Inspired

- I was inspired by fellow photographer Cait Wade's doggy portraits from her blog. So not having a dog, I enlisted the help of my good buddy Sherlock. He's always willing to get a little attention even if it means modeling for a few minutes. He has pretty dramatic blue eyes so those are the focus of this portrait. Canon 40D, 1/30 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, 100mm lens.

Looking Pretty

- Miss Sasha was looking mighty pretty starring out the window so I just had to take a picture of her. She's quite the little diva at our house and wins the hearts of everyone she meets. My wife says I do too many cat pictures for the blog but I just can't resist. I hope you don't mind indulging my pet photography. Canon 40D, 1/160 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400, 100mm.

New Sheriff in Town

- There's a new Sheriff in town and is name is Sebastian. He's my cousin's new blue mink Tonkinese kitten and he is so cute! He joins his sister Sophia and cousins Sasha and Sherlock to be a part of our family Tonk mob. He was born on December 5th and while small, he arrived at Lin's house and made himself right at home. Welcome to the family little bud. Canon 7D, 1/10 sec @ f/2.0, ISO 1600, 50mm prime lens.

Slinky Sasha

- I was trying to make some cool Slinky photos tonight but I had a lot of help from my two assistants who were fascinated with the new colorful plastic spring toy. Being cats they naturally assumed something new to the house was there only for their amusement. So I went with the flow and captured this really nice image of Sasha checking out the Slinky. Canon 40D, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, 100mm macro, LED light source under the spring.

Ol' Blue Eyes

- Well he's not that old actually. This is Sherlock our eight month old Tonkinese cat. Yes he is named after the famous fictional detective because of his insatiable curiosity. He goes by many names around our house, Lock, Lockmeister, Lockinator, Trouble with a capital "T" and assorted other names when his curiosity is out of control. All that said he is a great cat and never sees a stranger. Canon 40D, 160th @ f/2.8, ISO 400, 100mm lens.

The Cat's in the Bag

- Sherlock just loves to investigate a bag. May be he's looking for Brand Names, Closeout Prices! Cindy called me in to capture the moment this morning. This is my 730th straight photo a day blog post. 2009 was take and post a new picture everyday, while 2010 saw only about half of the posts with pictures taken the same day. The rest came from my archives. Thanks for following and commenting for the past two years. Canon G11, 1/80 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 1600.

Herding Cats

- Tonight's picture documents a photo failure on my part. While this is a nice picture of Sherlock, my goal was to get both Sasha and Sherlock together - looking at the camera for a holiday photo. Try as I might, I could not get them both to pose together. When I started I figured Sherlock with his boy kitten incredibly short attention span would be the challenge. But nooooo! Sherlock was a trooper, Sasha was being being a real diva and totally uncooperative. Cindy said that I failed to get her consent before proceeding, so I was doomed before I started. I'm going to complain to her agent. Canon 7D, 1/250 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 200, lots of flash. Strobe bounced of the ceiling and two side slave flashes down on the floor.

Miss Sasha

- Miss Sasha quietly takes it all in. Canon 7D, 1/13 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, zoom at 175mm focal length, image stabilization doing its thing.

Killer

- Our five month old kitten Sherlock prepares for the "kill". Ears flattened for protection, down low for the pounce that's coming and those crossed blue eyes intently focused on the "prey". In this case the prey was a feather toy on a stick that my son Brian had. I never knew cats growled until this little "killer" joined our family. He's one bad a-- Tonkinese. Canon 7D, 1/250 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 200mm focal length

Do you want to play . . .

- do you, do you? My new little buddy Sherlock always wants to play. Last Friday night I was building Legos with Robert when Sherlock brought his fuzzy red ball and wanted to play. He has totally forgotten that he's a cat. His older sister Sasha thinks he's shameless. Canon G11, 1/160 sec @ f./2.8, ISO 800, additional lighting from the Litepanel Micro LED.

Basket Case

- We came home the other day and couldn't find our new kitten Sherlock anywhere. After searching the whole house and calling his name, we finally spotted him in asleep in this basket on the top of our barrister bookcase. Don't you just love those eyes? He had a rough day today so I thought I'd feature him on the blog to boost his spirits. Canon G11, 1/30 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 800.

Meet Sherlock

- This is Sherlock the newest addition to our family. He's a three month old male Tokinese and Sasha's half brother. Sasha has not welcomed him with open arms but with a lot of hissing and growling. Did you know cats growled, I didn't. Sherlock has done his share of hissing as well and I think they are reaching a mutual understanding.. Canon G11, 1/15 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 800, macro mode.

234 - Make him stop - please!

From 365 Project

Max the cat looks back towards Susan. his rescuer, to save him again. This time from the photo a day blogger who keeps trying to take his picture without a model release. Susan rescued Max earlier this year and now the big Red Mackerel Tabby enjoys a charmed life, except when CIOPhoto is around. Canon G10, 1/8 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400.

228 - Casa del Gato

From 365 Project

Casa del Gato is home to the Lambert's Point feral cat colony. One cat seems to be checking the mailbox. The cat house is located on Orapax Street adjacent to the Lambert's Point docks and cargo terminal in Norfolk Virginia. Directly across the street is Tortilla West who's staff feed and keep an eye on the colony. The cats were spayed in 2008 in an effort to help control the colony's growth. Canon G10, 1/60 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 200, 54mm equivalent focal length.

110 - Tonkinese Temptress

From 365 Project

Never was much of a "cat person" until I met this little lady, Sable. As the Cat Fanciers' Association puts it ". . . the Tonkinese is an intelligent, gregarious cat with a sense of humor. Their affectionate ways are impossible to ignore, and they quickly endear themselves to family and visitors." Canon G10, 1/20 sec at f/2.8, ISO 800 in macro (close focus mode).