Li Ward photographer of pets and weddings. Fat Orange Cat Studio is a fresh and candid boutique photography service in Boston, Massachusetts.

I have a queue of felines lining up to have their moment in the internet sun, so without further ado, here is Emma, the lovely emerald-eyed matriarch of a family of two humans, three cats, and one puppy (Logan!).

This is what Emma’s mom Jean has to say about her:
Emma is my first cat (11 years old) and is very special. She’s a dark gray tabby with green eyes. She’s a bit more standoffish than the others, but that’s just a facade. She’s actually the most codependent of the 3. She is extremely smart (trouble!) and gets into things. I can’t really explain what it is about her that I love best!

She may not know what it is about Emma that she loves best (if it were up to me, I’d say Those Eyes!) but off camera, Jean told me she does love her best. We all try to appear unbiased and diplomatic, but let’s not p-foot around the issue here and call a spade a spade. We all have our favorites. Favorite color, favorite aunt, favorite cocktail, favorite method of social networking…There’s a reason my business is Fat Orange Cat Studio and not Skinny Grey Tabby Cat with the Truncated Tail Studio (Baxter does have a truncated tail, all crunchy and occasionally troublesome, remind me to show you). It is true: My choice is Veebs, and Jean’s is Emma.

So much of a favorite is Emma that there are bed linens that match the cat’s coloring. It was a deliberate, calculated move. As a fellow member of the Crazy Cat Lady Club of North America, I appreciate her choice of decor inspiration very much.

“Ha ha. I’m so pretty.”

“Unbearably pretty.”

“But I never complain.”

Emma is not only an elegant and proper cat, she is also extremely…well-trained.

Jean busted out the treats, commanded Emma to “sit!” and lo and behold. She sat. The seas parted. I freaked. She sat! On command! A cat! did this. All three of her cats in fact. Spooky!

“Lower, please.”

Jean says cats are trainable when a reward is involved, just as dogs. Not to discredit her – I mean I SAW THREE CATS SIT ON COMMAND – but I highly doubt Veebs or even Baxter is smart (or dumb?) enough to be trained. True, Veebs who will do just about anything for roast beef. But getting him to sit for roast beef won’t work, because as you’re getting ready to make a sandwich, he’s already planted himself next to you on his fat bottom. Waiting. He’s three steps ahead of you.

So for roast beef can I get Veebs to roll over? Shake hands? Stop molesting the carpet?? Use the toilet??? Do the accounting????

“Pfffth. Get real.”

No, no one’s as smart, or as pretty, as Emma.

“Going for a nap now. Please make sure the puppy’s not here when I return kthx.”

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HARRIET is an English Pointer/carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting who would not look at the camera.

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SIMON is a German Shorthaired Pointer/chocolate cupcake with butterceam frosting who was not aware of the camera.

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MADISON is a Labrador/vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting who couldn’t get enough of the camera.

Harriet, Simon and Madison are already well-known in the area, each having their own cupcake alter egos at the South End Buttery, my favorite neighborhood coffee shop. When we sold our house in the burbs and moved here nearly 2 years ago, we spent our first weekend as city dwellers hanging out at the Buttery, drinking iced coffee, eating cupcakes and reading the last installment of Harry Potter. It was a perfect, PERFECT summer’s afternoon. The bakery sits at the end of Union Park, with its English layout of 1860 bow-front row houses enclosing a small park gurgling with water fountains. I sat there that summer pinching myself between mouthfuls of cupcake (the Simon is Dan’s favorite, Madison is mine). Because after we were done eating, all we’d have to do to get home was to walk. No cars, no traffic, no rushing to catch the commuter train. Just a short, leisurely walk past the fountains, the brick row house after brick house, the front steps of which are each flanked by lovely wrought-iron curliques.

I love living here.

FYI here is a short NY Times piece from 2006 about the South End. There’s a fly-by mention of the Buttery, with Simon  misidentified as a chocolate Lab. I did the same thing, oops! It’s just short of a glowing article because of the unnecessary snark. But whatever. The author’s secretly jealous that she doesn’t live here ;)

I am so behind. My parents came for a visit here last weekend for 4 days, and it threw my entire schedule off course. Blew it off course in a very nice way though, as we played Wii tennis, ate out frequently, roamed around Boston…and convinced them to buy me Stuff. It is always fun when you get your parents to buy you stuff, even though you’re plenty old and capable enough to do it yourself. Heh.

But now, back to the business at hand. I just completed a shoot on Friday with a very special client, and I am so excited about the results that I am going to preempt a post about the 3 South End dogs I shot 2 weeks ago. I’m going to talk about Logan instead, the teeny tiny puppy with big dreams and even bigger, watery eyes! I want to eat those eyes, is that gross?  We had rescheduled from the previous week because of dreary, sad weather. Not that we had planned to shoot outside anyway, with Logan at only 5 weeks of age , but I am so glad we did reschedule. The weather this past Friday was beautiful, sunny and warm, and the lighting they received in the house was AWESOME.

