International Publications

In our foyer, Ken arranged the magazines from around the world (excluding the United States) in which I have my images published. Some of these are covers (China, South Africa and Poland), others are images inside the magazine or small "mug shots" on the cover (Japan, Brazil, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia).

It took me around four years to start getting published abroad. And to those aspiring cat photographers out there, I can tell you that it started by letting my images get published without remuneration, just to get my name out there. If you are looking to get published and be paid for it, I suggest you first start by qualifying when you are willing to donate images for a one-time use (Photo Courtesy of "your name here") . And don't forget the Internet -- another way to get your name known.

Good luck! The world can always use better cat images.

I Got Flowers!

Before a Big Cat Show, like the TICA Annual coming up, I get a little short-tempered. And if I have to sew cases for pipe-and-drape, or hem new backgrounds, that cuts into my retouching time and publisher's deadlines, so I am afraid I am not as "zen-like" as I'd like to be. Ken knows this (probably better than I do), so he brought me flowers this morning to stave off the beast!

Since the beauty of flowers is so transitory and they die, a photograph "is forever" they say, so I will keep the memory close to my heart -- and hopefully keep a civil tongue -- while the blooms are alive. If I forget, I have the photographs! I'm smiling already. :)

Backgrounds for Black or very Dark Cats

Click on the image to see it larger and to be able to read the names we've given to our backgrounds!

Backgrounds for Red Cats

Click on the image to view it larger and to read the names we've given to the fabric colors.

My Show Calendar

2013
Feb 09-10, 2013 -- Killeen TX - TICA Heart O Texas Cat Club
Mar 08-10, 2013 -- St Francis WI - TICA Wisconsin-Illinois Cat Club
Apr 06-07, 2013 -- Brighton CO -- TICA Colorado Cats Club
Apr 27-28, 2013 -- Frankfurt GERMANY - TICA Cats-4-Us Cat Show
Jul 13-14, 2013 -- Wichita Falls TX - TICA Maine Coon Connection
Aug 10-11, 2013 -- St Francis WI - TICA Great Lakes Regional
Aug 30-Sep 1,'13 - Bellevue WA - TICA Annual
Oct 04-06, 2013 -- Las Vegas NV - Jazzy Cats Ragdoll Congress

2014
Apr 19-20, 2014 -- Mesquite TX - CFA North Texas Cat Show

2015
Apr 18-19, 2015 -- Mesquite TX - CFA North Texas Cat Show

2016
Apr 16-17, 2016 -- Mesquite TX - CFA North Texas Cat Show

2017
Apr 15-16, 2017 -- Mesquite TX - CFA North Texas Cat Show

2018
Apr 21-22, 2018 -- Mesquite TX - CFA North Texas Cat Show

Our Backyard - Raccoons, Possums, Foxes, Squirrels

Below is our backyard. Ken calls it our "meadow" ... that means he doesn't have to mow it. What you see are wild onions with the morning rays of sunlight hitting the blooms. This is where some of the wildlife lives in our neighborhood: butterflies emerge from their cocoons here -- and that's where I get the butterflies that I put into my cat shots.

It's about 9:30 pm. Below you see our Black British Shorthair, Nox, sniffing the Raccoon outside the door of our den. Zak, our Blue and White Maine Coon, watches from a safe distance. Who knows? The Raccoon may decide to open the door! Nox is our Alpha Cat but Zak is vying for the job.
The Raccoon and Nox both turn away from the glass door at the same time, Zak hasn't moved. But you can see an Oppossum (we call them "Possums" here in Texas) eating cat food from the bowl inbetween the uprights of the cat tree, taking advantage of the Raccoon being interested in the indoor cats.
Here's a closeup of the Raccoon. I think this is a Mom, because she brought two little ones by the next night.
Now here we have the newest arrivals -- two of the three Foxes we've seen. They are very skittish and I could not get a picture of them without using my on-camera flash. I thought that would spook them, but they were too hungry. It's almost as if the one on the right is the lookout, as he was darting in, wheeling around and trotting down to the edge of the patio while the other just sat gobbling up kitty kibble.

Below is another shot of them, both of the Foxes are looking in at Ken who was watching TV.

After the outside animals have had their way with the one bowl of kibble I put out at night, that's it. I do not put out another bowl until the next evening. I would hate for the Squirrels and Birds who come during the daytime, to run afowl of these guys. So the evening (with one exception) is the only time we see the Foxes, Possum and Raccoons. Daytime is for the Squirrels and Birds.


This Squirrel is sitting on the edge of the patio eating sunflower seeds after taking a drink which I found I have to support with two bricks or it lands on the ground below.

So that's the activity that goes on in our backyard. "Kitty TV," we call it!

Joan Baker Designs at Cats Unlimited

Darlene, the owner of Cats Unlimited in Bedford, Texas, where we live, has some hand painted cats on glass that I can't get enough of. When I was there with Christie, I took some snapshots of some pieces that I liked and this was one of them. The light isn't perfect as you can see some of the background where they're hung coming through the glass but I love the look on this cat's face! The colors are bright and happy and I had to buy one. I have my eye on a very large rectangular one but that will have to wait for a publishing contract to come through.

Darlene Thomas, Owner

Cats Unlimited

Phone: 817-354-5000

www.catsunlimitedtx.com

The artist is Joan Baker and she has other designs, but these cats are the ones that make me smile every time I see them!

Cat Tease ... attached

The Bite. There is nothing like a moveable tail to enthrall a kitten -- even if it is attached to one's own body -- but sooo much better if that tail belongs to a littermate!

Abyssinian kittens from OhMy Cattery, photographed at the 2009 TICA Thunderkatz Show, April, 2009.

Background color for Pat Harbert's Aby kittens: Charcoal

Cat Fancy Cover - September 2009

Above is my image sent in to BowTie for consideration in the Russian Blue issue of Cat Fancy magazine.

Below is the cover of Cat Fancy, September 2009 issue:
So here you have it: my latest Cat Fancy magazine cover - The Russian Blue. The Russian Blue on the cover is GC, RW; IW SBC Valnika Silverstone "Stony" brought to me for photographs by Valarie and Willy Williamson. The actual shot had a magenta background but the art department must have changed it out to a brown -- I have no idea why. The image was also flipped, but that's understandable. I thought that my original background would have been more eye-catching, especially if the art department had used the green of the eyes for CAT FANCY -- but who is to reason with Art Departments!


Still, I am pleased to have the cover -- tickled to death, actually! There is also another image of Stony inside the article on Russian Blues. Congratulations to Valarie and Willy Williamson!

Cat Hearse in Houston

In July of 2009, when I was staying with Brenda and Gary Hammett in Houston, at the end of my stay we went shopping at some antique stores. This hearse was parked outside one of the stores we were in. What a surprise -- and how cool it was. I wish it were parked on the grass somewhere so I could have shot it from the front and sides, but alas, this was just a shot as we were passing. It was so hot and humid outside that I couldn't spend too much time on a photo shoot, but this "catmobile" was too good to pass up!

Surprise Lilies!

These pink lilies have apparently "self propogated" themselves as I used to have only one stem a year appear. This was a delightful surprise! We could see them outside our dining room/living room windows.

Here is a closeup of them. I was fortunate that I took the time to photograph them as they only lasted a week. We had some torrential rains that hit them hard over a period of about four days after these shots were taken. They were never the same and no new stems appeared this year.

And finally, this is what they looked like after a rain one morning. They looked lovely with the raindrops (like little diamonds catching the light) but the blooms were pounded too long to be able to photograph them again after the rains ceased.