Tamelife Photography

I know wildlife photography is difficult. I've seen those bits on the ends of the David Attenborough programmes where a denim-clad bloke tells you how he waited six weeks for a sighting of some obsure creature. But I never knew tamelife photography could be so hard, particularly as our feline trio are natural-born posers. Except when I've got my camera out.

Today I managed two out of three. Here is Sock Boy*, the world's most gormless brainless moggie:

And his beloved Tiger Girl:

Not bad, eh? We had Tiger Girl for a year before the other two came as kittens, and she was like their auntie to begin with, worrying about them if they went too far away, cuffing them if they were too rumbunctious, washing their heads and faces. Sock Boy has always loved Tiger Girl, although his is a boisterous kind of love, often involving a spreadeagled jump-and-land-on-beloved demonstrative style, with headbutts another common feature. Sometimes he loves Tiger Girl so much that she runs away.

The third in the trio, a stocky little runt who is Sock Boy's sister, is the most difficult to capture of the three (in all senses of the word). She's affectionate with humans on her own terms, which sometimes involve burrowing under the duvet and curling up by my tummy, which I completely disapprove of and am absolutely unable to resist. She's also a natural-born comedian, with the biggest character of the three. And she's all black, so very hard to photograph effectively. I did catch a really good shot of her, today, on the stairs. But I forgot to use the flash.

I think I have a lot to learn about this photography business. I did best with Tiger Girl because she takes up more of the frame. Must get some software and learn to do cropping and other clever things... when I have time... don't hold your breath! But I did get one ace Sock Boy pose, even if it was a bit too far away:

*NB: pet names changed to protect against identity theft - they really have much nicer and more imaginative names than these