No matter how hokey and ridiculous those calendars of animals doing things are, you got to hand it to the patient (or sedative-equipped) photographers who bring joy to millions around the world with their images of chimpanzees hunting or kitties wearing zoot suits.
As soon as I got my camera last November, it was glued to my hands. The first thing I did was take pictures of my cat – mostly because I wanted pictures of her in case she got loose. I quickly discovered that shooting pets is great practice. They’re small, quick and unpredictable. And for those of you who have tried before, you know that cats’ eyes are crazy reflective and will glow an eerie green if your flash is used improperly.
I soon began taking my camera to friends’ houses for the sole purpose of practicing on their pets under the clever guise that I wanted to drink and hang out with them. Oh, it was a glorious farce that rivaled the Greeks’ wooden-horse gift to the Trojans.
Then, I was handed a gift – a small, inbred gift. My friend’s cats, Apollo and Aretemis, who are brother and sister, had reached the age of horniness. The day before Apollo was to get clipped, my friend managed to break them up in the act.
But it was too late.
Enter Scruff, the regal kitty that can be seen accompanying this text. I was able to document her development from a little hamster guy to the little bastard who plays fetch now.
And now I finally get to do something with them.
-Kai-Huei Yau
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