OK I am feeling pretty unwell. I have bronchitis and do not have much energy for a selfie, so I am taking this opportunity to gather some of my favourite blog photos from 2023 into a fun showcase to inspire you..
All of these cat photographs have appeared on the blog this year, and Kitties Blue selfies friends will recognise some of them. I hope you love them as much as I do.
To save you chasing after each blog post, let me describe these fun moments. One or two have fun posts and I will link to those.
Taz Gets a Scritch
Taz is a neighbour cat who visits. He poses nicely but this one is but the cutest capture as he enjoys a sunshine scritch from Paul. OOooooh yessssss!
Jack Enjoys A Sun Puddle
Jack is a senior boy who loves the bed and naps a lot. I captured him lit by the sunshine and when I adjusted the image to black and white he looks so serious and thoughtful.
Shooting in RAW is one of the best black and white tips because it will give you a better foundation for editing your photos. RAW images opposed to JPEG, contain more information and a higher dynamic range. This gives you more control over your black and white photo.
Honey was a feisty neighbour cat who was not afraid to confront on of the Dash Kitten Crew. These images were shown with a long zoom lens so I got the lovely soft leaves around her.
Miranda’a Dramatic Attack
Not one of the most artistic images of 2024 but, thanks to the Emergency Vet in Wellington, one of the best. I have never shown readers the horrific image of Miranda with the arrow still in place as you would find it extremely distressing but this is Miranda “post ‘op” and being examined by our local veterinarian. Miranda’s story is here.
Miranda Recovering
It would be unfair to leave you with such a frightening photograph when I have a special one of a proud tuxedo enjoying the sun on the road to recovery. You can see over her shoulder that her dark hair is growing back and soon her coat will have grown to full length. We are not sure if it will be completely black yet!
Finally!
Cutest Kitten In The World 2023
One of my favourite kitten photos from an experimental visit to take photos of a kitten adoption event. I am not the world’s best kitten photographer (they move so fast!) but I loved how this one turned out. A charming little ginger looks curiously over its foster’s shoulder.
Do you have a favourite of the cat photos I have chosen here? Let me know!
As a cat photographer finding your own unique voice helps your images stand out from others and resonate with your audience who will identify with a sweet kitten, or a cat with a story to tell.
You don’t have to be an expert, or have bucketloads of experience and your trusty smartphone will succeed as well as a more expensive DSLR or mirrorless camera. Why? Because it is not the camera that counts most, it is the message of the cat photographer – it’s you.
While the world of cat photography is brimming with talented people, it doesn’t mean you can’t carve your own unique niche. Your view and the personalities of your feline muses will set your work apart because your images don’t just capture the beauty of your cats, they give people an insight into your own unique relationships.
Remember: There are a number of important ‘mobile photography’ awards acknowledging the importance of the smartphone in the world of photography. Finding a voice also boosts your confidence and makes your cats special.
Finding Your Voice
Finding your voice and your direction, even if it’s just to take the most awesome closeup’s you can, can seem challenging. I admit that I am still finding my unique voice as a cat photographer but I am having a lot of fun experimenting and finding the kind of photos I really like to take.
A Portrait of Honey
I believe that you should do what feels right for you, not follow what others suggest is the best way. This means not being afraid to experiment with lenses and camera or smartphone settings regardless of the results you might get. Your first ideas might not succeed but you will learn the direction you want to explore and which areas don’t resonate with you.
You are not always aiming for fine art or perfection but you are finding the way that resonates with your heart. One of the world’s most famous cat photographers is Walter Chandoha whose cat career began when he picked up a stray kitten on a bitterly cold winter’s night. He didn’t aim to become a cat photographer but he became the ‘go to’ cat photographer for a generation.
I remember exactly when I found a good direction that worked for me! I was excited at the successful cat portraits I created using a simple and not too expensive ‘nifty fifty’ 50mm DSLR lens, like this image of Toulouse. Suddenly I could show a wonderful cat with a lovely soft background (also known as bokeh) and I was hooked.
If you find a cat photographer you enjoy, see how they use light and cat poses. They may work with natural light like New Zealander Jo Moore, or more controlled environment like American photographer Larry Johnson. Both take amazing photos, and have unique approaches.
