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You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Late Night Open Thread

Late Night Open Thread

by John Cole|  December 26, 20131:25 am| 51 Comments

This post is in: Cat Blogging, Open Threads

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Relaxing with the girls and Steve and trying to get better at this whole photography thing. Here is what I did tonight:

pose

pose2

pose3

He’s really an easy subject to work with- he appears to like to have his picture taken, which makes sense, because he is just a magnificent beast. The funniest thing about him is he has an inaudible purr. The only time I know he is purring is when he jumps into bed, puts his torso and head on my arm and his paws on my chest (so I don’t move too quick and if I do I get cut), and then I can feel the vibration of his throat on my forearm.

Regardless, such a good kitty. And I think I am really getting better with the pictures.

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Reader Interactions

51Comments

  1. 1.

    The Dangerman

    December 26, 2013 at 1:31 am

    …he appears to like to have his picture taken…

    He can tell his buddies “check out the stupid human tricks I can make this Dude do”

    /Letterman

  2. 2.

    Lynn Sutherland

    December 26, 2013 at 1:34 am

    These are just beautiful–everything you say about him is visible in these photos. How I love your pet posts–they keep me going.

  3. 3.

    phoebes-in-santa fe

    December 26, 2013 at 1:34 am

    Yes, your pictures are getting better, but you also have a highly photogenic subject there.

  4. 4.

    PurpleGirl

    December 26, 2013 at 1:35 am

    The pictures are getting better. His face is clear and in focus in these pictures.

    He’s gorgeous and floofy.

  5. 5.

    Alison

    December 26, 2013 at 1:35 am

    I love that ruff he’s got going on :)

  6. 6.

    ruemara

    December 26, 2013 at 1:37 am

    You are! And his face is just adorbs. #2 is the best exposure but the pose is best in #3. I just want to give him cuddles and kisses and toe pad smooches.

  7. 7.

    Mike in NC

    December 26, 2013 at 1:41 am

    That guy is gorgeous.

  8. 8.

    John Cole

    December 26, 2013 at 1:44 am

    @ruemara: Can you believe I found him in a shelter? Just being all, well, that, and everything? And just three days after Tunch was killed? I swear fatbody sent him to me and that is why I love the Tunch spot so much on Steve.

    And do we all now agree he is a Steve? He’s really just the best fucking cat and I love him to death.

  9. 9.

    ruemara

    December 26, 2013 at 1:59 am

    @John Cole: I can believe you found him in a shelter, because Otajamakushi Taifu, world’s most perfect kitteh, was a shelter kitteh. Along with Kagebasho-master of shadows and sweetness, who was a BJ rescue kitteh, which is like a shelter, but with cussing.

  10. 10.

    Jane2

    December 26, 2013 at 2:00 am

    He looks just fabulous in all three pics! My Phil purrs the same way…maybe it’s a long-haired boy thing.

  11. 11.

    Corner Stone

    December 26, 2013 at 2:00 am

    @John Cole: I hope you’re in group.

  12. 12.

    srv

    December 26, 2013 at 2:07 am

    WTF?

    MONSTER PORN: Amazon Cracks Down On America’s Latest Sex Fantasy

    Bigfoot is a thing now, apparently.

  13. 13.

    Tommy

    December 26, 2013 at 2:12 am

    I got this this on my DVR. Called “Real World of Peter Gabriel.” Folks throwing their fists up in the air. Signing songs of protest. You can Google this, and you should.

  14. 14.

    rikyrah

    December 26, 2013 at 2:27 am

    Steve is so cute. He’s adorable.

  15. 15.

    Suzanne

    December 26, 2013 at 2:30 am

    He is just gorgeous. So fluffy and grand. I think Caesar or Khan may have been a better name for someone so imperious, but you know him best.

    The photos are better. What kind of camera are you using? Maybe get a SLR.

  16. 16.

    Tommy

    December 26, 2013 at 2:40 am

    @Suzanne: My niece has never seen my cat. She lives (four years old) in a household with a huge dog and two cats. I am like here is my cat good looking, showing her pics on my phone.

    My cat runs my household! I went on to say I got nothing against her cats, but my cat is in your face and wants attention 24/7. She was like WTF, she sleeps with you every night? Yes. Oh come over for a day and she will park herself on your lap and exacted so much attention at times it can become taxing :).

