Thursday, March 28, 2024
black catscatscats for adoptiondaily photofoster catsMidnight Louiestudio cats

Daily Photo: Shadows and Light

black cat on windowsill
Studio Cat

Midnight Louie admires the tangle of shadows and light on the table, just as I do. Sunlight comes in at one angle with bold, warm highlights and deep shadows, and reflected light from the sky comes in from another angle with cool highlights and softer shadows. The light reflects up onto the vase and Louie’s face and eyes like a soft spotlight. His dark and solid shape ties it all together, as if they are all emanating from him. That’s what I see in this photo anyway!

From Instagram

Because we have a shortage of empty sleeping baskets around here. Happy #caturday!

Simba’s home inspection continues. I hope my laundry detergent meets his strict standards. No doubt he’ll probably have a full questionnaire and exam for any person who might want to adopt him.

From the back yard and beyond

Watch the Day Begin

Watch the day begin. Unlike a sunset, which seems to linger, reluctant to leave, sunsets move apace. From first light to the first sliver of sun on the horizon seems like only minutes, and in a moment’s distraction you miss a critical change. It’s the energy of the new day, rested and ready for a challenge, ready to get down to business, that idea from yesterday that matured overnight, now that the rain has passed, neglected activities can resume.

Morning after the storms pass leaves layers of clouds in different colors and edged in gold, bits of sky, so much detail, and all in motion. What if sunrise was the same every day? It’s not, and that’s every reason to watch them, at least every once in a while.

 

From around this date in past years

Distracting Me With Sweetness While I’m Trying to Work, 2021

Mariposa looking at me in the mirror.

I decided to sew as many tote bags as I could in the space of one day, Tuesday this week. Mariposa, Sienna and usually Hamlet sleep on my bed in the afternoons, and when I came in to start setting up to sew, they were ready for the action. I don’t spend time in my bedroom sewing as often as I spend time in other rooms, and many or even all of the cats will often join me in whichever space I’m working any given day, and me and 10 cats and my projects in a 10 x 12 room is quite a crowd. And so most of them did on this particular day, hanging out on the bed or on the floor, walking on the ironing board behind me because that was “new”, and inspecting my sewing machine which is typically folded up into the console table. You know it was all very exciting. Eventually, the sun came around to the window, welcome on an unusually cold day, and everyone settled down. Later we went downstairs for them to have dinner, then we came back up so I could sew until well after midnight. For a long day of fun but tedious and repetitious work, they did their best to distract me, sometimes distracting me so much that I got caught up in photographing them and playing with them, then had to get back to work. It was a great day, beautiful to look at, exciting to see my tote bags come to life, and a joy to spend with my cats, one of those days that I imagine when I think of working at home. And this is what they did.

Mariposa was fascinated by my sewing table and sewing machine because it’s typically all folded up with things on top of it. I’ve always found it’s best to let the cats explore the new things until they’re done, and then they leave it alone, and so she did. But first she had to check out the new kitty in the mirror

Of course, the ironing board was “new” too, and they had to explore it. I had it set up right behind my chair, and I watched them in the mirror above my sewing machine.

Mimi and Jelly Bean on the ironing board.

Sienna couldn’t resist the sunshine and settled down in her favorite place anywhere, ever, tucked in among her feline friends on the pillows.

Sienna and her kitty friends.

Mimi thinks we should go back outside in the sun again, even though it’s cold. She wants to do this about every half hour or so. She watches me in the mirror. Something fascinates me about a cat looking into a mirror as if it’s reality and of course she sees me, whom she knows, but she would also be looking at the back of my head. I guess Mimi is okay with this.

Mimi watches me in the mirror.

Mariposa and Jelly Bean enjoy the sun for just long enough to start up a wrestling match, something they both love to do. Although sometimes Mariposa jumps up and runs off from one of these, it’s always a friendly thing and pretty comical to watch her white mittens flying around and landing a solid one, POW, right in the kisser. I have to completely stop what I’m doing and stand on the chair at my sewing machine to get a good angle at them.

I glance up at the mirror and Mimi is having a really good yawn.

Big yawn!

After a while things quiet down, and everyone is asleep. That’s a bunch of cats, there.

Everybody’s asleep.

Then even more asleep.

Cat balls, like caterpillars.

And much later, one of the piles of cats sleeping on the bed.

A pile of black cats.

It was a good day.

From around this date in past years

Brotherly Bath, and a Video, 2020

A screenshot from the video.

Brother cats Giuseppe and Jelly Bean co-grooming, then they realize they are not only being watched, they are being videoed. Watch below!

I don’t know where this week went! This video is from Wednesday. I ran out of time for the things I needed to do that day because of unexpected other things, so of course I took a little video of the boys grooming each other, then added some music by a friend. It was a great way to practice taking video with my new camera, and I like it very much. I can focus the videos on a subject and the background softens, I don’t get awkward foreshortening if I get too close, and the lighting is as good as my camera itself can produce. I’m looking forward to many more. You have to see Mariposa in action, and Sienna and Hamlet too! And everyone else!

From Instagram

six cats in the kitchen
Kind of how I felt this morning. We’re still feeling somewhat scattered. But the weather is nice. Mimi and the kids, and Sienna.
three cats at door
Three little girls getting a noseful of morning. Mariposa, Bella, Mimi.

From around this date in past years

Can I Sleep Now? 2019

Mewsette is ready to nap.
Mewsette is ready to nap.

Mewsette is ready to nap, but I’m right there with that big black thing, looking at her. How is a kitty supposed to sleep under those conditions? She’s all ready, she just needs for me to take the photo and go. So I did.

Photos from years past.

.

Studio Window Basil, 2018

Studio Window Basil
Studio Window Basil

Well, who could resist such purrfection? Basil has such purrfect posture too. I took a long series of photos of him in this spot and it seems as if he’s learned to hold a pose.

Black and white window.
Black and white window.

From Instagram, and extras

It’s s great day when you’re a formerly feral housepanther and you’ve got your pink bizzy ball trapped in the tub.

Look at that tail! Hamlet is spectacular.

 

Hamlet has the bizzy ball trapped in the tub.
Hamlet has the bizzy ball trapped in the tub.

From Previous Years

Exciting New Grocery Boxes, 2017

two black cats in box
Maximum capacity.

Maximum capacity of this box is one Jelly Bean and one Mr. Sunshine less Sunshine’s tail which apparently doesn’t fit.

Below, Basil has his very own grocery box. I can see I should get bigger boxes.

black cat in box
Basil in his own grocery box.

Glad to be home and off my feet for a while.

You may see a few extra photo posts for a few days. I’ve been getting so behind in posting the ones from Instagram. My plan is to share them here when I share them on IG so you get to see them somewhere near the day I took them.

This will all even out eventually! Shows and studio time make it difficult but we are adjusting.


Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals

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set of four sepia images of black cats
Victoriana Cats in dreamy semi-sepia tones

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From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

One thought on “Daily Photo: Shadows and Light

  • 15andmeowing

    Midnight Louie is a handsome boy. Nice shots of all your other cuties too.

    Reply

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