The Opinionated One…

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cat, d90, nikon, nikon d90, nikon dslr, white cat

She just got a new place to hang out in the house, and she just had to roll around, be downright cute, and, of course, comment on my apparent need to take multiple pictures of her.

I’m just glad she’s so tolerant of me.

Those eyes are awfully yellow, aren’t they?

This little girl really seems to enjoy having her picture taken, and will pose for very nearly as long as I’m willing to continue snapping pictures. 

I’m sure there are parents of human children out there who wish their own children would stand still long enough to have their pictures taken repeatedly.

If you’re curious, she’s lying atop a desk upon which I’ve laid a piece of carpet.  It makes a soft bed for her while protecting the desktop from careless claws.

This child is fascinated with plastic, but it could have been anything that caught her attention and had her check out the top of the thing.

She has a very healthy curiosity, and we’re fortunate she doesn’t make a habit of knocking things over.

Herself is such a pretty little girl.  Unlike her siblings, who are sizeable, she’s quite dainty and soft of foot, taking more after her mother than they. 

Another Trip to the Santa Monica Pier

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d90, los angeles, macaw, macaws, nikon, nikon d90, nikon dslr, parrot, parrots, Santa Monica Pier

Imagine my pleased surprise when I again visited the Santa Monica Pier and found the parrots of my previous entry were again on display.   The day was brighter, so the birds appeared to be much happier.  This guy’s feathers were so vivid that I couldn’t resist snapping another shot of him and he didn’t much seem to mind, as you can see.

I thought it would be fun to remove the color from the other aspects of the shot in order to further bring out his brightness and personality.  Like all parrots, he enjoys the attention, which you can see from his rapt expression whilst he surveys his petitioners.  I would wager there were at least a dozen people ooh’ing and aah’ing over him.

I would have included the photo information, but for whatever reason, it’s not available.

He Couldn’t Afford A Parrot…

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bubba army, chihuahua, d90, dog, nikon, nikon d90, nikon dslr, ranger, small dog, world of warcraft

Ranger and Mysfyt came by for a visit, and Ranger quickly made friends with my dog.

They make a cute couple. 

Exposure Time: 0.0166s (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 105mm (157mm in 35mm)

Same Dog, Different Poses

Tags

american pit bull terrier, amstaff, d90, dog, nikon, nikon d90, nikon dslr, pit bull, pit bull terrier, pitt bull

I love the way this photo to the left looks.

Despite the rather dire depiction of dog and man here, appearances can be deceiving.  The dog isn’t going to go for anyone’s throat.  Only moments after this shot was taken, Maxx promptly jumped onto the bed and began wildly licking and kissing anyone who couldn’t squirm away fast enough.

I’ll post more photos periodically, as the day I shot these photos, I took over 600 just of Maxx, here.

I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

I decided to add the second photo to this post to show Maxx’s energy and enthusiasm.  In this photo to the right, his human lady was encouraging him to bounce up and down like a Tigger.

He’s a ball of energy, and if you could bottle that energy, you could very likely power that truck in the background of the photo.

Enter Max…

Tags

american pit bull terrier, amstaff, d90, dog, nikon, nikon d90, nikon dslr, pit bull terrier, pitbull, pitt bull, trucking

This is Max.  He’s a beautiful example of an American Pit Bull Terrier.

Contrary to popular belief, properly raised members of this breed are sweet, loyal and bouncy with the stereotypical terrier personality.  After spending several hours with this particular dog, I felt very comfortable with him and was glad I had spent the time to get to know him.

His humans are a husband and wife team of truck drivers whose route can take them anywhere from their home area around the great State of Tennessee to the Northwestern coast of the United States.

Max, now two years old, has been a part of their trucking team since he was all of four and a half weeks old.  He’s learned the routine of the trucking life and seems perfectly suited to his role as companion and protector.

I plan to take many more pictures of this wonderful animal in the future.

She Begged For This (She Really Did!)

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d90, los angeles, nikon, nikon d90, nikon dslr

I’d been taking pictures tonight, as you can see from the cat pictures I’ve included here.

Then, a little while ago, I heard some whimpering from the general direction of the bed.  I jokingly asked if she was wanting to pose for photos.