  17. 17.

    patty \

    December 26, 2013 at 3:04 am

    he is really a beauty, john. merry christmas! btw, speaking of shelters, my husband and i are currently living in s korea (he is active duty air force) and you would not believe what you see in pet stores here. puppies and kittens obviously sick and way too young to be weaned. i saw a couple of puppies in a window last night that couldn’t have been over 3 weeks old. just so freaking depressing.

  18. 18.

    Karen in GA

    December 26, 2013 at 3:04 am

    Those are the sweetest Steve pictures yet.

    Phoebe, the World’s Most Affectionate Cat. Purrs like a leaf blower. Met her when she was a kitten in a shelter, hours from euthanasia. She was in a carrier next to the table where they were going to put her to sleep. I held her up to look for signs of illness (runny eyes, etc.) — and she stuck her head forward and licked my nose.

  19. 19.

    Anne Laurie

    December 26, 2013 at 3:11 am

    @John Cole: He is a lovely kitty, your photo skills are indeed improving, but: Mungo. Cat’s real name is Mungo!

  20. 20.

    wasabi gasp

    December 26, 2013 at 3:21 am

    He will always be a Shaun to me.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM072Y_zEPw

  21. 21.

    Warren Terra

    December 26, 2013 at 3:32 am

    The pictures are getting better. Next is to work on composition, and to avoid excessive backlighting.

  22. 22.

    jl

    December 26, 2013 at 3:35 am

    @Anne Laurie: Thanks. I’m glad someone else knows the truth.

    Beautiful cat and beautiful pics. I don’t think there is any problem with backlighting. That glow is Steve/Mungo’s nimbus.

  23. 23.

    MikeJ

    December 26, 2013 at 3:56 am

    @Suzanne:

    The photos are better. What kind of camera are you using?

    iPhone 4S back camera 4.28mm f/2.4

  24. 24.

    liberal

    December 26, 2013 at 4:44 am

    Suck on this, cat lovers!

  25. 25.

    Tommy

    December 26, 2013 at 4:50 am

    @wasabi gasp: LOL. Abba.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s

    Recall as a kid, Boy Scout, we went to well hearing this.

  26. 26.

    Tommy

    December 26, 2013 at 4:55 am

    @Tommy: Oh I should say we used to do orientation. You know the use of a compass. Point to point. I recall like the early 70s and a VW Bus. It was fun.

  27. 27.

    Napoleon

    December 26, 2013 at 4:58 am

    Re the backlighting, if he was using his flash it would not be that big of an issue. But yeah, he has to work on lighting.

  28. 28.

    Jebediah, RBG

    December 26, 2013 at 5:15 am

    It’s nice to be getting a better look at Steve as Cole’s photographying skills improve. Number three really shows a big personality!
    Somewhat off the cat topic – after our Christmas dinner and presents and whatnot, we watched a French movie (subtitles and everything!) called “The Intouchables” and really liked it. You will too. You should watch it.

  29. 29.

    Calming influence

    December 26, 2013 at 5:23 am

    That 3rd shot is the best one – Steve looks like he’s about to put a paw upside your head.

  30. 30.

    poptartacus

    December 26, 2013 at 5:29 am

    Yes and no

  31. 31.

    Luci

    December 26, 2013 at 6:01 am

    Steve IS a glorious creature! And, I do believe you got him in a shelter. I once picked up the most wonderful kitten in the world on the highway. She was so cold and starved that she could not run away from me, and so I got her and nursed her, and she was absolutely glorious.

  32. 32.

    raven

    December 26, 2013 at 6:18 am

    Looks like a cat to me.

  33. 33.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 26, 2013 at 6:25 am

    Mmmmm mmmm, kitteh. They’re not just for breakfast anymore.

    Bwahahaahaahaaa (evil Snidely Whiplash laugh)….

  34. 34.

    Betty Cracker

    December 26, 2013 at 6:30 am

    Your photography skills have improved leaps and bounds. Steve looks like Brett Favre in these photos, particularly the last one. I’m not saying he should be named Brett Favre, just that he resembles him somehow. You can just see a thought bubble over that last picture that says, “You expect ME to train Aaron Rodgers? That’s not my fucking job.”

  35. 35.

    jak

    December 26, 2013 at 6:39 am

    A recent piece on taking pictures with an iPhone.

    http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/23/5210112/the-verge-at-work-making-perfect-pictures-on-your-iphone

  36. 36.

