Kitty Photo Shoot

So I was uploading some photos that have been on my camera for a while, when I look over to my left, and my cats are all gazing out the window to a beautiful sunny day.  I couldn’t help myself.  I had to start snapping pictures with my Sigma 30mm lens.  Love that lens!  It takes the best pictures ever!  I don’t use it as often as I should because it has no zoom, so it’s really only good for photos where you can move your body quickly to zoom in and out as needed.  Which, for me, means that I mainly only use it for portraits or close ups of objects or food.  That being said, here are some of the photos I took of our kitties today.  Hope you like them!

Oh, and if you like what you see……I’m available to take pictures for you too!  Well, as long as you’re in the Nashville area that is. 🙂  Or in CA when I happen to be visiting.  Since I’m just starting out, I can offer you beautiful pictures at next to nothing!

Lacey has such beautiful eyes.

I love this one because the green from the grass is reflecting off of her blue eyes, so it looks like her eyes are green toward the top and blue at the bottom.  Such an awesome effect.

Lacey is my little poser.  The other two kitties don’t cooperate with me very well and get annoyed if I have my camera in their faces for too long.

Finally got Lazarus to look at me.  I had my aperture set so low that only his nose is in focus and the rest is out of focus.  For those of you who don’t know many photography terms, aperture has to do with how much of the picture you want in focus.  The higher the aperture, the more in focus the entire picture will be.  As you can see with this photo, I had my aperture set very low so even though his eyes are only a fraction of an inch further back than his nose, they are still slightly out of focus.  If I had focused on his eyes, then his nose would slightly be out of focus.  Hope that makes sense.

BIG yawn!  See how Lazarus’ upper canine tooth is not very sharp?  I’ve always wondered how that happened.

Such a handsome boy.

Fancy wanted to get in on the picture taking action…..or so I like to believe.  She is the least photogenic out of all three cats.  She hates having her picture taken, and never looks at me when I want her to, but I find ways to make her do it anyway. 🙂

All three kitties looking out the window.  Of course Lazarus has to ruin the picture by turning his back to me.

Fancy is beautiful when she finally lets me take her picture!  She has such pretty eyes, and they reflect the green grass so well.

Hello pretty girl.

It’s like she knows she’s having her picture taken.  “Here, Mom.  This is my good side, and I’ll even gaze upwards for you so that my eyes are looking into the light.”

Seriously.  Have you ever seen a more photogenic cat?  Of course, I’m a little biased since I’ve raised her since she was 8 weeks old.  And now she’s already 4 years old!  Where has the time gone?

When my parents were here, my dad was playing with the kitties by shining the light that was reflecting off his watch onto the walls.  The above and following pictures were captured during that time.

What are you looking at?

Oh, you’ve got your camera out?  Okay!  Let me just lay right here and pose for you!

Fancy is staring at the light on the wall across the room.  She pounced right after I took this photo.

Here’s Lacey, copying Fancy’s last pose.  And oh look, my parents made it into the photo!  Ironic since they were actually in the room while I was taking these pictures. 🙂

Ok, I’m open for business!!!  Great photography at a very cheap price, or maybe even free if you’re lucky!  I need to expand my portfolio!  I can only take so many pictures of animals before it starts getting redundant.

 

Our Furry Babies

Yesterday I went a little camera happy with my Sigma lens and took several pictures of my furbabies.  There’s just something about this lens that I LOVE!  It takes such wonderful pictures, even though it doesn’t have a zoom on it, which can be a little inconvenient at times.  But it’s definitely a favorite lens for portraits.

It all started when I saw Lazarus laying inside this water bottle wrapping.  I thought to myself, “That would make a cute picture.”  And since I already had my camera in my hand from taking Steve’s picture yesterday, it made my decision very easy.

He’s such a cutie.

Then he saw Fancy hiding under the kitchen table and started stalking her behind Steve’s shoes.

And then……POUNCE!!!  He’s always doing that, but he’s so much slower than the other kitties that it’s pretty funny to watch.

When he couldn’t catch her, he came back and laid by the water bottle wrapper again and said, “What?  I wasn’t doing anything.  I was just laying here the whole time.”  Ok, he didn’t say that, but he is probably the easiest of our cats to tell what he is thinking.  He’s definitely a talker and complains a lot.

Then I saw pretty Lacey laying on the Sprite on top of the counter.  The light was hitting her in such a way that she just begged to have her picture taken.

