Photo ABCs

Feral Cat Portrait

 Every cat is regal in its own way.

Feral Cat Portrait

Feral Cat

Photographing these cats piqued my interest in feral cats. This link describes a group in San Diego which spays and neuters the cats and returns them where they are found, preventing overpopulation. If the cats are simply removed or killed, new breeding cats quickly repopulate the area, according to the Feral Cat Coalition of San Diego. 

Feral Cat

Feral Cat Portrait

Feral cat, near Mission Bay, San Diego, California, Thanksgiving evening, 2010. Lots more to be posted!

Another Feral Cat

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Here's another feral cat photographed a few weeks ago, on a jetty near Mission Bay, San Diego, California.

If you have a home, it's something to be thankful for.

Feral Cat

I was recently headed to one of my favorite sites for bird photography when heavy traffic made it obvious I would not arrive by sunset. I decided to explore a nearby jetty instead.

Instead of finding birds, I found cats! Dozens and dozens of them. They were much tamer than any feral cats I've met before, and were quite content to pose. 

I love the fading evening light, it's perhaps my favorite time to shoot.   

Back to Route 66

Today I had the pleasure of presenting my slide show: Colors of the Past, Photographs Along Route 66, to the Hillcrest/Mission Valley Lions Club in San Diego, California.

It never ceases to amaze me how enthusiastic groups are to hear about Route 66. Many audience members traveled to California on Route 66, or, as children, spent vacations on Route 66.

Kudos to the Hillcrest/Mission Valley Lions Club for their excellent work assisting the San Diego Center for the Blind with their recent Thanksgiving meal at the center. Route 66 as it travels through Dwight, Illinois. (minutes after sunrise)

Shady Dell

From the archives:

A year ago I took a trip to Bisbee, Arizona, and stayed at the Shady Dell. It was cooler than cool! Twelve Airstream-style trailers (and a boat!) all decorated straight out of the 50s. It was a blast. 

 

Douglas Kirkland

I had the pleasure of hearing Douglas Kirkland speak at the San Diego Photo Expo last weekend.

Kirkland is a legendary photographer, having photographed a who's who of movie stars over the past half century.

Listening to Kirkland speak is entertaining for the stories, of course, but more importantly, for his sense of joy. He loves photography as a way to connect to his subjects, be they famous or not. 

A few of his words:

With today's tools photographers are now empowered like painters.

You'll get as good a picture as your subject feels.

Know about your subject and be interested in them.

Make your subject feel calm and serene.

The high ISO capabilities of today's cameras have caused him to use smaller (slower) lenses.

Use music in your sessions to keep the model relaxed, and the shoot can be like a dance between you and your subject.

"It's all so much fun!"

"I want people to look good."

After a slide show, he did a live photo shoot with a model from the local area. It was clear that he loved the session and put the model at ease.

If you get a chance to see Douglas Kirkland speak, don't miss it!

An exuberant Douglas Kirkland at the 2010 San Diego Photo Expo.