people places n things

It was the last day of October 1985 and waking up rather groggily, my fuzzy eyes were having trouble focusing in on a ceiling that seemed different somehow this morning. Moments later my backside chimed in that the bed didn't feel like my convertible bed usually felt. I then looked around some more at my domicile trying to get my brain to make sense of all this. Slowly I started to remember I wasn't at home on my mother's convertible living room couch in the Bronx, I was in the living room of my best friend Scott, here in Staten Island instead. I had asked him a few days before if he and his two roommates wouldn't mind if I slept on their couch for a few days so I could be closer to the Staten Island zoo. The trip there from the Bronx was way too long and left little time to photograph everything I wanted to, chief of which was capturing a nice shot of what had to be the fattest prairie dogs in creation. They were so cute and frisky, but I never got the chance to set up my camera before the zoo was getting ready to close. Now leaving from Scott's house here on the island I would have all the time I'd need.

But at that moment my brain was still getting me up to speed with my plans for the day and my temporary new surrounds. Absolutely loving pets but not having any ones at mom's apt. to play with, I was thoroughly enjoying staying at a place that had an outrageously affectionate pit bull, a python and four cats. Friendliest of all the cats was Eeeyow (hey it was their cat they could name him whatever they wanted. In this case he was named after the sound he made when he meowed.) A 20lbs. tabby with a really loud "purr" he loved being petted and in this case getting up in the morning and sitting on this box when the early morning sunlight poured in from their dinning room window on it. The empty box had held Scott's newest birthday present from his mother a large color TV set. And he just hadn't gotten around to throwing the box out yet. A situation Eeeyow now took delight in. At this point I was completely aware of where I was and why I was there. And for that reason I knew I had my camera equipment with me.

Noticing Eeeyow walking around the dinning room and then gracefully leaping onto the empty TV box, I loved how the early morning window lighting fell on him. Quickly setting up my tripod I then grabbed my 50mm lens for its' super wide maximum aperture which gave me as high a shutter speed as possible. Framing a shot that pleased me to no end I still had one niggling problem, the contrast ratio and lighting conditions were formidable for the camera's of the day.

Not having either of my flashes with me, I pulled out a white index card and held it close to Eeeyow's face to bounce some light on it. But every time I got it close enough to reflect a large enough amount of light onto his face, Eeeyow would turn and look at the card instead. Finally, for after what seemed like an eternity, he grew bored of the index card and as he turned his head back towards the living room I grabbed my shot while the getting was good.
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Nikon FA
Ectachrome 200
1/8th sec.
50mm f1.8 series E lens
F1.8

petscatsEeeyowScott's houseStaten Islandsld2