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 corollary to my last “Things I Like” post back in March, regarding calligraphy. I have been keeping up with it, putting in at least one hour of writing every day – calligraphy is such an easy procrastinating device! – that I have gotten much, much better since my first post. I have miles to go before my hand looks strong and sure, and it will be some time more before I feel like I have my own style, but nevertheless I’m feeling confident enough now to offer my hand-lettering services to couples planning a wedding, without too much fear that anyone will laugh in my face.

In fact I have a few couples for whom I’m slated to do some calligraphy work. Some are couples whose wedding I’m photographing, and some are not! There will be menus to write on chalkboard, dessert cards for dessert tables, and even hand-drawn cat and dog portraitures (more on that later). Really, any little bit of writing makes me SO HAPPY.

I always knew I would love calligraphy, if I would just sit down and do it! Why I never did until now, I’ll never know. Well, I’m off and skipping and hopping down this path now, and I hope to talk about my calligraphy progress some more on this blog, as well as my inspiration, so I hope you don’t mind if the topics diverge occasionally from that of pet photography!

Here are some samples of fictitious addresses that I had a grand time concocting. (Except for Edward Gorey. He’s real and his illustrations are another source of inspiration.) My stock pile of Crane’s stationery is finally being put to good use. And yes, Jane Austen et al. are totally #1 on the list of Things I Like. I kind of localized all the characters. It is not hard to picture Emma Woodhouse as a Connecticut-suburb kind of gal, or that Rochester might be found brooding away in the bayous of Louisiana…

So if you or anyone you know is looking for calligraphy needs, and you don’t think I stink, let me know! My fingers are itching to write.

At the beginning of March Dan and I traveled to Seattle, WA for a couple of days to meet my friend S., after many false attempts to meet before. As the person to give me my first paid photography gig, I call her my Patroness of the Arts. It all started one afternoon I was having a particularly un-fun day at work, and I randomly said to her, Girl. Sigh. I want to be a photographer. This was summer 2008, a few months after I had declared to myself that I wanted to Become a Photographer, but still had no idea what kind, much less how to go about becoming one. She was the first person aside from my husband who I had said this outloud to. And her response to what was really an offhand remark was to mail me boxes upon boxes of yarn…not for me to knit, but for me to photograph. For the last several years S. has been running her own business as a purveyor of fine hand-dyed yarns – yarn she dyes herself, full-time (there is a market for everything!!) – and her business was growing so rapidly that doing things like photographing your own wares was becoming a pain. And, she didn’t feel she was doing it well anyway, so she asked if I would do it, and to charge her for it. I had my little Nikon D50 then, used a tripod, taped a large sheet of white paper against the wall and over a small table, and snapped away!

Boxes of yarn were dropped at the door each week, with sparkling new colors and yarn types to photograph, process, and post to the web. She gave me license to come up with skein “poses.” I wuz in heaven.

Then one day S. emailed me and said, “I’m getting my puppy Augustus professionally photographed today!” I pictured her poor dog being coerced into a wicker basket in front of some garish studio backdrop, and I might have laughed and mocked her. But she was not shamed. She knew what she was getting. A week later she sent me previews from the shoot. My pupils dilated. I went bananas. Lost my mind. Ran around in circles and puked in a corner, my reaction was so severe. I had no idea that “pet photography” could be this way, and it was an instant eureka moment of I WANT TO DO THAT/CAN DO THAT/MUST DO THAT. I was on year 6? 7? of our annual Bunny & Veebs cat calendar, done for my own amusement, and though the photos were deemed by family members as “artsy,” I simply took that as, “You photograph them from funny angles.” I never thought others would want their pets photographed in this way – candidly, at home, in their element, beautifully – but as soon as I saw Erin Vey’s photos it seemed so freaking obvious.

A few months prior I had declared to myself I wanted to become a photographer, but didn’t know What or How. Three months later, thanks to my Patroness of the Arts and Augustus, I knew the what, and could begin the process of the how.

