Pets - Thematic Photography

Having just completed the A-Z Challenge with 26 posts about dogs I must try to resist showing more. 

My morning walk continues to be productive for thematic shots.

Tortoiseshell Cat waiting to be petted

It never has to wait long.

Friendly Cat and Dog

The dog, Skye, appeared on the A-Z but as she and the cat get on so well together she deserved to be in the shot.

Even larger pets get pampered in our neighbourhood.

Inca in her coat

We are still getting frost at night so that's why she is all wrapped up in the morning sunshine.

Going back in time our children only had one pet who has appeared on Thematic Photography before. She was the escape artist extraordinaire.

Deirdrie, the hamster

She could hang onto anything - the curtains or

Especially a treat.

We may have had only the one pet but that did not stop us from looking after others.

Hoppity in Andrew's arms

His escapes were more spectacular than Deirdrie's as he could run much faster.

Guinea Pig

Who owned this I do not remember, nor can I recall its name.

It is also so easy for pets to change into pests. After all, it is just a question of an extra 's'.

A pesky squirrel

It's the wild ones that cause all the trouble.

At least it's eating the grass

And the problem with rabbits, tame or otherwise, is that they multiply.

Add caption

I''m not sure what this lot get up to now as they are over 30 years old.

Still if they look out of the window from their perch on top of a wardrobe they can watch another 'pet' feeding itself.

Shooting pets, or pests, can be a lot of fun provided you use a camera. To see what others have done follow the links at Carmi's Thematic-photographic-293.

Pets on Sunday Stamps

I bought two sets of stamps this week from my local market trader. One was the set of George Stubbs paintings featuring dogs - but I will save that for another time. The other set was just right for this week's theme of 'Pets.'

Great Britain

The set commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1990.

Here are the other three that make up the set.

Great Britain

Pick your favourite and guess which one is mine before you check out other pets, including one of the dogs painted by Stubbs, at Viridian's Sunday-Stamps-154.

Shell Shocked - Sepia Saturday

When I saw Alan's prompt this week my first thoughts were of the thousands of servicemen who suffered from shell shock in the First World War but eventually I decided a lighter touch was required.

I don't have a tortoise as a pet and the nearest thing we see, two for the price of one, are:

Two Small Tortoiseshells

You know I like to show photos of dogs but try as I might I could not find one suitable and settled instead for:

Tortoiseshell Cat

(By Rehman Abubakr - CC BY-SA 3.0)

By chance I found out that Horace Walpole (1717-1779) once had a tortoiseshell tabby cat that met an untimely death - it drowned in a goldfish bowl. The poet Thomas Gray, a friend of Walpole, wrote an ode to commemorate the cat which was called Selima. Part of the tribute reads:

Her conscious tail her joy declared;

The fair round face, the snowy beard,

    The velvet of her paws,

Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,

Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes.

     She saw; and purred applause.

However tortoises and turtles have been exploited by man and their shells used in all sort of applications like this:

Tortoiseshell and Silver Snuffbox - early 18th Century

The plaque is stamped with a portrait of Charles I (1625-1649) based on a medal by John Roettiers of about 1670. The Huguenot John Obrisset worked in London between 1705-28 specialising in horn and tortoiseshell. (This photo was taken as part of Britain Loves Wikipedia at the Victoria and Albert Museum in February 2010 by Valerie McGlinchey - CC BY-SA 2.0).

I'm sure that you will be pleased to confirm that no tortoise came to grief for the next picture I have to show:

Jin (Jurchen) Dynasty Tortoise - Temple of Confucius, Qufu

(By Vmenkov - CC BY-SA 3.0,2.5,2.0 and 1.0)

This stele is in the third pavilion (from the east) of the Thirteen Pavilions in the Temple.

This 'fellow,' much smaller in comparison, had been intent on laying eggs in the grass of my daughter's Michigan home last summer. I can confirm that she was returned safely to the swamp from which she came. Oh and she is not a tortoise at all)

Snapping turtle (11inches long)

I hope I haven't shocked you too much with my take on the theme so I'll sign of with a collection of shells.

I just wonder how old these are.

Please don't forget to check out others' interpretations at Sepia-saturday-164

Softness _ Thematic Photography

As we have had snow for over a week snow seemed to me to be the obvious thing to show. I have to admit that my shot is from two years ago but the view from our front door is much the same today.

Snowy Garden

At this time of year when there are no leaves on the trees the branches look anything but soft. Two weeks ago a frosty morning made them look almost fluffy.

Frost Covering

It always surprises me what you can see from your own front door as these 'softened' trees are behind the house on the opposite side of our lane.

Softness always reminds me of when a TV show The Generation Game was all the rage. Contestants were asked to memorise objects passing before them on a conveyor belt.

Cuddly Toys

Which reminds me that macho dogs can be cuddly sometimes.

Duncan and Cameron at ease

But others always get in on the act.

Duncan (or Cameron) and the Cat

However my favourite shot of all is one sent to us by a delegate from Greenland who attended a training course I led in Denmark some years ago.

Softness personified.

For other soft touches I suggest you float over to Carmi at Thematic-photographic-231.