natural around us. I think that will be a sad, sad day. I also think it will be a very grave day; we are already seeing the impact we have had on the world around us and it’s not looking pretty. And by the way, did you go and see ‘The Lorax’ movie yet? If not why not?!!

*I love this link to The Lorax Project, so check it out… http://www.seussville.com/loraxproject/

Spring brings us that feeling that growth and new beginnings are possible; we see the flowers blooming, buds opening on trees, the grass is greener, and people get busy in their gardens (I seriously need my energy back to do something with ours – it’s looking shameful!). It’s the change in the trees, the sky, the light, the life that is in nature around us that brings those feelings and inspiration. I feel grateful to live in a city that embraces the natural world within and around it; we have so many parks and green spaces, we are surrounded by mountains and water. I doubt I can ever get my little family to the depths of the Amazon or the plains of Africa to see all the wildlife and natural wonders that I’d like us to see, but I can appreciate the nature that I see around me all the time, and hope that Roman always sees the wonder in it too.

xo ~ K

“In Nature there are no rewards nor punishments; there are consequences.” – Robert Green Ingersoll

Catching rays, my muse | Seattle Cat Photography

March 16, 2012January 14, 20162 Comments

Today I was happily out and about to a couple of foster cat homes to take some photos; both kitties (Bee and Velvet) I had met before at the rescue but now are in great foster homes, and so have a less stressful, more comfortable slice of life. It’s great to see rescue cats blossom once they are in ‘foster care’ and in their new forever homes; the individual attention they receive away from the stress of the many cats and hustle and bustle of a busy rescue, allows the shy, submissive, previously sick or neglected cats, to come out of their proverbial shells. They find their voices, they discover that there are humans out there that provide love, shelter, compassion and a warm bed, and they don’t have to be scared anymore.

I haven’t had the chance to go through Bee and Velvet’s photos from today yet, and I will likely have to go back for some more from Velvet (very shy but strikingly beautiful), so I am posting some of my cat Jeffers catching some rays on our dining table. He could easily be used as a reflector, his white fur just gleams in the sun. I adopted Jeffers from animaltalkrescue.org (where I do the volunteer photography for); he never was shy though, and he is so at home here.These sunny shots taken during some of the brief Seattle sun we have had lately, warm me up for just a moment…

So today I hear that a friend found some of my images in use on some random sites in a search she did online, and of course, they are uncredited to me. I know that in this Internet age there are just so many photos flying around in cyberspace but as far as copyrighting goes, the moment you take that photo, it’s yours…it’s copyrighted. My hope is that anyone reading and following my blog will be a good ‘web neighbor’ and not take my photos without permission, and give credit where it is due. Photographers share their photos within this crazy medium, in order to share their art and to communicate a message or story (and by all means share if it’s going to get a cat adopted!), but stealing is stealing. Everyone appreciates getting credit for their work and a simple link back or a simple request to use a photo, would be a much-appreciated act. I was discussing with a friend the other day how my mum always tried to drum it into me that ‘imitation is the highest form of flattery’. Maybe so, but not when you don’t give credit to the person you are imitating, and with this stuff, it’s considered outright theft! I don’t claim my photos as being anywhere near perfect but they’re mine, that’s all. If anyone sees my images being used elsewhere without them being linked back to me or without due credit, please let me know. Thank you! Lots of kitty karma your way!

I’m off to finish watching some Kubrick genius (‘The Shining’) and hoping there are more glimpses of Spring to be seen this weekend. I am also hoping for a less migraine-filled couple of days.

xo ~ K