Litter Critter Photography

Roger 72068
Photo Courtesy of Brittany Murray
Photo Taken: May 30th, 2012

     Meet Roger!  I volunteered at the Wake County Animal Center on May 30th, 2012.  I have never taken pictures of the "Little Critters" and yesterday, I worked with Lauren and Brianna and we all decided Roger looked like a great candidate for a photograph!  Roger posed several times for the cameras (he probably felt a little overwhelmed by all of the paparazzi; however, he remained fairly calm.)  I learned that it was more of a challenge to photograph the "Little Critters" as Roger moved around his cage.  It was more difficult to get Roger to look at me.  I feel much more confident in getting the dogs and cats to look at the camera.  However, I want to make it a goal to photograph these "Little Critters" more. I learned that speaking to Roger in a soft voice and making "kissy" noises got Roger to look at the camera.

Catalina 72191
Photo Courtesy of Brittany Murray
Photo Taken: May 30th, 2012

       Meet Catalina!  I have discovered through this course that I am allergic to cats (even though I think they are extremely sweet animals).  If I stay in the cat room for a great length of time, my eyes begin to water and itch and I start sneezing.  I have mainly photographed dogs for this course; however, i wanted to capture a picture of a cat for this week as well.  I decided to open Catalina's cage as this cat was relaxing and was going in and out of sleep.  I thought this photograph captured Catalina's personality well!  Catalina is a very relaxed cat.  Catalina was interested in looking at the camera; however, this cat did not try to jump out of the cage or get too close to the camera as some cats do.  This cat is relaxed and calm.  Catalina is a very sweet animal!


     I learned that getting animals attention is difficult; however, knowing what type of animal you are photographing will determine what things you need to do to gain their attention.  For example, I can get the dogs attention by making the noise Professor Johnstone taught us in class or by talking in a high pitched voice to them.  In order to gain the cat's attention, I typically make "kissy" noises and move my hands just above my camera in order for them to look my way.  Finally, in photographing the "Little Critters," I learned to speak in a soft, calm voice to gain their attention.  I also have learned throughout volunteering that it is imperative that you gain the animal's trust.  The animals need to know that you are not there to harm them in any way.  I make it a point to rub each animal and talk to them and call  them by their name.  I want the animals to know that I am trying to help them.  I have learned that each animal requires different kind of noises, attention, and love.  These two animals were different photographs for me as I typically spend the majority of my time in the dog rooms.  However, it is great to get experience photographing other animals and fun too!