Tag Archives: Photography

Rescued Kitten

Posted on September 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

A while ago, I told everyone about a family of stray cats that moved into my yard.  Well, I managed to win over the affections of one of the two kittens.  That kitten ended up adopting us and started living on my porch.  My mother and I set up a little shelter for her, made out of a plastic bin, a tarp, and an old cat bed.

After a while, and as it started to get cold, my mother and I caved and brought the kitten inside.  We‘re still hoping to find the mother and second kitten a home as, sadly, we can‘t afford to rescue all of them ourselves and our local shelter is full (they have over 70 cats! [-_-]).

At the moment, as we de-flea and de-worm our new little friend, we have her secluded in a room in our basement away from our two older cats.  Once she’s clear of any harmful parasites, we can introduce her to our other cats.  I hope they all get along.  Wish us luck on that!

Pets can be a difficult subject to photograph (I think I mentioned this in a previous post “Unruly Subjects”), especially a hyper active kitten!  I had a bit of a hard time getting a decent photograph of our new kitten at first, but after she started to wind down from a little catnip encounter, I was able to get a few images.  [^_^]

My next step (while our new little friend is still in the basement room) is to “kitten-proof” the house.  Wish me luck!

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M.

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Heart In A…Litter Box?

Posted on September 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

That’s right, folks.  This post has toilet humor…Cat style!

Well, it’s more like seeing something funny in the litter box.

Those of you that have cats may have come across something in the litter box that doesn’t belong.  Maybe it’s a cat toy.  Maybe even a dead mouse (thanks for giving the mouse proper burial after killing it, Fifi).  Mine don’t leave toys in the litter box and they’ve never caught any mice, but one of them (I haven’t figured out which one yet) loves me so much, that every once in a while they leave me something interesting in the litter box.

That’s right, my cat pees hearts.  What can yours do? [-_^]

Anyway…

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M.

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Posted in Cats, Miscellaneous, Photography

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Blue Moon

Posted on September 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

 

Don’t ask me to sing the song to you.  One, I don’t know all the words, and two, I can’t sing.

 

Everyone’s heard the expression “every once in a blue moon”.  But some people don’t know exactly what a blue moon is.  Shocking, I know!

 

No, the moon isn’t actually blue in color when we talk about a “blue moon.”  What it means is, according to Wikipedia, “the third full moon in a season that has four full moons, instead of the usual three.” (they say the definition of a “blue moon” as the second full moon in a single month is a mistake.  But, it kind of works out that way from what I’ve seen over the years).  I guess an easy way to remember that would be to say it’s an extra full moon in a year.

 

For those of you that didn’t know that…Huzzah!  You’ve learned something new.  For those of you that DID know that…Huzzah!  I’ve educated you on the obvious!

 

Anyway, on August 31st, 2012, there was a blue moon.  Now, I make it a point to take photos of every full moon, especially every blue moon, if I can.  Usually my luck works out that it ends up being cloudy the night of the full moon.  But sometimes the heavens open up and let the lunar light shine.

 

The 31st started out cloudy and I was pretty bummed.  But a little later in the evening the clouds thinned and the moon came out.  YAY

 

 

Until next time…

 

[^_^]

 

~A.M.

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Posted in Nature, Photography

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Hey There, Huge Spider…[o_O]…

Posted on August 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

 

First of all, it’s my brother’s birthday today so let me take a moment to say, Happy Birthday Don!!

 

Now, those who suffer from arachnophobia probably won’t want to read this post or scroll down to the included image.  But those of you who don’t mind spiders, or think they’re awesome, read on!

 

This past Friday (August 24th for those keeping track) while I was looking for a cat toy in my back yard (long story), I came across the biggest, hairiest, most colorful, and creepiest spider I had ever seen in my life.

 

This thing was huge.  Probably an inch and a half to two inches in size, not including the span of its legs!  And, of course, it was building its web right on the side of my house between the shingles and the lattice we have along the foundation (which made weed whacking yesterday very interesting).

 

I just happened to look up and there it was, inches from my face.  Now, I’m not arachnophobic (I’m not in love with the things either) but seeing that thing so close to my face was quite an unpleasant surprise.  I could have smacked it away from me.  I could have squished the daylights out of it.  But no.  What did I do?  Like a true lover of nature and a true photographer, I ran inside, grabbed my camera, and returned to take a picture of it.

 

I had never seen this type of spider before, so once I was safely back inside (and after I checked myself over to make sure the thing didn’t hitch a ride on my pant leg!), I searched online for what type of arachnid it was.

 

With my awesome detective skills, and confirmation from my spider loving friend, Sarah, I found out that it’s a Black and Yellow Argiope, better known as a St. Andrews Cross spider.

 

*Warning*  Again, if you suffer from arachnophobia, or if you’re prone to nightmares, scroll NO further!

 

 

BEHOLD!

 

 

 

Weird and creepy huh!?  See?  Again, tying into last week’s post, sometimes you find some really interesting things to photograph right in your own backyard!

 

Until next time…That is, if the spider doesn’t eat my face first…

 

[o_O]

~A.M.

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Posted in Animals, Photography, Wildlife

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Backyard Photographs…Round 2…

Posted on August 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

A while ago, in fact it was July of last year, I wrote a post about venturing into your own backyard in search of photography subjects.  I tend to do this a lot when I’m low on funds and the car is thirsty for gas.

If you take a moment to stop and look around your yard, I’m sure you’ll find something interesting to photograph.  It could be a tree, a flower, a funny cloud in the sky (remind me and I’ll post a picture I took of a cloud that, to me, resembled something awesome), your house, or even some form of wildlife that wanders onto your property.

To those of you that live in apartments or in the city where you don’t have a yard, this idea isn’t entirely out of the question.  You can still go outside and find some things around your residence that will make for an interesting photograph.

But back to the backyard.  Recently a family of stray cats decided that my yard looked like a cozy place to hunker down for a while.  There is a mother cat who is a beautiful Siamese (why anyone would let her, or any cat, outside, I don’t know), two of her kittens, and every once in a while, the father comes around; a huge grey.

Forgive the quality of this photo, I know it’s a little blurry but that’s because I had to take it through the my back screen door (the kittens were still skittish at this point and would have run away if I went outside).

I’ve managed to win the affections of the mother, the Siamese.  The father is completely feral and takes off when I get within ten feet.  The kittens are also wary like the father, and run to hide in the bushes when I get close.  I’m slowly winning over one (it doesn’t run as far and hide as long as it used to when it sees me), but the other is still skittish.

But, that’s what zoom lenses are for, right?

I was feeling the urge to go out an photograph one day and when I got outside, I noticed one of the kittens playing in the grass.  I got as close as I could without startling the kitten, hunkered down, and snapped a few frames.  I think one of my favorite was this one, when the kitten noticed a little bee on a dandelion.

Remember, when you feel the urge to photograph and either don’t have access to transportation, or travel is just not feasible, take a walk around your yard (or apartment building/complex).  I’m sure you’ll find something to peak your photographic interest.

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M.

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Posted in Animals, Cats, Photography

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