My Sunday Series on Available Light Portraiture continues today with a portrait of the always amazing Pam Simpson, who was photographed in the guest room of my Daisy Hill home. She may or may not be a furry; I don’t know for sure. You tell me.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
Cats are so wonderful because they’re furry, purry and totally independent.–Ann Widdecombe
The furry phenomenon is a subculture that’s defined by a person’s interest in anthropomorphic animal characters. Members of the fandom are known as furries and often create their own character’s persona in the form of fursonas and may wear costumes while engaging with fellow furries on the internet and at furry conventions.—excerpt from Wikipedia.
The Cat’s Meow
According to PetWorks, the phrase “the cat’s meow” originated in the 1920’s and is attributed to American cartoonist Thomas A. Dorgan, aka Tad Dorgan. He was known for coining many slang expressions that became popular during the Roaring Twenties, including “the cat’s pajamas,” “the bee’s knees,” which was a playful way of saying something was top-notch or trendy.
How I Made this Portrait: I photographed Pam Simpson in her cat homage in the guest bedroom of my Daisy Hill Home. Lighting was provided by single Paul C Buff DigiBee monolight along with the available light from two windows in the room; one faced South and the other faces Southwest. This combination of light sources generated broad soft lighting but also producing relatively slow shutter speeds with a corresponding less-that-sharp image. The camera used was a Panasonic Lumix GH4 and a Lumix G Vario 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 (at 30mm) with a Manual mode exposure of 1/25 sec at f/5.3 and ISO 200.
I created this image of Pam during our seventeenth shoot that was four years years after our initial shoot. I still remember the exact second when photographing her that I clicked the shutter and realized that every one of the images we were making would be great! That level of excellence continued over the 13 years that Pam and I worked together and I, hopefully, have a shoot with the now-brunette Pam in May!.
Cats in History: The first historical record of cats was during the ancient Egyptian civilization. We seem to associate cats with Egyptians because of their adoration and worship of cats as gods. During the First Dynasty, Mafdet was the first known cat deity and was regarded as a guardian against snakes, scorpions, and evil, therefore cats were not only deities but also our protectors.
What’s with all the cat references? That’s because today is National Cat Lady Day and if you own–I don’t thing anyone “owns”–a cat; it may be the other way round. You already know there isn’t a day that goes by when you don’t celebrate your animal companion! They bring you joy, but that’s not all. Pets not only steal our hearts but also help to improve general cardiovascular health by lowering cortisol, cholesterol, and blood pressure.
One 1983 study discovered that pet owners scored higher than non-owners on social sensitivity and interpersonal trust, however, there was no appreciable difference between dog and cat owners.
My book Joe Farace’s Glamour Photography is full of tips, tools and techniques for glamour and boudoir photography and includes information on all of the cameras used as well as the complete exposure data for each image. New copies are available for $28.56 with used books starting around twelve bucks.as I write this. The Kindle version is $19.99 for those preferring a digital forma