March 12, 2006

Nobody relaxes like a cat...

13 images on one page


My wife summoned me from my desk yesterday afternoon with that impish sparkle in her eye that says "you need to come here... the cat's up to something again". It was a beautiful day and we had opened all the windows in the house some hours earlier. This, of course, means the cat starts his somewhat manic circuit around the house, getting in every single window to better sniff the world outside the walls in which he is so sadly "imprisoned" (disregarding, of course, the two screened-in porches to which he has 24/7 access via his two cat doors.. approximately 21 huge windows... virtually every piece of furniture upon which to leave hair... a "staff" of two with laps... the list of limits to his ultimate happiness goes on).

Apparently he had tired of visiting every window repeatedly and decided it was time to nap. I suspect the direct sunlight heating up a large, carved stone bowl in the shape of a leaf was a big factor in his decision. From the day Elisabeth brought home this decorative bowl, the cat has claimed it as his bizarre plaything and occasional bed. He often jumps in it and peers over the edge in an attempt to entice you to come play his favorite game of swatting and grabbing while twisting in various contortions.


I couldn't pass up the chance to take some shots of him since the light and shadows were so interesting. A pure white cat in direct sunlight can be something of a challenge, but I actually like the sharp contrasts of light and shadow under these conditions.

I think this might be about the most photographed cat on planet earth. His antics provide all kinds of opportunities and I've taken pictures of him with every digital camera I've owned over the past few years. One of my upcoming projects is creating a gallery of shots of him over the years with each model camera... should be technically interesting if not mildly entertaining from a subject standpoint. :)

These shots were taken at ISO 100 with available light using my 20D and a Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens.

P.S. The cat's name - Squinky - is a combination of two words: squeaky and stinky.

13 images on one page

Posted by amahler on March 12, 2006 at 4:05 PM
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