The Kitty Cat Diary is all about the the spirit of casual fun between a photographer and a willing subject in everyday life, and I usually enjoy these sporatic little sessions more than the professional sessions. This is essentially Elena through my eyes, just being herself in daily life.
When I take photos like these, I'm usually not as concerned about photography technique, and just try to capture her during the moment. Since these shots are meant to be totally casual, I often just use a hotshoe fill-flash and available lighting. Sometimes I might grab a small reflector if I feel it'll be a better look than the cooler color temperature of the flash. I'm not a fan of blasting the flash so that it completely flattens the photo with a harsh pale light, so I use flash very sparingly--typically -2 exposure compensation, bounced off the wall/ceiling for a very natural look.
So why Kitty Cat? Because my nickname for her is "Mau-Mi," Chinese for kitty cat. So, this is the Kitty Cat visual diary--of my dorky and adorable wife. If you're curious about who Kitty Cat is, you can read her bio to find out more, or you can read about how we met (scroll down about 2/3 of the page). Obviously, Elena is the most important person in my life, and she's truly a joy to be around, not to mention a great subject to photograph. She keeps a blog of her own (她的中文部落格), but it's in Chinese only (although you can look at the photos she takes there even if you don't read Chinese). If you want to get to know her better, it's best to find out directly from the cat's mouth, so to speak.
All entries in this section were shot with the Canon 1D Mark II, unless specified otherwise.
Kitty Cat Diary - 2008
2001-2003 -- 2004 -- 2005 -- 2006 -- 2007 -- 2008
April
Life's been very hectic for the past several months, so there were no Kitty Cat Diary entries. Then Kitty Cat went back to China for a couple of months and made the stretch between entries even longer. When spring came around the corner, we realized that she had so many clothes she's never actually worn since they were purchased, so we decided to at least take some photos of them instead of having them go to waste. We also joked that she's going to reach the age where it would no longer be appropriate for us to continue the Kitty Cat Diary, so we better post more before we run out of time. (She's currently 37. Just three more years until the big 40!)
What's with the current baby doll trend? The entire fashion industry has been taken over by baby doll designs and you are left with no other choices (believe me, we searched everywhere). I really hate it when a trend takes over the entire fashion industry, because if you are not a fan of the trend, you'd have to wait a couple of years before you can find clothes you liked again. The problem with the baby doll design is that it has no waist at all, and majority of them look more like maternity dresses--not exactly flattering. We managed to find a few that weren't so bad, but in general I think the baby doll design should be used in moderation.
Kitty Cat was in the mood to acquire some sensual attire, so it was my job to pick out some outfits for her. I'm not a fan of blatant trashiness, so I went for outfits that were more on the sensual and cute side, as opposed to "street corner style."