Well, whaddaya know?

She stood there for a good two or three minutes while I shot some two dozen photos of her.

I think this is one of the best of that lot.  The bars make an interesting contrast against her pale coloring.  I did nothing to change the photo, beyond the watermark. 

Exposure Time: 0.0166s (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 92mm (138mm in 35mm)

Something Spontaneous — Software?

Tags

cat, d90, los angeles, nikon, nikon d90, nikon dslr

Don’t let the relaxed pose fool you.  I had been taking pictures of him just moments earlier where he’d close his eyes everytime the flash did its thing.

Then, I guess he tired of my annoying picture-taking and flopped down into the position you see here.

When he’s bored, he’ll reach out those arms of his and grab your hand, pulling it to his mouth for gnawing and attempted consumption.

I’ve discovered that the best way to deal with this feline zombie is to shove the tip of my thumb into his mouth to force it open.

Voila!  The chewing stops.

And, of course, the gory details:

Exposure Time: 0.0166s (1/60)
Aperture: f/3.8
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 22mm (33mm in 35mm)

Loft Cat Discovers the New Couch — Two Shots

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cat, d90, nikon, nikon d90, nikon dslr, white cat

Cats have a need to stretch out just about anywhere, and if they can find a convenient piece of cozy sofa cushion, all the better!

We just bought a new Karlstad Corner Sofa from IKEA (land of fairly easy to put together apartment furniture), and were up late into the night putting it together.

I haven’t had any disappointments yet from IKEA, and this couch was no exception.

In the picture to the left, the orange hue to the room rather reminded me of those controversial Marilyn Monroe pictures taken by Bert Stern for Vogue magazine, from her last sitting in 1962, shortly before she passed. 

As you can see, herself, owner of my opposable thumbs, has already claimed it.

Later, after thoughtfully cleaning the head of our grey tabby cat (you can see part of his back at the bottom of this photo), she moved to where an accommodating sunbeam had made an appearance.  It looks like she’s got her legs spread out in order to catch as much warmth on her toes and legs as possible. 

Yes, she’s as pure white as she looks.  Not a single dark hair on her.  Just ask my dark-colored shirts.

And if you’re wondering — the couch is amazingly comfortable!

Loft Cat — Patience In Physical Form

Tags

cat, d90, los angeles, nikon, nikon d90, nikon dslr, white cat

 This is my near-constant companion at my desk.  After I got tired (and yes, a little annoyed) at her habit of just plopping down wherever the heck she wanted to atop my desk, I installed a basket of sorts for her.  It kept her off of my keyboard and away from the front of my monitor so I could work better.

When I pull out the camera, this little girl immediately starts posing.  In this case, her eyes opened and she stared at me with that look that says “I love you and I tolerate your annoying photography habit because you keep the food bowl full and gave me this lovely bed from which to monitor your internet usage”.

Only one who is cat owned can possibly understand what I mean.

Study of a Cat’s Stare

Tags

cat, d90, los angeles, nikon, nikon d90, nikon dslr

I pulled out the tripod last night to get the steadiest pictures I could manage (I still need to get the remote so I don’t jiggle anything at all), going from closeups with roses using a combination of my +4 and +10 diopter magnifiers with my 18-105mm lens to a session with the cats and just the 18-105mm lens.  The light wasn’ t spectacular, but it was still enough to get some fantastic pictures once I sped up the shutter speed a hair (cats move unpredictably and a “normal” shutter speed can mean an unidentifiable blur when your camera finally finishes up the photograph in question).

Jeffrey, here, was quite patient with me, though you can see that his patience was sorely tested.  His expression is haunting.

It’s interesting how in some pictures, his eyes are yellow, but in this picture in particular, they are a soft green that is reminiscent of watercolor.

I had to bribe him with catnip, which he gobbles down, and then wait for him to relax once the effects of the catnip hit him.  Perhaps not the nicest thing to do, but he’s been pissy lately. 

I think it has something to do with the antics of our household kitten, who is a wild thing who gets a lot of attention, as she is a demanding little thing.  Jeffrey’ll get over it, but it’s going to take a little bit of time.  I just need to spend more individualized time with him.