I can’t believe the first six months of 2023 have already gone by. Here we are the first day of July. The cats, of course, pay no mind to the passage of time. Everything and every day is always new to them.
In the summer they like to congregate around one corner of the lanai to look at … something. Whatever it is, it has their complete attention. I was able to walk up with a camera and take this photo of four of the six. They are, from left to right, Danï, Zoë, Joan, and Beau (who appears to be their leader). Joan is hidden by Beau, lying next to her kitten Zoë. It’s always fun to see how the cats congregate, with the two dilute Torties hanging together and the four Gingers in a group by themselves. They when it’s time to be fed, they break up three and three, with the three “kittens” eating together and the three “adults” eating together in a different area. Or else Danï and Zoë will sleep together, Joan and Beau sleep together, while Nicholas and Luke are off independent. And when they decide to play, they’re all mixed in and playing hard.
Camera
Panasonic Lumix GH4 with M.Zuiko 12-100mm/4 PRO zoom.
Playing around with an older camera with a macro lens used wide open and as a short telephoto. Beauregard is part of the first pair of kittens I ever adopted (his brother is, of course, Luke). They were both twelve weeks before I could get them into the house. The year they were born (2015) I had to travel to Japan in December to support a military training exercise. After two-and-a-half weeks overseas I came back to celebrate Christmas. When the first of January finally arrived I picked up the little critters.
They came to be known as the Ginger Snaps, a nod to Scalzi’s two gray Mackerel tabbies he’d named the Scamperbeasts, a.k.a. Sugar and Spice. Luke and Beauregard were the first of the second generation of cats to come live in this house.
They are both the elder cats now, and both act interchangeably as the alpha male (Beauregard was born two hours after Luke in a litter of five). They like to eat, sleep, and get scritches on demand, though not necessarily in that order. They like to find places to park so that they can watch what Dad does around the house. The house is big enough (especially with the screen enclosed lanai) with plenty of cat furniture (trees, cloth tunnels, scratch pads and posts) to keep them happy and provide them with exercise. So far the only chonky cat is Luke, who is a good fourteen pounds trying his dead level best to add even more. It’s too bad his human dad and mom won’t let him.
Beauregard, on the other hand, is a svelte twelve pounds. They both eat the same food (a non-prescription low-ash urinary dry food). And they both get lots of attentions from their humans. You would think that both Gingersnaps would have a weight problem, but Luke is the only one so far.
Camera
I’ve been reading about using old cameras (old defined as at least ten years old). As it so happens I own a number of old digital cameras, one of which was used today. It’s the Panasonic GH4, released May 2014. A digital mirrorless camera over nine years old. I picked up my copy on very heavy discount from B&H Photo and Video out of New York back in 2017, the year the GH5 was released. Although I thought of using it for its video features, I’ve only used it as a stills camera, such as today.
The lens on the front is the Panasonic Lumix 30mm/2.8 macro lens, introduced in 2015. I purchased it because it has built-in lens stabilization, making it the perfect walk-around lens for the GH4, which does not have in-body image stabilization. I’ve used the 30mm across all my micro four thirds cameras, and it’s performance has always been top notch. I purchased it on heavy discount as well from the same company mentioned earlier.
I like the GH4 because of its all-magnesium heft and the quality of the images it still produces.
Radarwitch
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