Finding Out What Works For You
Be yourself and let your own personality and love shine though in your cat photos. Cats, as you know, are very intuitive and know when you are trying too hard. They will walk away or be totally uncooperative, as we all know.
Become familiar with your camera and what it does best. My Canon 1300D can’t take super fast photos but, like you, I am learning what I can do with my own camera and my smartphone. I suggest, you take chances, make mistakes; a slightly blurry image may capture something fantastic or your quickly taken shot might catch the perfect look.
TIP: If you struggle with indoor lighting (or the lack of it), try using your smartphone rather than your mirrorless or DSLR to see what happens. Modern smartphones are very successful in low light.
The point is to have fun when you are shooting cat photos. Try to be less tense and let your love for cats take over. I know it takes me a while to relax into a good frame of mind for cat photos and, most importantly, I ease off on the judgement voice that might niggle away at the back of my mind. Be prepared to take photos that don’t work – I take lots!
Your Cat Photography Vision
Finding your own focus will take time so don’t stress if you don’t feel you are making progress. If you are unsure where to start, look at the kind of photos you enjoy and the images that inspire you. Explore the works of other cat photographers and see which you feel you would like to try.
Teddy – Black and White
Questions to Ask Yourself
How do other cat photographers use light?
Do they (and you) prefer colour or black and white?
How are their cats posed? Do you, personally, prefer a formal look or informal ‘lounge’?
Do other photographs look very natural or staged with a background? Which do you prefer?
Do they capture movement or stillness?
As you explore with your cats and camera, look for different angles, use the rule of thirds, or ignore it. See what kind of compositions you enjoy capturing. Do you enjoy the brief period of charmed light during ‘golden hour’, or do you like the dramatic shadows from the middle of the day?
As you review your photos, note which ones give you a lot of satisfaction. They don’t need to be perfect, they should be photos you are happy with. These images are the beginning of your own personal cat photography journey. They can combine, affection, humour, fun or silliness. You want to tell stories or capture a personality, like Teddy (above) and create photos that have meaning for you.
As you practice you will develop preferences for settings, lenses or even software, and you will begin to get more confident about the photographs you take. You will spend less time worrying about settings and more time exploring ideas and discovering which style of photographs you enjoy most.
A double exposure of Miranda – Snapseed
Develop Your Photo Editing Skills
You will edit your cat photos at some point, even if you only lighten them in Snapseed, but, did you know that editing can add a unique flair to your images? Never be afraid to play with a copy of your digital images because it is part of your voyage of discovery.
Editing is an important part of your workflow even if you are not an expert. It is a skill that can help you enhance your cat’s natural beauty so let me give you an idea what editing means to you are a photographer.
Editing includes the following skills when adjusting your images:
Lighting
Contrast
Sharpness
Colour adjustment
Colour removal (black and white)
Use of overlays
I love using overlays and find them a lot of fun. They can help you adding a little touch of sparkle or fantasy to a photo, if it fits in with your ideas. This image of Toulouse was originally posed on a bannister rail and I erased some of the starlight layer.
Cat photos power the internet so as you develop your skills, share your work with the world. You can either share on one social media platform like Instagram or Facebook, or showcase your work on a blog. The more you share, the more you can connect with other cat lovers who will appreciate your unique perspective and voice.
Building your identity is not a one and done idea, it is something people will develop over time, so don’t feel you have to rush out and ‘be a cat photographer’. We will all get there, each at our own pace.
I am having a lot of fun and enjoying my craft as a cat photographer. I am still finding my voice. Right now portraits and layers are firing my creativity and they can do so without the expense of new lenses or camera, both of which are expensive. (Oh, for a camera sponsor for Dash Kitten!)
Do you dream of taking one kind of photo well? Or, would you prefer to explore photographs in series? Take a look at the set I shot of our foster Sam for inspiration and let me know your dreams in the comments.
I wanted to showcase a selfie from the kitten photo shoot at the cat cafe some weeks ago.
