Kitty love.

*In response to the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Beloved

Lazy Sunday.

Thinly veiled.

We have a white mesh curtain, purchased years ago, hanging in our kitchen. On sunny days, its shadows make an intricate pattern on the floor. I’ve always wanted to incorporate this into a photo somehow, and this week’s WordPress photo challenge of Layered prompted me to round up my models and coax them to pose against the window.

In this shot, I wanted the dappled effect to appear on the skin, like a layer of paint or a tattoo. I must give credit where it’s due: this particular model was very patient while being persuaded to stare into bright sunlight while his mother fiddled with camera settings and fussed with the curtain. The picture ended up pretty close to what I’d been envisioning.

 

My other model was a little less co-operative. I experimented with a different technique, and though it wasn’t what I’d been intending, I succeeded in making a dreamy, romantic portrait of a bored housecat.

Should you desire to make one of your own, just hold your lacy curtain tautly a few inches in front of your camera lens while ensuring your camera’s focus is locked on your feline, who’s lying about a foot or two beyond this layer of fabric, looking at you as if to say, “You’ve GOT to be kidding me, lady.”

My subject yawned at least twice at this tedious exercise and I managed to capture her looking up, her eyes half-lidded, which only added (I thought) to the hazy, old-fashioned feel of this image.

The curtain came down, so to speak, on our photo shoot when Her Highness rose abruptly and sauntered off to the living room to lick herself.

Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.

Location, location, location.

When you’re an indoor cat, screen-side on the windowsill is prime real estate.

Cat for rent.

 

Somehow, in my stroll around town tonight, I wound up running into not one, but two tail-less cats.

One didn’t want to pose for me and promptly disappeared when I took a step in its direction, but the other was quite happy to lounge in front of aptly-worded caution tape while I made a photo.

This feline was too busy ignoring me to show off its tail-less rear end for the camera, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

The portrait of a lady.

My nosy, keyboard-stepping, cursor-chasing, screen-swatting (but lovable) friend.

The list grows.

Funny things my cats do:

• play peek-a-boo in cardboard houses
• ask politely for my attention while I’m busy on the computer
• pretend pink pom-poms are elusive woodland creatures

and

• get spooked by their own reflection

 

*Inspired by the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflecting

I feel better already.

“You cannot look at a sleeping cat and feel tense.”
~ Jane Pauley

The pretender.

In an attempt to intimidate the chickadees at the backyard feeder, the huntress glared at them, clutching her unfortunate victim in her jaws.

(In the absence of real live critters, pink pom-poms make adequate prey.)

The birds didn’t seem impressed, in my opinion. They may have been laughing, but it was hard to tell.

Equally alarming?

“The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their face whether they see a moth or an axe-murderer.”

~ Paula Poundstone

(In this particular case, it may or may not have been a moth. It definitely wasn’t an axe murderer).