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). 

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; Chunk, Sunshine, 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. 

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.