We reach into the more recent backlog for two in a row. First up: Comet, and, yes, that is his real name. He is the one-hundred eleventh kitty—out 641 profiled, including this one—seen on Alabama between boundaries Adams and Lincoln. Why so many? Population density. The street has more multi-unit dwellings than single-family homes.
The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 32, 1/120 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 3:53 p.m. PDT, Oct. 9, 2025. Composed as shot.
There is something disturbing—frightening, really —about how easily artificial intelligence can manipulate digital assets from the simplest of commands.
Take for example the Featured Image. From the original (see companion photo), I instructed Samsung Galaxy AI to dress the cat in prison clothes. The animal waited outside my neighbor’s apartment building’s gate, which on closer inspection reminded of prison bars.
I don’t doubt that this kitty’s owners call it something other than my choice of nickname. How could I resist for the series‘ first Scottish Fold, and what a looker it is, too.
The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, today. Vitals: f/2.9, ISO 25, 1/294 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 12:39 p.m. PDT. Scotty is the eighty-fourth feline found behind door or window out of 640 profiles, including this one.
Stop a moment and reminisce with me. This series started a decade ago and arrives at its 639th profile, including this one. This kitty is from the more recent backlog (yes, others wait in yet a longer queue). I used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens to capture the Featured Image on April 8, 2025.
My guess on location: The cottages at Meade and Louisiana. Vitals: f/6.3, ISO 400, 1/500 sec, 200mm; 12:21 p.m. PDT. This is a close-crop that removes sunlit areas, which also explains composition choice. Drumroll. Nickname: Darling, for no particular reason.
I really should bang out all the felines languishing in the backlog. I expect to not recall some of the oldest beasties and where they were photographed. But I am at a loss about some of the more recent kitties, like this one from Aug. 26, 2025. The Featured Image comes from Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens, and there is no companion captures from Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which would have provided location information.
Vitals: f/8, ISO 250, 1/250 sec, 84mm; 10:04 a.m. PDT. Composed as captured. For plaid fabric collar, which might be GPS, this tabby earns nickname Fab.
Confession: The family, spurred on by our daughter, is taking almost too much advantage of the Too Good To Go app—Android for me, iOS for her. Local eateries offer up food, presumably what wasn’t sold during typical business hours, for significant discount. Most places offer grab bags.
Today, my wife drove us to the Pop Pie in South Park, where I had reserved a bag with two savory pies. They typically sell for $12.50 a piece but were $$8.66 before tax together. These babies are tasty, too, and premium ingredients. Another location is closer, a few blocks away here in University Heights, but Pop Pie South Park is where I beat out others for the reservation (stated differently: goods move fast).
We reach a little ways into the backlog to Aug. 11, 2025 for an unusual putty-tat. Look at those ears, which inspired the nickname, Oren, translated from the Dutch. Oren is the eighty-third cat found behind door or window, since the series‘ start 10 years ago.
I used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens to capture the Featured Image, which is close-cropped. f/8, ISO 560, 1/400 sec, 400mm; 3:01 p.m. PDT.
Our zoo membership expired yesterday; we chose not to renew. My wife and I hadn’t gone in months, with paid-parking changes one of the major factors keeping us away. Technically, members don’t pay to park, but confusion and congestion diminished the attendance experience.
I wonder how many members the zoo has lost because of the end to free parking for all. Matters are worse at Balboa Park, where many museums report attendance declines of 20 percent or more. Technically, both places are walkable destinations from our apartment: 3 km (1.9 miles) to the zoo, 3.3 km (2 miles) to the park. But the aforementioned confusion and congestion remain deterrents. Sigh.
I surprisingly get good value from NX Studio, which is a much superior workflow companion than Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for editing photos taken using Nikon Zf. Big difference: I am rediscovering photos that are much better potential keepers than previously evaluated.
The Featured Image is the littlest example. This was initially a large crowd shot that I cropped closely. I hemmed and hawed, as the saying goes, about whether to close-crop to emphasize the gentleman turned left.
Among my goals for 2026 is to post every day—a task so far successfully achieved. But today has been unusually frenetic, and I am short on time. So, I share something unintended, recognizing there are too many cats.
Crazy thing, I am being honest, cats aren’t my obsession—or even close to it. I started shooting portraits of felines in October 2016 as an exercise to improve my photographic skills and as a process part of restoring my eyesight, following cataracts surgery and ongoing treatment for Macular Edema (that 10 years later is no longer necessary). Because so many people are cat crazy, I continued pursuing them.
We had to take Neko to the veterinarian, today, for his first visit since 2013. He is a generally, and surprisingly, healthy cat. We adopted him from the San Diego shelter in March 2012. The professionals there estimated his age at two years. But days later, based on Neko’s teeth, the vet believed four years, which makes him likely somewhere between 16 and 18 years old.
Because of his advanced age, we were reluctant to take him for treatment. We correctly worried that all the change and stress would take a lot out of him, and it has; that could end an old cat. He was his normal old self beforehand: Alert, active, and demonstrating normal appetite. Tonight, he is listless and sullen.
Real name unknown, this fine feline earns nickname Jangle for the string of bells hanging nearby. He (or she) is the eighty-second cat found behind door or window. Location: Louisiana Street between Meade and Monroe.
I used Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra to make the Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 64, 1/120 sec, 69mm (film equivalent); 4:47 p.m. PDT, 4″47 p.m. PDT.