Tag: photography

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The Cats of University Heights: Precious

We welcome this fine Caturday with the first of two 18-year-old kitties met on the same day, April 12, 2018. Precious resides next to Smokey, who lives, or did, next to Monkey, before his recent passingLaramie and Lupe are across the street. Those are real names all. Holiday is the other furball from the same block of Alabama. Precious is the seventeenth furball featured in the series from this street.

Her home is undergoing renovations, which presented uncharacteristic sighting opportunity. The owner explained that Precious typically suns behind a grated security door, which makes her difficult to see from outside. But with the enclosure temporarily removed, she sunned in the open doorway while he talked to construction workers. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Cali

Along Golden Gate between Cleveland and Maryland Avenues, on April 8, 2018, my wife and I met two kitties that appeared to be companions. I nicknamed the other Bushy. A neighbor says, and I can’t confirm, this lovely calico is Cali.

The shorthair was friendly enough with the neighbor—and her dog Shelly—but kept distance from me. I used Leica Q to capture the Featured Image and its companion, 8:29 and 8:37 a.m. PDT, respectively. Vitals for the first, aperture manually set: f/4, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, 28mm. The second is same, except for shutter speed: 1/400 sec. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Bushy

The day after seeing E.T. (for Exotic Tail), my wife and I returned to the same place, as I sought another portrait and maybe a name (from the owner). The kitty slept far back in a driveway, and unaccessible. We later came upon two other furballs, along Golden Gate between Cleveland and Maryland Avenues. The first is another tiger tabby with fluffy tail. What a lucky segue. I nickname him Bushy.

The other cat, a calico, will be the series’ next profile. Bushy kept his distance, flanking from the bushes along several houses, while his companion was fairly friendly. 

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The Cats of University Heights: E.T.

As my wife and I approached the Adams Ave. overlook on April 7, 2018, she spotted a beautiful, bushy-tail tabby skulking behind two cars parked before the canyon. The furball then lay low beneath one of the vehicles, barely visible in the shadows. I have only ever seen one other cat, Grand, in this location— most recently in July 2017.

I am a deliberate shooter, who typically captures an average three photos per subject. But in this instance—laying down on the ground wearing sunglasses and manually focusing Leica M (Typ 262) on a darkened subject—I shot blindly about a dozen-and-a-half portraits from two vantage points while turning the focus ring (and adjusting the aperture). Among them, only one is truly worthy, while denying you glimpse of the magnificent tail (sorry about that). 

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The Cats of University Heights: Torbie

The series serves up more tortitude, with, like Lucy, another tortoiseshell seen on Georgia between Meade and Monroe. Dancer is another from the street, but closer to Mission; ChunkSunshine, and Tortie live elsewhere in the neighborhood. Earning nickname Torbie, for what appear to be some tabby-like features, the feline is the twenty-first featured behind a window.

We acknowledged one another on April 4, 2018, at 9:26 a.m. PDT, as I walked by. I used Leica M (Typ 262) and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens to capture the Featured Image. Vitals, for the heavily-edited crop: f/4.8, ISO 200, 1/350 sec, 50mm. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Luci

Nearby the same building where, on Georgia at Monroe, I met Peso in May 2017, another kitty greeted me and my wife on April 2, 2018. As I knelt down to snap some portraits, a woman walking by with a child said that “her name is Luci”. I had not encountered the long-hair tortoiseshell before—and doing so suddenly caused concern that I hadn’t seen Peso for several months. I do hope that he is okay.

Luci gave grovely meows but never approached Anne or I—that day or April 4, when I captured the Featured Image, using Leica M (Typ 262) and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/11, ISO 200, 1/45 sec, 50mm; 4:30 p.m. PDT. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Desire

Five minutes afer seeing Snow looking out from inside an apartment on Louisiana Street, my wife and I encountered another window watcher—twentieth for the series—at the corner of Mississippi and Monroe, on March 19, 2018.

I shot the Featured Image, chosen purely for cropped composition, at 3:12 p.m. PDT, using iPhone X. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 16, 1/371 sec, 6mm. The companion, captured on April 2 at 6:18 p.m. with Leica M (Typ 262) and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, is more color accurate and intimate; you wouldn’t know from the vantage point that the cat looks out from a second-floor window. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/4.8, ISO 200, 1/90 sec, 50mm. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Holiday

This place is going to feel like a real meowy beastie blog, while the backlog of photographed but not featured felines clears away. Apologies, I got behind posting to the series while furnishing my daughter’s new apartment. Four of them look out from glass, like today’s wonderful white, who is the eighteenth behind a window—and unbelievably the sixteenth sighted on Alabama Street. Monkey, who recently passed away, lived on the same block. Laramie, Lupe, and Smokey remain residents.

I waited weeks to profile the kitty that earns nickname Holiday, seeing that it’s April and a Christmas wreath still hangs on his owner’s door. Somebody often cracks a window for Holiday, who is a fixture when days are sunny and warm. I held back the profile hoping to meet his caretaker(s) and get a name. I first photographed the cat on February 17, 2018. That’s long enough ago to abandon the quest and move onward.