Look at this gorgeous girl with her baby blue eyes!

Oh yah, that’s the spot!

Here’s a lovely shot of Fancy, who’s usually not very photogenic.  She can be looking at me completely fine, but the second I point a camera at her she turns away, so this shot was really exciting to get!  Such a pretty petite little thing.  Fance only weighs about 7 pounds on a good day.

Can’t forget about the doggies!  Here’s our sweet Kaylee.  Another non-photogenic baby.  She does not like having her picture taken and always refuses to look at the camera.

So if she ever does look at me, I have to have a very quick trigger finger and snap the photo with lightning speed!

“Don’t I have a pretty nose, Mommy?!  And how about those teeth?  I don’t know how to use my teeth to their full potential, but they sure do look pretty!”

And of course there’s Camelot, who recently made a trip to the groomers where he received his summer shave down.  I planned it so that he would be at the groomers during Elizabeth’s bridal shower.  Pretty sure everyone didn’t want to listen to Camelot bark during the entire shower.

Whenever I go outside with them, the dogs seem to get a sudden burst of energy and start playing chase.  Loving those ears, Camelot!  You can see his summer cut pretty good in this picture compared to Kaylee’s long coat.

I think it’s funny that I caught Camelot’s ears in the “up” position in each of these photos. 🙂  This one of him makes me smile.  He just looks like he’s having such a good time, doesn’t he?

Bite that butt!

Aww, little big buddies.  Thanks for sharing my babies with me!

Just had to see this one of Fancy one more time. 🙂

The House is Quiet Again

We gave little Tinkerbell back to her parents today…..and the house has never been so quiet!  Don’t get me wrong, Tink is such a cutie!!!  She just suffers from a very bad case of separation anxiety.  I couldn’t even go to the bathroom for 1 minute without her crying and barking.  Oh wait….I’ve got one better!  I would be sitting on the couch watching TV with Steve, and the little one would be laying down at our feet nice and quiet, but if I got up to sit at the computer, which is in the same room behind the couch, she would whine because she couldn’t see me.  Steve was still there with her, but apparently he wasn’t good enough.  Which is pretty flattering, actually.  She loved me the most!  Ha!

Actually, with the exception of Kaylee, all our animals love me the most. 🙂  I think it’s because I’m the one that feeds them and takes care of them, and of course, cleans up their poop.  Steve is just there to provide affection from time to time.  Kaylee, however, LOVES her daddy.  She would choose him over me any day of the week.  I’m pretty sure this is due to the fact that I am the one that has to clean out her ears (which she HATES) and clip her nails (which she also hates).  Gosh!  I do all the dirty work, and I get no appreciation!!!

I mean, look at this face!  Don’t let the sweet expression fool you.  Kaylee does what she wants and has VERY selective hearing.  Don’t get me wrong, she is a wonderful dog, and I love her as if I gave birth to her (which would be very weird since she’s a dog and I’m a human), I just wish I could get some appreciation from her!

Doesn’t she know that I was the one who woke up with her 3x per night for over 2 months to take her potty so she wouldn’t have to go in her crate?

Doesn’t she know that I’m the one that cleaned up all her “accidents” on the carpet?  And I’m STILL the one that cleans up her human sized poops in the yard every week.  Not to mention cleaning up all the hair and drool that her body produces.  I get no appreciation I tell you!  She only has eyes for her daddy.  Of course, when I give her love, she’ll pay attention, and paw at me when I stop.  That is pretty much the only attention I get from her.  Sigh….

So I guess it was a little flattering when Tinkerbell would whine when she couldn’t see me.  At least SOMEONE appreciates me!  Here are a few pictures from her stay with us.

Tinkerbell loved playing with Lazarus.

I think he liked playing with her too, even if he won’t admit it.

Hey!  Where’d she go?

Our little cross-eyed boy. 🙂

She also had fun with Uncle Camelot.  He was so gentle with her.  It was kinda weird.  Normally he’s pretty hyper, but with her, he was as calm as can be.  He would even lay down so that she could play with him without being intimidated by his large size.

Haha!  Look at those ears!

Isn’t my big man handsome?

Well, Tink,  I can’t say I enjoyed cleaning your crate 4+ times a day or bathing you every morning, or listening to your yapping all night long, but you sure are a cutie pie!  And I’ll be happy to see you again AT YOUR PARENTS’ HOUSE!