Points of view

Cats won't look at you when you're trying to take their picture (well, that's been my experience for the last couple days) but flowers...they have no choice. Front and center every time, if you decide that's what you want, not them. 

I thought I'd try taking photos at angles where I couldn't see what I was doing, just like I did with the cats a couple days ago. You know,  just start clicking six inches from the ground and hope you photograph something ....and that it's in focus..... and somewhat centered...and hopefully interesting. You have to take a lot of pictures to accidentally get something.

This little Asian ladybug was watching things.

Right at the very, very edge of the heuchera.

Let's move down the leaf a little bit and get a better view...

... and peer back to see if anything was missed...

Apparently my maneuvers of trying to take photos six inches above the ground without stomping on plants was kind of interesting to this little bug. I guess it was kind of flattering... I think.

But then this...she turned around and sat down. I didn't know ladybugs could sit...

And was she laughing at me?

Well, I took another picture and I imagine this is what a ladybug would see...blue skies and pretty flowers.

And maybe a little bit of this too...

Hey, who's laughing now? >:-)

I am sooooooo happy Eddie never learned to do this...

Those little "fists" from a couple days ago...

...unfolded to become this.

The sky was blue and the flowers were white and the little yellow bees buzzed quietly high up in the tree.

And down below I was being shot fireballs from the eyes of Violet. I suspect some curse words were incubating in that little head too after yesterday's experience with the camera.

Above our heads was lots and lots of prettiness. Below me was Violet and her tight little fists and mean little face. 

I just continued looking up at the crabapple tree that was suddenly all in bloom on a sunny and beautiful spring day. There was just too much prettiness to get sidetracked by Violet's scowl and grudge.

Bad pictures of some somewhat bad cats

I've run out of things to photograph in the garden and Violet has not exactly been obliging. This is usually the face I get from her, if I can get a photo of her face at all.

Yes, here's another one. The exact same face showing complete resistance to any picture that I might be thinking of taking. And I probably had to take about a dozen shots "in profile" just to get this one! At least you can see some tail action in this one...tail action is a given when there is a camera around.

Since Violet has successfully escaped from having any portraits taken in the immediate future, I might as well take advantage of the other cats that show up. 

The resistance to facing the camera starts immediately...

"I think I saw air move over your shoulder. I must be the witness for that."

I kept trying to get a full face picture but somebody just kept moving. Side to side, distracted with all sorts of imaginary things happening in every direction except for the one facing me.

Okay, I've been challenged. I am going to get that shot of a cat's face and you know, I don't even care what the photo looks like at this point. I started clicking away at any direction I thought the cat might be looking at in the future.

Ha! Gotcha!

These cat face pictures are horrible...but they're pictures of cat faces. I won I won I won! Once you throw out that whole aesthetic thing, picture taking moves along pretty fast. Just grab the camera and heck, who needs a viewfinder to see what you're photographing? Just take that camera and hold it anywhere where you think a good photo might happen and click away.

Which meant that Violet had not escaped from  being a photographic subject. 

But um, it became immediately clear that this technique could be extraordinarily dangerous if used when photographing birds.

Eddie concurs.