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

Dan’s four favorite photos of 2009

From top:
Bunny Green Eyes: Dan says this photo is “simple, striking, and of a Bunny.” Bunny is Dan’s favorite cat so this selection is of no surprise. However, I’m not really crazy about this photo! Bunny looks in need of an exorcism. Dan keeps asking me to place it as the very first image in my portfolio, but I will never do it because we are about fresh and candid, not fresh and evil.

The Buttery Dogs: Madison, Harriet and Simon, from March 2009.
I asked why Dan liked this one, and he says, “This was hardest shots to get of all the clients you’ve had, and the payoff was awesome.”  I get the most comments from this photo that are usually along the lines of, “How did you get them to pose like that?” The secret: I didn’t. They chose this pose all by themselves! (Many, many thanks to owner Richard Gordon for encouraging me to hang my prints in his cafe-bistro.)

Dasha the 12 week-old French Bulldog, from June 2009.
Dan’s commentary: “I just love it.”

Bella the 11 week-old French Bulldog, from May 2009.
“A most mischievous face.”

Now, my four favorite photos of 2009

From top:
An Airborne Veebs: The fat orange cat is not so very fat that he can’t achieve lift-off. He was helping me practice freezing indoor action shots.  There was so much back and forth jumping between tables, and he did it all with a smile on his face. That’s my Veebs, a real team player.

Clive the Springer, from September 2009
This photo didn’t initially make the initial blogging cut, but then Clive’s owners ordered a large mounted print of it, and seeing it that size made a huge difference! Now it’s one of my very favorites. The stars on the bike, the flowers, the happy puppy – it’s all so fun and fresh!

Logan the 6 week-old Pointer, from April 2009
This was in instant favorite the moment I pressed the shutter. I was already excited we managed to get Logan to sit still alone on the stairs, but when Casey the kitty came into frame, slowly creeping down behind him with a what-IS-that-thing? look on her face, it took all my strength not to go completely bananas.

Kepler the 13 year-old Weimaraner, from November 2009
This beautiful dog was not a client. I was on another shoot in the Public Garden when we noticed him, from a distance, on a walk with his owner. All of us stopped for a moment to watch him stroll by in his wheels, and as they passed I quickly snapped two shots. I saw the Weim again on two other occasions, and suddenly realized I had met him before when photographing Pawsh Boutique’s grand opening event back in April 2009. He didn’t have wheels then, but was having difficulties with his hips. I emailed Mike, the owner of Pawsh, to ask if this was Kepler, and it was. He told me a new set of custom wheels were coming that week, and as a Christmas gift we arranged to have prints made for Kepler’s owner. A few days later, I notified Mike to tell him the prints we on their way…and he told me that Kepler had just passed away.

Later I received this message from his owner: I wanted to thank you for capturing these beautiful images of Kepler. It’s easy to love Kepler, he’s my best friend and he never once, through all of his injuries, gave up….both as a dog and a friend.

It may seem a little sad to end the new year on that note, but my intention is really quite the opposite. The photo of Kepler illustrates why I love photography and why I love our pets so much. Given the chance to flourish they will reward you in spades. And as pet lovers we will go to great lengths to keep our animals with us happy, healthy and if we can, a little bit longer.

So it has truly been a joy and a privilege capturing these kinds of moments and making them last. Just a little bit longer.

Thank you so much for all of your support in my first year of business, and to all the critters who’ve made the job so rewarding and fun. See you in 2010…

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of photographing my first Olde English Bulldog. His name is Mason and he lives with his parents in a fabulous loft in the South End. I love being able to walk to my shoots, and am thankful I get to do that, or take public transportation, for the majority of my gigs. We have no dedicated parking space, therefore no car, and plan on keeping it that way for awhile! It snowed this weekend, and guess who wasn’t shoveling out their car but inside playing a cozy hour or two of Super Mario Bros Wii instead?

For most of my sessions, I usually shoot in at least two locations. We start indoors at home before heading somewhere nearby outside – in the yard, if there is one, or just out and about in the neighborhood. For the sake of variety and all that. The exercise is a nice bonus. However on this day, variety took a backseat as it was really bitterly cold and windy outside. We didn’t stray too far from the pretty Christmas tree or the funky shag carpet, which was fine by me because the tall windows in the loft provided some really beautiful diffused light. And anyway being indoors didn’t stop Mason from stretching his limbs as if he were at the dog park. I loved this guy! Full of spirit and looking so handsome and stout in front of the camera.

Happy holidays Mason – I hope everything you wished for is under that tree! Or the table.

{Photos by Lisa Rigby Photography}

Yesterday was my birthday. I got a photo shoot to commemorate the day with my favorite guy (Dan) in my favorite place (a colonial burying ground) in my favorite city (Boston! So happy I get to live here!) with my favorite photographer (the wonderful Lisa Rigby, who has already sent me a whole slew of previews from yesterday that has made Dan and me squeal like little girls.)

It was nice being in front of the camera for once. I had a wonderful day.

ETA: More photos here on Lisa’s blog :)

The tennis ball was a fabulous assistant on this photo shoot.

Here is the final pet shoot at the Boston Public Garden. This is Gus, or Gus Gus, or Gussy, or He Who Would Not Be Photographed Without His Tennis Ball. He was not interested in treats, or squirrels or sticks or anything you had to say unless it was “GusGusdoyouwanttoplaywiththeball??” Just about every shot I took involved the tennis ball. Even if it’s not in frame, someone is holding it just outside. We used it to get him to sit on the grass, to sit on the docks, to stand up and prop himself against the railing of the docks, everything short of ending world hunger.

His human sisters came with a tennis racket which they used to lob the ball across the park. We started the session with what his sisters thought would be a 5, 10 minutes of rigorous fetch, and then he would tire enough to sit for poses. But lob after lob after lob passed…Gus zipped back and forth like he had a rocket ship tucked under his bottom…nothing was going to slow him down.

The funniest thing about Gus was that even though he was absolutely obsessed with his tennis ball, he still took a moment to graciously look my way as he went running by. Every single time. His sister dubbed it his “glamour glance.” We like the Glamour Glance by Gus!