Episode 20 - Cats have been a part of photography since its beginnings. As early as the 1870s, people have been taking silly photos of cats in costumes or staged scenes.

In this episode, we look at the beginnings of cat photography, technology that was developed from a scientist studying cats, and some very commercially successful cat photographers. We even bought a photo book expressly for this episode!

“Photography is nothing–it's life that interests me.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson

Index

0:00 - Intro - Hemingway’s cats lounge around the house

2:50 - Our cat wants to be on the podcast

3:20 - Meet our cats

7:29 - John P. Soule - Stereoscopic cat photography in the 1870s

8:56 - Some internet cats we love

10:12 - Harry Whittier Frees posed cats in costumes in 1914

14:38 - Étienne-Jules Marey & the chronophotographic gun in the late 1800s

18:10 - Walter Chandoha was the preeminent cat photographer of the 20th century

22:17 - Julian Assange used his cat Michi for good PR

23:38 - Cats in the Sun, a photo book by Hans Silvester (1993)

28:05 - Single cat images by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sabine Weiss, Danny Lyon, and others

30:48 - Photographing Hemingway’s polydactyl cats

31:58 - Baby the seeing eye cat by LIFE photographer Loren F. Smith

35:37 - Cats do what they want and we accept that

40:15 - Things NOT to do when photographing cats

Find Zach

Website: https://zachdobson.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachdobsonphoto/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachdobsonphoto

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@zachdobsonphoto

Find Courtney

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneymccracken_/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happy_life_lessons

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@courtneymccracken_

About the Podcast

Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken is a weekly conversation about photography and all its impact. Each week Zach and Courtney discuss their latest adventures, life lessons, and anything else that sounds interesting.

Photography is Nothing invites you into the conversations they were already having as a married couple running a photography and media company in the current world.

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