Exhuberance!

This is Krystofer, a Cream Mackerel Tabby British Shorthair male kitten. He was shot reaching for the cat tease that Ken was holding over his head to coax him to stand up on his hind legs. It is not often I've seen a cat reach for a tease with both arms; usually, the cat uses one arm or the other, sometimes even his mouth! I was lucky with this shot because I was prefocused, ready for the final click of the shutter when the Brit was upright. I usually shoot about three of this pose to get one good one. The face has to be visible (often, one arm or ther other will be in front of the face) and preferably, not looking up at the ceiling -- otherwise that's just a shot of the chin! Many things have to be "right" with this pose to make it a useable image.

Krystofer was brought to me by D'Ann Kovic and Maricia Munden of Inkblotz British Shorthairs in Plano, Texas, for the photo session. He was shot at TICA's Mission City cat show in New Braunfels, Texas, USA, in April of 2006.

Background fabric color: Teal.

Woodlyn Firethorn

This little one on the left is known as "Firey" .. The breeder is Frances Harshaw of Woodlyn Persians and Himalayans from Austin, Texas. Firey has a sister named Woodlyn Foxglove who is called "Foxy" and you will be able to see her in another post with Firey. Frances brought these two girls to our studio when they were about 2.5 months old and we had a ball photographing them. They knew no fear and strutted across the shooting deck!

Background fabric color for Firey: Caribe.

Some "et Cetera"

Daisys on the hills of the Arbuckle Mountains, above

On the way home from the Thunderkatz cat show and A1 Savannahs, we travelled across the Arbuckle mountains in Oklahoma. We took a senic turnout to stretch our legs and found that the mountains were covered with daisys!

I got out the Canon XSi and started popping off some shots.

The wind was blowing so some of these flowers aren't as sharp as I'd like. However, the sky was overcast so the clouds acted as "Mother Nature's softbox" and gave me nice, diffused light.

Texas Star Bengal Kitten Shoot

Stacy Hansen's Texas Star Bengal kittens were photographed today in my studio. We had a wonderful time with them! They were responsive, curious, and overall good models. The above kittens are 8 weeks old and the ones on the outside are F1s. The center girl is an SBT and eligible to be exhibited in the showhall once she reaches 4 months of age. On the left is F1 TexasStar Gypsy and on the right is F1 TexasStar Dallas. What sweet girls they were. Ken had an easy time of it, wrangling these cuties.

Background fabric color: Peat Moss.

A1 Savannahs - Ponca City, Oklahoma

Monday, after the Thunderkatz cat show in Oklahoma City, Ken, Michael Broad and I drove to Martin and Kathrin Stucki's Ranch to see their A1 Savannahs. They have Servals there! Here is a photo that Kathrin took of me playing with a 4 month old Serval.

These cats are so gentle and well socialized by Martin and Kathrin that you would never believe they were wild. Affectionate, playful, gentle ... If I lived in the country, I'd have one for a companion if possible.

Martin is adamant about the importance of the socialization of his Savannahs -- all his cats were friendly, inquisitive, did not hide but were curious about who we were and what our smell was. This was a fascinating and educational trip. I was honored that they took time out of their busy lives to show us around. Their ranch was immense, the cattery was immaculate, full of contented cats with lots of room. Kathrin had goats, a wild hog, chickens, horses (Clydesdales and Quarter horses .. hope I'm getting this right) and they all lived peaceably together. Kathrin made us a wonderful European style luncheon and we sat around the kitchen and talked and talked, munching on hardboiled farm eggs, homemade bread with butter and special swiss cheese (yum), pickles, nosh, everything so fresh. It was delicious. Great conversation, fresh country air, cats, fresh food - handmade, and cats ... and cats. It doesn't get better than this. I am indebted to Martin and Kathrin for this memorable experience.

Mainstream Publishing!

I am so pumped! I just got notification that one of my images will be published in Scientific American. It is the photo, above. The article will be on the domestication of the cat. They chose IW/SGC HMS Prescott of Chaucer "Scottie" who was TICA's 2008 Alter of the Year (British Shorthair) and is owned by Jeane Camarena and her daughter, Stephanie. The breeder is Harley DeVilbiss of HMS Cattery. When I find out the date of the publication, I will amend this post with that information.

National Geographic for Kids will be using four of my images of hybrid cats. A couple of years ago, I got the cover of Time for Kids (a weekly, during the school year) so I'm rounding out my collection with magazines like this that are not just dedicated to cats!

Background fabric color for Scottie: Magenta.

American Bobtail Kittens

I think all kittens are cute. These two came from Bonnie and John Charvat's Autum Sun Cattery in Tennessee and were at Ellen R. Brenner's Beloved Bobtails Cattery in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where Ken and I did some environmental shots for Cat Fancy magazine.

These kittens were not chosen for Cat Fancy's breed profile on the American Bobtail but were still published as they were used for Autum Sun Bobtails and Beloved Bobtails ad.