Except for a bit of sharpening, this shot is straight out of the camera:

Logan is a pointer, and is 6 weeks old. And what is it that makes him so special, aside from being the Number One Cutest Puppy in All of the World?

Here is his story, as told by his mom, Jean:

ETA: Below are photos of Logan as a wee thing, being tube and then bottle-fed at the vet. Photos are taken by his mom.

Caring individuals gave Logan a second chance, and look what he’s doing now. He’s rewarding their perseverance and love with healthy energy, happy puppy growls, and BIG BLUE BABY EYES! What a difference a few weeks make…

Hmm or are they green? Grey? I could have sworn they were a light blue in person. They kept shifting in the light.

Chewing on furniture and tugging at blankets are usually a no-no…unless of course it is done for the sake of Art.

Logan was at the Pawsh event last week, his first outing ever, and came home with a lobster toy that is right now bigger than he is. But soon enough Logan’s teeth will show that lobster who’s boss. He’s already a lot bigger now than he was a week ago!

Logan gets to spend his second chance at life with 3 new feline sisters, who are still not quite sure what to make of this new family member. Here is Logan being quasi-stalked by Casey (so many great shots of the photogenic cats, that they’ll each get their own posts!).

The window in front of the stairs was very little but the result was this lovely, filtered spotlight that was so great to photograph in. I could have just shot here all day.

Even the roof of his mouth is adorable. Logan works hard, 24-7, to be this cute!

I do think this was my best shoot so far. Not only because of the great lighting, beautiful furry models, the awesome parents (although all of those factors really helped), but because this was probably the first time I felt completely…at ease. Comfortable. There is always an element of shaky confidence before I start a shoot, a burst of adrenaline rushing through that makes my brain wonder, And what do you think you’re DOING?! But no case of the head crazies this time. Not that I don’t believe it won’t happen again the next time. I’m shooting a couple of horses next month, and yes I think I might freak a little beforehand. But those moments of zen I had were refreshing, the clarity and calm felt amazing, and I’m looking forward to the day when that will happen more often than not.

So many, many thanks to Jean and Rich for the honor of photographing their very special little guy. I’ll be checking in with them in a few months to document Logan’s awkward tween stage, heh. I’ll be sad to see him shed his puppihood but will be excited to watch him grow!

South End dogs coming up next…

Last night’s party at Pawsh Dog Boutique in the Back Bay was a roaring (growling? snarling?) success. I really wanted to peek my head into one of the psychic readings that was going on downstairs, but I was busy photographing pretty much the whole time, and before I knew it, the party was over. I unfused my hand, now misshapen into permanent claw, from the camera. OW. Mike and Nancy did an awesome job with the PR (the local news and a photog from the Herald was at hand, taking photos of me taking photos. She had a 70-200mm, recorded voiceover notes into her digital camera, and wore a pair of yellow Wellies. It was pretty hot) that the place was pretty much packed from start to finish.

This blog post is about to packed with photos. Not at all web-optimized. Are. You. Ready.

First up is Balki, who puts the “paw” in Pawsh, kindly modeling me some test shots before the party. They got this awesome RED! pillow just for the photoshoot. It worked great.

A black chair was another option, which I didn’t end up using very much.

Balki looks like he’s about to go marry a stranger after this photoshoot is done. Or go panning for gold.

First customer is Remy! (Pardon me if I don’t spell your names correctly.)

Here’s Ricky:

Charlie!

Look at those anime eyes, all quivering like jelly in the light!

Here is Beana. I was meowing at her to get her attention.

She’s looking particular sharp against that red pillow:

Gus and his silly tongue:

Kepler, taking a little breather after all that dancing:

Meg, who still isn’t sure about that raincoat her mom bought her last month. But I know I like to party!

Bugsy! Those big Cavalier eyes KILL me.

Marta: YAAAH!

With her BFF Penny:

Hee heeee!

Langston here, feeling at least 5 months younger after a nice massage:

Henry, slightly concerned that the flash will wash him out:

Isla, knowing she looks good in any lighting:

Two is better than one. And so, Paco and Ping Ping:

Abby, who is not ready to go home yet:

Cody, most fashion-forward of the evening:

Yeah uh huh that’s right. Shake that groove thing.

And last but not least, Jade, who responded very well to the word “pizza.”

And that’s a wrap! Hope everyone enjoyed their photos (hi CALL ME if you want more, a-wink wink), and thanks Mike, Nancy and Balki for throwing such a great party!

Next up: three lovely dogs from the South End. But first, the parents are visiting. Seems like a good time to finally scrape that cat vomit off the floor…