Helmi Flick Cat Photography

Russian Blue kittens
Russian Blue kittens. Photograph copyright Helmi Flick.

When I first started this website in 2007, Helmi Flick kindly agreed to let me publish her photographs on the site to illustrate the breeds. This helped me tremendously to get the website off the ground. My site helped her too, it has to be said as it was and still is very successful. It was the top ranked site as per Alexa about 2 years after I started it.

She works with her husband Ken. Ken is the cat wrangler while Helmi takes the photographs. Can built a mobile stand which can be assembled on site at cat shows. It is on this intricate stand that the photographs of pedigree cats are taken in a room off the main shadow area.

The lighting is flashlight set up by Ken. Helmi uses a moderate telephoto lens in order to get the right perspective. A telephoto lens helps to compress the image slightly so you get a more appealing image. It basically eliminates any distortion that you might get by being too close to the cat. In short, that it flattens the image.

When I worked with her, she was using Canon cameras and lenses. The section below was written about 12 years ago and I’m not going to change it because it reflects my thoughts at that time.

Since those early days of this website, I have, by necessity, published photographs from other photographers and other sources. But the core photographic material used to illustrate the cat breeds are from Helmi Flick’s camera.

Tonkinese kittens
Tonkinese kittens. Photo copyright Helmi Flick

The following section was written around 2008. It remains valid

Minuet aka Napoleon
Minuet aka Napoleon. Photo: Helmi Flick

I have come to realize that Helmi Flick Cat Photography has become world renown. Please respect her work and don’t copy any of her images from this website for personal use. Please contact her and Ken first if you want to use any of her photographs.

This is her short “Bio”:

“Digital cat photographer. Found this niche in my 50s in May of 2000 and now do it for a living. My husband, Ken, is my lighting guy, cat wrangler, roadie, techie and Business Manager. He is my specialist in photography; I’m the cat specialist.”

So, Helmi and Ken are very much a team. When you think about it, it is obviously essential to have at least 2 people involved in a photo shoot session as cats generally do what they want to do and that’s one of their endearing qualities.

Bengal cat
Bengal cat. Photo copyright Helmi Flick.

The Flick’s have 4 cats. Click on the following link to see all of Ken and Helmi Flick’s cats (new window).

I can only add through my communication with her and Ken that they are not only perhaps the best cat photography team on the world internet (has anyone seen better?), but good people as well. If you want to know a bit more about Helmi and Ken click on this link. Since writing this I have been to their home and visited cats shows with, in fact, worked with them and they are a high professional team.

What makes Helmi Flick Cat Photography so good?

Like every human endeavor that is of fine quality it clearly takes an underlying talent plus bags of effort and commitment. Helmi and Ken have it all. They say success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.

Helmi and Ken’s love of cats is also a vital factor as this shines through in their work.

For me her photographs convey the essence of a cat’s character, appearance and presence through the best lighting, timing and animation that can be achieved, while respecting the cat’s wellbeing.

Click here to read about the photographic technique of Helmi and Ken Flick.

If you’d like to you can see Helmi and Ken Flick at work at a 2-day cat show in Waxahachie, a town about 50 kms south of Dallas, click on this link: Cat show with Ken and Helmi Flick (new widow), which shows the studio being set up. And day one of the show can be seen on this page.

And this link shows the wrangling, image capture and the final product: Cat Photography with Ken and Helmi Flick (new window).

“A rule of thumb I try to live by: if you have a talent: share it; competition, even from those you mentor, is good for society. I believe firmly in sharing what I have learned … Isaac Newton said, “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.” NOT that I think I am an Isaac Newton! But because competition keeps you sharp, on your toes, and trying hard to develop your craft as well as the end product. So, I want to say to those aspiring animal photographers out there that if they get help or assistance from someone, pass it on. Do the same for someone else. The world benefits.”

I’d just like to give a little update on Helmi and Ken’s contribution to this website as at 21st November 2007, about 5 months in to building this website.

Although I have put a lot of effort into this site, Helmi Flick Cat Photography certainly helped in the early days. The website’s success turns to a certain extent on whether the pictures are good, better than all others and they are.

At the risk of repeating myself and having trawled the internet for several months regularly for cat photographs I can categorically say that Helmi Flick Cat Photography is the best worldwide.

Note, that she makes it clear that this is a team effort. Throughout my relationship with her she has responded beautifully and quickly to provide her photographs. This website is for charity and Helmi so graciously wants to help that cause.

We all have are favorite photographs and the same goes for Helmi. She tells me that one of her favorite photographs is a Persian kitten in a bowl reproduced here.

Persian in a bowl
Persian in a bowl. Photo: copyright Helmi Flick.

I have quoted Helmi in the text box above. I can confirm that she lives by her word. As you know I have photographs by Dani Rozeboom on this site as well because she is a fine photographer too (but in a different way). Helmi tells me she thinks Dani is a fine photographer.

Helmi Flick Cat Photography also has an educational element to it. As she photographs primarily for breeders, she has to illustrate the cat to best effect, to bring out all the features and textures. Her photographs are ideal for educational purposes as a result.

That is why I have incorporated her photographs in informational videos at YouTube. They are “plain” unfancy videos designed to give people a quick and easy overview of the cat breed. This is a link to my YouTube Home page(new window).

To the best of my knowledge as at Feb 2022, Helmi remains open to invitations to work internationally. Please contact her direct. And recently (Aug. 2009) Helmi also discusses her photography on her Blogger site: Cats et cetera from Helmi Flick (new window).

12 thoughts on “Helmi Flick Cat Photography”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. M, what has anybody to do with savannahs done to protect the Serval lately? Anythingcome up?

    Love You, Charlie, Shrimp, and All of the others<3<3<3.

    Reply
  3. My kittens are grey with very dark black lines white bellies and the m on their forehead does these mean they are Maine coon cats

    Reply

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