Posted: March 13, 2009, 3 a.m. EDT
Cooper wears a "cat cam" on his collar that takes pictures every two minutes. |
In “City Whiskers,” Cooper captures a cat’s-eye view of the downtown Seattle skyline in a scenic photograph that he snapped with a lightweight digital camera secured to his collar. The photo is part of an exhibit at Seattle's Urban Light Studios, highlighting the best images that resulted from what began as an experiment by the cat’s curious owners.
Deirdre and Michael Cross, Seattle filmmakers, outfitted their 3-year-old
American Shorthair cat with his own special camera to document his adventures. For one day out of the week, Cooper, formerly a stray, played photographer, capturing his surroundings on film with his "cat cam," which is set to take a photo every two minutes.
On a blog dedicated to her cat’s photography, Deirdre Cross describes what she admires about some of Cooper’s best shots, such as his view of Seattle's Space Needle. “I love that you can faintly see his whiskers hanging down from the top.”
Cooper’s collection also features a photo he took of Michael baring his legs in a bathrobe, titled “Risque,” as well as a photo of another cat at the end of a wooden fence, titled “Rendezvous.” The framed artwork, which was made available for purchase, is stamped with a Cooper paw-print autograph on the back. The Paws Cat City adoption center in Seattle has been chosen to receive a portion of the sales from Cooper’s pictures, which the studio calls “art without artist intent.”
Cooper has received much media attention for his artistic endeavors, including a feature spot on the Animal Planet show "Cats 101."
The final day of Cooper’s photo exhibit was extended by one day. The cat’s photography also will be part of a new opening Friday, March 13, at the gallery for the show “FILTHY (beautiful).”