    Manyakitty

    December 26, 2013 at 8:14 am

    Gorgeous boy! All three of mine are Petsmart rescues, not exactly shelter cats, but close. They ARE the best kittehs ever.

  37. 37.

    WereBear

    December 26, 2013 at 8:25 am

    All of mine are rescues: left in a cardboard box on a pet shop doorstep, picked up by the police as evidence of animal cruelty, taken from mother too soon and nearly died, and found abandoned in a field at the age of 3 weeks, respectively.

    It should not astonish anyone that rescue cats are fantastic cats, because most cats are abandoned, treated badly, and barely make it to a home with the thinnest of margins.

    We should be astonished that, as a society, we put up with such blatant cruelty. Fortunately, there’s a growing number of people who will not.

  38. 38.

    Hunter

    December 26, 2013 at 8:28 am

    I always had to sneak up on Ben to take his picture — otherwise, he would walk right up and stick his nose on the lense, trying to figure out what was in there.

  39. 39.

    karensky

    December 26, 2013 at 8:53 am

    Excellent pix.

  40. 40.

    kc

    December 26, 2013 at 9:14 am

    What a face!

  41. 41.

    stinger

    December 26, 2013 at 9:32 am

    I want #3, framed. All are good, but I love the one where he’s looking right at me. He looks a lot like my Gina, but her chest is all white, not just the love patch, and her feet and hind legs are white as well. She doesn’t have the bent whisker, but instead one whisker on each side curves up like a bandit’s.

  42. 42.

    MikeInSewickley

    December 26, 2013 at 9:36 am

    Yes, the pictures are getting much better.

    And that mane is magnificent!

    I just watched that Bigs Cats and Boxes video and saw the Lynx playing with the box.
    Now I remember why I called the semi-feral Maine Coon cat we’ve been feeding Lynx. Maine Coons just remind me of them.

    Nice pics for a snowy day.

  43. 43.

    gogol's wife

    December 26, 2013 at 9:48 am

    Steve is so beautiful. I want him.

  44. 44.

    vtr

    December 26, 2013 at 10:05 am

    Steve outshines our M. C. cat, as gorgeous as ours is. His name is Nikko, though often call him Fabio, after the Italian model, because he has long hair, he’s beautiful, and he’s dumb. Don’t tell him that, or he’ll pee on our carpet again.

  45. 45.

    Matt McIrvin

    December 26, 2013 at 11:07 am

    You need more light in general; when the subject is backlit, it’s good to have another light coming from the front to provide a bit of “fill”. The flash can do that, but cats as subjects can also create terrible glowing-eye problems with a flash that is too close to the lens.

    Brighter lighting will also give you pictures with less blur and grain.

    These pictures capture Steve well, though, and he’s a beautiful cat. I like his mane.

  46. 46.

    muricafukyea

    December 26, 2013 at 11:36 am

    That winter coat is gonna really suck when that cat starts shedding.

  47. 47.

    jayboat

    December 26, 2013 at 12:24 pm

    Cole, glad you are taking the photo thing a bit more seriously. You gots some world-class subject matter.
    Your technique is most definitely improving. I guess all the pointing and mocking from the peanut gallery had some effect.

    8-]

    May I suggest a bit of post-processing for your next phase of photoskool?
    Sometimes all that’s needed is a slight tweak in exposure, saturation or contrast to make a huge diff.
    This could use a bit of noise reduction as well, but I like the details in his fur.

    Also, Adobe is currently running a special of 9.99/mo to sign up for Photoshop and Lighroom in the creative cloud.
    Just sayin…

  48. 48.

    Paul in KY

    December 26, 2013 at 1:01 pm

    @John Cole: I now agree that ‘Steve’ is certainly a fitting name for him.

    Excellent choice, John.

  49. 49.

    coin operated

    December 26, 2013 at 2:40 pm

    Love the pics JC. Keep ’em coming…I’ve always loved Maine Coon cats but cannot have one with me at this time.

  50. 50.

    Abo gato

    December 26, 2013 at 3:34 pm

    What I love best are the dark, dotted lines that run sideways away from his nose. He looks so mysterious.

  51. 51.

    LT

    December 26, 2013 at 3:38 pm

    Hey, those are darn good. They’ve got personality – Steve helps though, doesn’t he.

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