Video of Beautiful Dark Oriental Shorthair
In this video, the Flicks are seen photographing a beautiful, slender show cat with a gorgeously dark and unusual coat. The Flicks work as a team. Helmi carries the camera, Ken does the rest, including, importantly, the lighting and set up. As far as I remember (if was years ago), the location is a cat show in Oklahoma.
There is no music so you can both hear what is spoken and see how the Flicks work. The cat’s breeder or handler is on hand to help position this sweet looking cat, which, of course, is a quality purebred, pedigree cat. The photo session requires three people to get the cat in the correct position for that fleeting moment when the composition and expression is aesthetically pleasing.
I have forgotten (again!) but as I see it, the cat is a black calico or tortie Oriental Shorthair that has not been bred to extreme (which makes his or her appearance so much nicer). The reason why I have made this assessment is because the cat is slender, has large ears, has a some ginger fur on her back and some white fur on her nose. Most of the coat is black with some white fur scattered amongst it.
The mobile, photographic studio, set up is in a room adjacent to the show hall, which is a large industrial type arena. It is pleasant enough but sparse until the cats arrive.
So what do you think? The Flicks are very professional. The photos are fantastic. The lighting, by Ken Flick, is excellent. Personally, I’d like to see handling of the cat that is slightly more gentle. However, I understand that a photograph has to be captured within a tight time frame and cats are not going to cooperate unless you give them a damn good reason.
However, I must remind myself that everything to do with show cats is a product of humankind. The whole thing is about us. The cats are players but it is our show.
Nice video. I love the markings on the cat. Lovey thing.
Michael,thanks for the excellent video and educating us on the method of professional photography of cats.Honestly, this “Oriental Shorthair” that is a prized show cat resembles the numerous common cats found in our Worli fish market in Mumbai, the same slender built and tortoise-shell markings. This proves the fact that “PEDIGREE CERTIFICATION” from a registered “Cat Society” is very important to authenticate the pedigree of a cat.I could easily photograph a common cat picked from the market place as a “pedigree shorthair Oriental” and fool a buyer if a professional ruthless breeder.Same applies to the “Bombay cat” , a jet black cat that resembles the common black cat commonly found on streets .Sadly, India doesn’t have a single registered cat club and hence all our cats are just pets and could never be exhibited in “Cat shows”. A big thank you to the Flicks for photographing such beautiful cat pictures and “P.O.C” for displaying the same .
Absolutely, you’ll see some very attractive moggies that could be a purebred pedigree cats. One thing that breeders do is to try and make their breed different to all other breeds (common sense) and in doing so the purebred does tend to look what breeders call “refined”. However some breeds are not extreme in their build so the distinction between purebred and moggie can be blurred.
It’s a very interesting and complicated process and they do it very well. It is strange though to see a cat being treated and manhandled as an object of our entertainment. That’s what it is really. I am not so sure what it is like at a cat show andf I am not convinced that all the cats’ handle the process so well. I’m sure some do but I would suspect that is because are used to going to shows and have surrendered. I have heard people say their cats’ love to go to shows or be dressed up but I question it. I don’t doubt that it’s possible and in some instances true but I think it’s highly unusual.
Having said all this the Flicks do an incredible job. I have never seen so many amazing sharp photos of different kinds of cats. It’s a posed and setup context, not natural, but the photos are works of art nonetheless. It’s nice to see them from behind the camera so to speak.
The cats I have seen are generally used to being at cat shows and travelling, so are fairly relaxed. That said they are held in cages with curtains and blankets to hide under. Some are frightened. There is a lot of manhandling and a fleeting instant when the picture is captured with strobe lights (flash), which freezes motion to get those smart poses. Each cat gets about 10 minutes. More than that and the cat grows tired (and the humans). The passive cats – Persians etc. – just lie down and Helmi gets a shot of the cat lying down 😉 The better cats are more active like Bengals and Abyssinians and Orientals.