November 2013 – Kat Ku | Modern Dog and Cat Photos. Ann Arbor| Detroit

Monthly Archives: November 2013

Hatfield and McCoy | Ann Arbor, Michigan Pet Photography

I smile to myself as I write this entry because I remember during my pre-session meeting with Kelly and Bill of Affordable Vet Services in Ann Arbor, they were telling me how they got Hatfield and McCoy (Hattie and Mac, for short), and also how they got their names. Based on how they were describing their furkids’ personalities, I remember thinking to myself, Omg, I hope I can photograph these dogs; they sound kind of crazy! I was honestly a little bit worried/apprehensive, but then of course, I met Hattie and Mac, and they were as sweet as could be. :) [There goes my overactive imagination again!]

So to give you a short background on Hattie and Mac: at the time when Kelly and Bill were looking to get another dog, they had a client with an older Foxhound who was very calm and well-behaved. They thought wow, what a great personality, this will be a great breed for us. They adopted Hattie and Mac (sister and brother) from a rescued litter of puppies, and well, it turned out they didn’t quite have the same personalities as the older Foxhound–isn’t that how it usually works? haha Described as loud and obnoxious, with a love of barking at random things and chasing each other around the yard, their antics earned them their names (for the non-history buffs, the names Hatfield and McCoy originated from a family feud back in the late 1800s. You can read more about it here). When they’re not tearing up a storm, Hattie and Mac love attention and sitting on laps even though they weigh 70 pounds!

Thank you Kelly and Bill for letting me photograph your beautiful Foxhound babies! I had so much fun working with you guys, and hopefully, the aftermath from all the liver treats didn’t turn the house into a war zone, hehe ;) I hope you enjoy Hattie and Mac’s photos, and feel free to share any other details about them that I may have missed! :)

[Looks like Mac is giving Hattie a kiss :D]
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[Wheee, flying ears!]

[Oh no, what is that scary cyclops looking thing Kat is holding??]

[Ahh, head pat–I can almost feel it!]

[Yeahhhh–fist pound! We so cool!]

[Zooooooooooom!]

[Rawrr]

[I love it when pets get up close and personal <3]

[Had to include this last one because Hattie’s stinky eyes to Mac cracks me up, lol]

Really Cute Kittens. Seriously.

Can I say that I really fricking love working with kittens? Don’t get me wrong. I love wrinkly, squirmy, and cuddly puppies just as much as the next normal person, but there’s something about watching kittens leaping, pouncing, and tackling one another, that makes it so I could easily watch (and photograph) them play all day.

Meet Chancey, Cheerio, and & Crayola. All kittens that have since been adopted from the Michigan Orphan Kitten Rescue in Saline, Michigan.

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Love these next series of images. The lone kitten trying to get in on some of the play action, haha.

Personal Work | Pieces of Detroit (Part I)

A couple of weekends ago, I had the opportunity to do something that I have always wanted to do, but for obvious reasons, could not have done by myself. And that something was to go on an urban exploration/photoshoot of Detroit.

To those that don’t live in the Detroit area, the city seems like a wasteland–headlines of bankruptcy and abandoned buildings–representing everything that’s wrong with America. To those that are local and active in the scene, there is an under current of positive energy and change happening. Abandoned buildings are quickly being bought up and torn down, and while it may be 5 to 10 years (or longer) for dramatic change to happen, it will happen. So I wanted to do some photographing before that happened ;)

For this photoshoot, our guide had us sign a liability waiver (if injury, death, etc happens), and I remember hesitating for the teeniest second before signing. As anyone who knows me can tell you, I’m one of those people that have an overactive imagination and can think of 239483 worse case scenarios before they even happen. But heck, I woke up at 5:45am to do this, and I AM NOT a morning person–so there def was no turning back now.

I have to be honest and say, I didn’t find this subject matter super inspiring, as it is way too depressing for my liking (I love photographing cute, happy pets, haha). Overall though, I’m glad I did it. Would I do it again? Maybe… it is kind of cool to see what once was and imagine how it must have been.

Btw, I used a regular full frame DSLR camera to take these images. They’re just cropped in square format because I am kind of obsessed with that form right now, thanks to instagram (and the medium format camera)… I also did not move any of the items; they are all taken as how I found them.

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