Thursday, September 2, 2010

How Murphy Became Famous

If you have ever tried to take a good photograph of a black cat - you know it can be tricky. If the cat lives in a house with dark burgundy carpet - it’s even trickier. And if the cat you are trying to photograph is Murphy - it’s just almost impossible.

Over the years I have taken lots of photos of him. Most of them were horrible. He won’t sit still, the flash bounces off his eyes (looks like a devil cat), he blends into the carpet - etc. A few photos were good enough for a family photo album, but most were just horrible.

One day I caught him sitting at our storm door, staring through the glass, watching the birds. He was really into it - making that little clicking sound cats make when they are trying to convince birds that they are just another bird. “Come here little birdy. It’s safe. I’m just another bird although I know I must look like a big, fat, black cat.”

Anyway - he sat there long enough for me to get the camera and really get things set right for a good photo. This was the result.

"Birdwatching"

Not only has this become one of my best selling prints but it convinced me that I could actually take a half way decent photo of a difficult subject. Of course the photo is manipulated - that’s just what I do to create my style of art. And this art piece has really gone to Murphy’s head. He knows he famous now. You would think he had posed for the Mona Lisa!!! Such an attitude!!! Every now and then he will honor me with another decent pose


"Black Cat - Golden Eyes"



Sometimes I have to remind myself that - after all - he is just a cat.

No comments: