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

10 years ago this very Mother’s Day, my mom flew from Atlanta to visit me in my first grown-up apartment just outside of Boston. After I picked her up from the airport, I drove 30 miles out straight to Buddy Dog Humane Society to take home a pair of brothers: one named Sam with the funny tail, the other named Pumpkin with the patch on his arm.

My mom spent most of Mother’s Day cleaning the vomit and watery poo off of Sam’s wiggly body. Happy Mother’s Day!

Two new cats and high-waisted jeans in my first apartment

Pumpkin, now VanBuren, falling asleep while playing 10 years ago.

VanBuren today, just slightly more distinguished.

Sam, now Baxter, sitting for his first portrait, 10 years ago:

Baxter, 123189345982 million portraits later:

Baxter and VanBuren were the first things Dan and I ever owned jointly, even though we weren’t living together at the time. The cats stayed with me. It turned out Dan was quite allergic to cats. It turns out their maniacal shedding happens year-round. They were here to stay though, so either Dan becomes not allergic to them, or we break up, take your pick.

We didn’t break up, but Dan is still allergic to them. Oh the price was pay for LOVE.

We had actually intended to adopt these other brothers at the shelter who had been there a very long time. They were long-haired versions of B and VB, named Oreo and Elvis. After the second visit to the shelter, we noticed the short-haired brothers, who had also already been there for some time – 6 months! As I approached, the plump orange one smeared himself back and forth so hard against the cage that the bars rattled. His open display of violent affection was very effective. I had never met a friendlier cat in my life! I changed my mind on the spot and decided I would take them home, even as his green-eyed brother remained in the back unmoving, with his trademark disdainful look which he still gives us today.

It turns out that he’s the biggest lap cat. He cannot WAIT to sit in your lap.

And VanBuren cannot wait for more roast beef. Tuna is good too. Today we’re giving them a little extra of both, plus some good old-fashioned cat treats. And then we’re going to write another special song for them, to add to our collection of 15 or so special songs already written.

Look how photogenic they are, even from this angle! How many film photos of them do I have sitting in a shoebox, and how many digital photos of them to have burned to disk? TOO MANY and yet NOT ENOUGH. In a few hours I will have the privilege of doing a pet shoot for another pet lover, and it’s because for the past 10 years I have been unknowingly gearing myself towards this goal. Fat Orange Cat Studio would not exist right now without Baxter and VanBuren who gave me the obsessive need to document them from every. conceivable. angle.

Here’s to another 10 (maybe more??) years!

Hopefully by then prices in pet cloning will have gone way down.

…we are gathered here today…in the face of Underdog…to join this Baxter and this VanBuren…in unholy catrimony.

Bahaha.

Real wedding is tomorrow. I’m ready. I think.

One of the reasons I like photographing animals so much is that they are blissfully unaware of the camera (usually). They’re doing everything except worrying about a good side versus a bad side, or how much should I smile or does my hair look OK. So it was with some slight trepidation when I agreed to shoot a wedding for this weekend. It’s a rite of passage! Hold me! Lean in for a kiss!

Honestly, I don’t know the first thing about posing, unless it’s to dangle a toy mouse above your head so that you’ll raise your arm in that pretty, dainty way. So brides, if you respond well to high-pitched meows, and want photos of yourself and your party swiping at toys or looking longingly at dog treats, then I’m the girl for you. Otherwise, be prepared for some seriously weird poses.

The couple assured me they were all about the candids. So I breathed a small sigh of relief, agreed to do their wedding, and headed over to Calumet to rent a telephoto lens. To capture those non-posed moments from afar. I gave myself a week to practice with it.

This is a 80-200mm f/2.8 lens. I wanted the “legendary” 70-200mm lens which has vibration reduction, but it was out. Not that it matters anyway. They’re both the same size/weight. That of a MONSTER’s.

Shooting with this lens was like shooting with a bus. After 10 minutes I felt I had been run over by one. It was 7 lbs of top-heaviness. I extended my left arm out to support the lens at its end. The camera shake was insane. I planted my feet far apart to steady myself. I stopped breathing. It didn’t help. My core did get a nice workout though. I brought my elbows in to steady my arms against my body, which was a little better, until my neck, back, shoulders, forearms, wrists all threw up from the pain.

How do wedding photographers manage this thing? I’ve decided not to use it. I rented it to be able to capture more candid shots at the wedding, but if they’re all going to be blurry, then the point is nil.

So after 30 minutes of bodily pain and really horrid shots, the best I came up with were these of the boys while I was clear across the room. VanBuren wanna be starting something.

We bring you the first in a series called “Bunny vs. Veebs.” It’s always a competition between them for one thing or another, and so today we ask, WHO is the best chop-licker? After a round of treats, we’re ready to begin.

First up, Bunny:

My God he’s killing me with the black specks on either side of mouth. A mouth that is shaped like the world’s most ADORABLE PENTAGON. Veebs is going to have to seriously bring it if he wants to win.

You may begin:

Veebs! “I see your black specks and raise you a CRINKLED NOSE!” Well played sir. Well played.

And the winner is….

????!?

I’m over-thinking it. Everything. I got my first check a few months ago, and after the excitement of seeing “FOC Studio” on the check passed, I wanted to tear it to shreds because I was sure the customer actually hated my prints and regretted hiring me. I came to this conclusion when her email did not include enough exclamation points. She “loved” the prints, which is not the same as “OMG SQUEEE LOVED!!!!” the prints.

All of these junior high school emotional theatrics is exhausting and highly annoying, especially to Dan who has to talk me down from a ledge over other day. A very small ledge though, maybe only about yea-high, but a ledge nonetheless.

For now I’ll cut myself some slack since this is all brand-new to me, and soon enough I’ll be able to navigate my way through it. I know I will. Although there are many unseen roadblocks coming, nothing was ever a bigger roadblock than not knowing my true passion in life. So really, I’m already a million steps ahead than where I was. It feels SO. GOOD.

Anyway. Here are some photos I took today of Veebs as I was waiting for lunch to heat up. Veebs was hanging out on the butcher block table (hate it when he does this but what can you do, cats always get their way), I bent down to scratch my ankle and when I looked up, the sun was in my eyes. I slowly stood up until Veeb’s head blocked the light, and his ears became pointy little silhouettes, outlined in gold. And then I knew what time it was. It was lens flare time!

I call this “VanBuren Cat, Superstar”

This one is “Sunrise Over Ayers Rock”

If God were a cat, this is what we would see if we tried to look Him in the face (apologies for the sacrilege).

Now my eyes really hurt.