After all that it was so great to finally meet her and Augustus in person. We sat around her house in lovely Seattle eating and discussing ideas for my business, her business. And of course there was a lot of photographing of critters – 4 cats and 2 dogs, one of which was a new CKC puppy for Augustus to play with. They will all make an appearance soon, but first up is Augustus, now at 2 years old. He is such a handsome dog with such a handsome personality. I think this might officially be my favorite breed. It was spring time already in early March, sakura blossoms and camellias were out in full force. It was almost too much!

BEHIND THE SCENES. Sort of.
We took Augustus out for a couple of walks while his mom made some business calls. Dan has never owned a dog. I think he looks really, really good walking a dog, which means we must get one.

More critters from Seattle to come!

I love pens. I love paper. I doodle non-stop. Dan yells at me because I’ll absently doodle on bills if it and a pen are within reach. Even with Google docs or Google calendar or whatever electronic tools that are available out there to keep organized, I still keep a very paper-based system of note-taking, just so I can write.

I’ve always wanted to try calligraphy ever since jr. high but like so many other interests I thought I had, I never got past just dabbling here and there. Same with photography. A steady attention span has never been my forte. I’ve been dabbling with photography forever it seems, and it was only a couple of years ago that I decided to step it up. So I’ve decided I’d like to step up my calligraphy skills as well, and quit saying it’s something I would like to do without doing it. I really don’t have any skills to begin with, aside from a penchant to just scribble.

I’ve had this pen, nib and ink set that I got eons ago in Florence, Italy. I used it the other day for the very first time. I love the way the ink smells, like moist soil in a dark forest, the noise the nib makes as it scratches across the paper’s surface, how the ink sprays if I bear down too hard. And how much the whole process hurts my hand.

This is a work in progress! So far I like writing S’s and lower case f’s the best. I am horrible at lower case a’s and n’s. Lots to practice, but I’m so enjoying the process.

Bunny, in the tub, where he’s drawn a bubble bath for two…

VanBuren, in the boudoir, where a neck massage awaits…

Happy Valentine’s Day!

OH and Happy Chinese New Year too!

I’ll be the first to admit it: I am horrible at displaying prints. I take and take and take photographs and then I take some more…and at the end of the day I don’t know what to do with so many photos. Album or scrapbook? Desk or wall frames? Which ones, in what order and on which wall? I can’t make up my mind so as a result, many of my photos either pile up in a shoebox or in a hard drive, so sad and all alone. If only I had a little direction to help me organize and display my photos so that they receive the respect they deserve! Because what is the point of taking all these photos when you’re not going to showcase them properly?

Enter The Back Bay Framery, Boston’s premier fine-art framer.

I love supporting local vendors and working with great people, so it is with great excitement and glee that I announce a Fat Orange Cat Studio promotion with The Back Bay Framery, to help you turn your important photos into beautifully framed works of art, ready to be showcased in your home!

When you book a session with me and order prints, bring those print in to The Back Bay Framery and receive 15% off all display products and services! This runs the gamut from desktop picture frames to handcrafted scrapbooks to leather albums – and even custom framing.

There are a lot of beautiful products to choose from, and Kerrie, the owner of The Back Bay Framery, is on hand to help. She has been serving Boston’s custom framing needs since 1998, and because of her wonderful service, hands-on approach, and solidly crafted products, her business has flourished, winning the venerable Best of Boston award several times. I am finally getting a few important pieces custom framed, and Kerrie has been wonderful to work with.

If you visit her store now, you’ll see a rather lavish display of my pet photos at the front of the store…

So giddy to see my photos so beautifully framed! No, these are not your IKEA or Crate + Barrel frames, for sure.

Kerrie runs The Back Bay Framery with the help of her lovely assistants, Sadie Lou and Spike (the Yorkie mix). All three may greet you at the door.

So! If (1) You’re in the Boston area, (2) have a dog or a cat / or want yourselves photographed, (3) contact me to schedule a shoot, (4) order prints, (5) head over to The Back Bay Framery, (6) consult with Kerrie to get them beautifully displayed and (7) receive 15% off your order. Now you have no reason not to have your photographs properly showcased.

The Back Bay Framery
227 Newbury Street in Boston
Between Fairfield and Exeter Street

And tell Kerrie that Fat Orange Cat Studio sent you!