Black cats are the hardest to find homes for, heaven knows why, and this young kitten looks thoughtful and pensive. It suddenly struck me how thoughtful this kitten was. It’s a lovely photo anyway. (There may be some Javascript errors I am trying to locate them!)
What was the little kitten thinking? Was it a happy soul? Would it spring to its paws in a couple of minutes and race after one of its foster buddies? Was it tired after an afternoon of busy play?
Who knows but I hope, as a black kitten it found a loving home.
Welcome to Neko Ngeru Cat Cafe: where cats and coffee come together. Following an exclusive sneak peek at Lower Hutt’s new and highly anticipated cat cafe earlier this week, I’ve crafted an exciting preview video to share with Dash Kitten readers and spread the exciting news about the opening, which is happening soon.
BREAKING NEWS The Cat Cafe is open from 2nd December 2023
The Long Cat Cafe Road
The cafe dream began with a kickstarter to raise extra funds to help with a host of expenses including fitting out the cat room’s spectacular ‘kitty parkour’ along the walls (see the video!) and it has been a long and sometimes frustrating journey. But the faith and encouragement of many people has kept the dream alive and everyone is thrilled to finally see the finish line in sight.
Cat Retail Therapy
In addition to the cafe with its fantastic snacks, drinks and desserts, there will also be a fully stocked shop with cat themed merchandise, such as T-shirts, jewelry, and useful cat items like combs and brushes. I am guessing that the cat shop will become every local cat lover’s go to spot for gifts.
Are we excited? YES! There are are cats in residence, comfortabe places to sit and the dream is finally coming true.
The cafe’s long anticipated opening is beginning to generate a lot of excitement as images of the cat being introduced to the cafe are shared on Facebook. A limited number of visitors invited behind the scenes have been able to take photographs, including me. The cats post so nicely and all look so happy to be there.
All of the are rescue cats with a story to tell and you can find some of their tales on the cafe’s Facebook page often with beautiful photographs by professional photographer Masa Udogawa.
Some of the cafe cats have been fostered by supporters. These fantastic and generous people have encouraged the outgoing natures of the cats and made them comfortable around other humans, as I discovered on my visit.
Some of the cafe cats welcome you warmly and others become friendly after they have thoroughly checked you out. Of course they do, they are cats after all. I believe that there will be resident and adoptable cats at the start and I know one young male, Candy, gives the best head butts in the Hutt. (There’s a T-Shirt motif if ever I saw one!)
A Warm Cat Cafe Welcome
You can experience the purr-fect cup of coffee at Neko Ngeru Cat Cafe and Cafe Soleil, and get as warm a welcome as crossword setter Paul (aka Phi) did from Delilah. I had to try very hard not to laugh as she sniffed and patted, but Paul stayed very still while I took photos. What a hero!
Be ready to experience the joy of cat therapy at the cafe soon.
Today’s post is late because we were invited to take a sneak peek at Neko Ngeru Cat Cafe here in Lower Hutt which is very exciting.
The cat room is not yet open to the public because Neko Ngeru are waiting for the official go ahead from Hutt Council. All the official checks need to be done, all the T’s crossed and the i’s dotted. But, for an exciting hour we have been able to meet with the first of the cats making the move into the cafe for opening day and I can share some of the excitement here.
All of the cat furniture is in place, and there are comfortable sofas and bean bags for customers to relax in. There are small tables ready for refreshments from Cafe Soleil downstairs and plenty of wonderful kitty parkour around the walls. You can see Delilah posing by one of the cosy sofas right here!
The cat running wheel you can see in this photo is beside a glass wall and both the cats and the wheel are visible from the cafe downstairs. As you can guess this is causing a lot of excitement as people lookup and see movement!
The pretty tabby below you see was quite shy at first but she came down after a while and enjoyed playing with a feather toy. I remember that some of the new cats at the cafe in Petone used to hide when the cafe got busy and I feel it is a great idea to have some ‘me time’ spaces for the cats.
Delilah, who is a pretty cat, decided to say hello to Paul! I had to try very hard not to laugh while I took the picture.
So the countdown has begun to the grand opening of the new cat cafe. Look forward to some spectacular photos in future weeks.
