Here Kitty Kitty

A year ago I was in Kalamazoo again. I took the opportunity to photograph my sister's cats. Late in life Ezekiel (above) went on a diet, and he became a rambunctious kitty, happy to see everyone, always running, climbing on things. This was a surprise, as he'd long been a sedentary cat who spend most of the day in a basket. Zeke passed away a few months back. We all miss him. ========== Hezekiah, my 366 Snaps photo, doesn't have such a story. But he's a nice kitty. Just don't touch his head. Kiah posed nicely for me. As I've remarked before , it's difficult to photograph a black cat's face. ========== This photograph is a non-outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 20 Title of " roll :" Around Home - Debbie's Cats Other photos taken on 10/22/2012: none.

Another day spent taking 366 Snaps photographs in the yard, but with less emphasis on macro.... This Siamese Cat lives next door. A year ago he was pretty much the local King of All Cats. These days he's retired, apparently willingly, and watches everybody else battle things out. He's still got an attitude, though . The pic's focus is a bit different than I'd have hoped--more on the plants in the foreground than on the cat himself. He's under one of our feeders in the photo, and about to be chased home. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 24 Title of " roll :" Around Home Other photos taken on 10/29/2012: none.

And another camera--or at least another lens. For November's 366 Snaps shots I switched from the D300 back to the Nikon 1 V1, this time with the 30-110 mm zoom. There's lots of ways to take photographs. Some people set up a tripod, study their subject, get the framing just so , and press the shutter release just once --while others snap a dozen similar handheld shots and expect that one or two of them will work. Some people always sport the newest and fanciest gear--while others are quite satisfied to keep using the camera they purchased eighteen years back. Some routinely carry a bevy of devices to a photo shoot--while others are happy with one camera (perhaps carrying a spare lens, or a pocket cam). Other splits: Urban grit vs. landscapes, color vs. monochrome, DSLR vs. mirrorless (vs. compact vs. phone), people vs. barns, HDR vs. SOOC, sports vs. families, square vs. rectangular (vs. pano), pets vs. wildlife. I could do this all day, methinks. My point is that preferences vary, and the there's usually no way--or reason--to say that one preference is better than another. Most of these are artistic choices, while a few reflect budget constraints/decisions. All that to frame my return to yesterday's discussion about the Sigma lens : My normal shooting mode involves taking three to six versions of a photo, reframing and refocusing--and often changing other settings--between shots. The zoom lenses I carry support that methodology far better than a box of prime lenses would. I was already doing this with film, but since pixels are nearly free I'm now more likely to shoot six than three versions. Which is different from saying I don't see the value of fixed-focus lenses. My favorite lens is my old, fairly slow (f5.6), and unreasonably heavy 300 mm tele. I use it a lot. But I've never mistaken it for a general-purpose kit. If you can afford them modern mid-quality (what they call "prosumer") zooms are sufficient for most photographs. They're usually fast enough, they're lightweight, and their distortion's low. The compromise is that they're (relatively) slow, which mostly shows in bad light, but that's not often an issue when they're attached to a modern DSLR (and if it is, you may be able/willing to spend real money to solve it). And then there's the Nikon 1. Any device that can take the two photographs on this page is probably good enough for most peoples' purposes. I shoot for my own satisfaction, and mostly publish my pix online. It's unlikely I'll ever purchase a 36 megapixel DSLR, unless the sensors get really cheap, though I'm certain I'd enjoy using one. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 21 Title of " roll :" Oreo Other photos taken on 11/1/2012: I shot pix of the birds in the yard all day, switching between the two Nikons for a total of nearly 200 images. About half the photos were of woodpeckers.

We've discussed this cat once or twice before. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366 Snaps project discussion and stats for November 3 .

The best of many pictures I took of our friend and companion. Camera: Nikon N90s

Kalamazoo Richard's cat.

The neighbors' cats come calling.... All of our new neighbors have a full complement of kids--and kids' toys, and kids' pets. These little guys live directly across the street from our back yard's flower garden--and both like to pounce on passers-by from the cover of the tall plants. Tiger (the red collar) seems to be more adventuresome, but Whiskers is a dear.

Seemed like a good day to share a cat pic.

Joan's just picked some Lilacs, and is preparing them for display. Taffy wants to participate.

Joan and Taffy, having a little chat through the door.

Everybody knows Joel does weird stuff....

Oreo, outside, on the driveway, after the neighbors abandoned her, but before we adopted her. And my foot.

Before we adopted Oreo, she lived in the garden....

This is Oreo, who officially lives across the street but actually lives in our yard. Cute cat, but a bit too much the apprentice hunter for me to be comfortable. Cats tend to keep the birds away.... I'm leaving her to keep an eye the place, since I'll be away for the next few days.

Since I introduced you to Oreo last month , her "owners" have sold the house and moved away. She still hangs around our yard. My guess is we'll adopt her....

Oreo, back when she lived in our garden....

We took Oreo to the vet this evening, then moved her into the house.