Cooper is a 6 year old American Shorthair cat living in Seattle. Once a week he wears a lightweight digital camera fastened to his collar, which snaps a new photo every 2 minutes.
This weekend Cooper had a live television appearance, this time in Australia. G’day!
The TODAY SHOW Australia interviewed the Photographer Cat during the Sunday morning WEEKEND TODAY program. Cooper has had many television appearances, but never one with such a drastic change in timezone. Fortunately he stayed awake for almost all four minutes.
Our conversation with host Alicia Gorey was fun, and she asked lots of great questions about Cooper, his photo project, and his photo book, CAT CAM. In case you missed it, watch Cooper’s segment right here!
Host Alicia Gorey chats with Cooper and his humans, Deirdre and Michael Cross.
The Photographer Cat was finally able to relax once we were off the air.
Cooper is currently curled up to the laptop, responding to new fan mail from Australia.
My cousin Macaela called us yesterday and screamed into the phone, “Cooper is in In Touch, oh my god! Quick, turn to page 58! How freakin’ cool!” And I said, “Huh? Wait – is that a magazine?”
Cooper is no stranger to fame. In fact, when he saw himself in this week’s In Touch Weekly magazine, he simply turned around, curled up and took a nap in the middle of his article.
While we never intended our cat’s photography project to become widely popular, it has been fun over the past two years to follow Cooper in the media. From newspapers to magazines, local television news to Good Morning America, international web sites to People magazine. You make us proud, Cooper!
One of the secrets to Cooper’s success is somewhat obvious. Cooper won’t admit it himself, as he is a little shy. So I’ll come out and say it: Cooper is a handsome devil. He is an artist, and his work speaks for himself. But just like the lead singer in a band, his fame may be somewhat assisted by his natural good looks. Cooper could sell cat food if he really wanted to – maybe as a part-time job. Maybe that would help him pay for that new lens he’s been hinting for. Whether in front or behind the camera, Cooper, you’re doing great things!
People keep asking us what Cooper will be up to next. And it’s hard to tell, as he is truly unpredictable. Again, much like a rockstar. You can’t rope the wind, as they say. But it is possible that Cooper has a project in mind for the next couple months. For those of you thinking about what to get the cat lover on your holiday list I’ll mention that Cooper has been considering publishing a book…
Cooper is currently stretched out on the window sill, with one eye on a fly.
Cooper’s family just moved! We are still in Seattle, but have relocated to a quieter street. This is better for both Cooper and his baby brother Cameron.
The move was exhausting but is now over – and well worth it! Cooper has been stuck inside for the first week, itching to get out and discover the new neighborhood.
Yesterday, finally, the day came for Cooper to explore his new backyard and meet some neighbors. Check out a few of his photos!
“Labor Day” A flag raised for Labor Day by one of Cooper’s new neighbors.
“Brick House” Love this shot from through the weeds!
“Joe” On the right you can glimpse one of Cooper’s new friends!
“Squirrel” We can’t be sure, but we think this is the first photo Cooper has taken of a squirrel – apparently being chased up into a bush!
“Looking Inward” Cooper’s reflection is caught as he peeks inside our neighbor’s kitchen window. Love that you can see his eyes!
Cooper is now curled up inside, enjoying a long nap. Maybe he’ll get to explore again tomorrow?
In addition to taking beautiful still photos around the neighborhood once a week, Cooper has occasionally been shooting video with his new Video Cat Cam. And this week Cooper shot his best video yet!
Somehow this time he was able to capture it all: The start of Cooper’s day with a healthy breakfast, heading outside through his cat flap, encounters with a garden gnome and a friendly neighbor, scaling a fence, and heading home to be greeted by Dad at the door.
Thanks for the wonderful insight into your world, Cooper! You’re a smart cat and we love following your adventures.
Cooper is a pretty solitary fellow when he’s out with his camera. He usually sticks to photographing the landscape, trees and plants. Every now and then we get a surprise cameo appearance from a human subject.
Last week Cooper was roaming the neighborhood with his camera and ran into a neighbor, Elaine Thompson, who is a professional photographer here in Seattle. No stranger to Cooper and his work, she shot a photo of him, and he shot a photo of her! Elaine shoots all sorts of amazing photos and Cooper is pretty jelous of her work with the Seattle Seahawks – isn’t that a type a bird?
“Neighbor Visit” Here is Elaine saying hello to Cooper!
“Dorks” This is one of Cooper’s best known portraits of his humans, Deirdre & Michael.
“Baby Brother” Up close and personal with Cooper’s little sibling, Cameron.
“Garden Girl” Cooper commiserates with a gardener pulling weeds.
“Little Boy Orange” This cute child holds his hand out in friendship to Cooper.
Cooper is currently running around in the yard taking pictures. He wears his camera only once a week, which allows him to simply be a cat the rest of the time.
Cooper was just featured in an article in La Nacion newspaper in Buenos Aires, Argentina! This is his first South American press. The author of the article contacted us after visiting Cooper’s Exhibit in Chicago, Illinois (USA) at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.
Our friend Maureen is currently living in Argentina and translated the article for us. The article has some nice descriptions of Cooper’s work in the exhibit. Here is an excerpt:
Bright colours, unexpected angles… Cooper’s work takes you by surprise. It is even more astonishing to think that the viewfinder of the camera is not at eye level, but at his chest.
"Fall Colors"
Through April 11 the exhibition Cooper: Photographer Cat is on display at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, which is funded by the Chicago Academy of Sciences. There are 24 unedited works, such as The Light (La luz) taken from the bottom of a staircase, a disquieting brightness projects from above, a notion that is repeated in Land of Adventure (Tierra de aventura), Fall Colors (Colores de otoño), an exquisite composition of organic geometry in a garden, Sweetness and Light (Dulzura y luz), a luminous abstraction in movement, Small Friends (Pequeños amigos), a different perspective of garden dwarves, New Haircut (Nuevo corte de pelo), an almost cinematographic portrait of a cat underneath a car and the suggestive Risqué (Riesgo) one of his humans in a nightdress, caught off guard in the kitchen in a not-so-discreet shot. [Translation note: The article’s translation of “Risqué” is actually “risk” in Spanish, instead of “atrevido”.]
People have been asking how Cooper is adjusting to being a big brother. The results are in: he loves hanging around baby Cameron (particularly if he isn’t crying). Cooper is always curious, and especially about the little noises coming from our newest family member.
This is the second video Cooper has shot with his Video Cat Cam. It begins about 12 hours before the baby was born; you’ll see a 42-week pregnant Deirdre at home in early labor! Then we jump to the following day when baby Cameron is receiving plenty of cuddle time with mom and dad.
I love the beautiful moments that Cooper recorded with his Video Cat Cam. He will be capturing many more of baby Cameron in the weeks and months to come.
Cooper is currently bird watching from the living room window. Oh – now he’s chewing on the fern – gotta go.
Just in time for constant reruns of The Christmas Story on TV, Cooper has won some sort of award! It didn’t come in the form of a leg lamp but Cooper has been voted one of Seattle magazine’s Best of 2009!
Seattle magazine considers Cooper the “Best Evidence that Cats are Almost Human” and we couldn’t agree more! They also suggest that “maybe Cooper should collaborate with the Woodland Park Zoo’s artist in residence, the painting orangutans and elephants.” It would be pretty incredible to have Cooper doing his photo journalism with elephants as the subject. However we’re not sure how much he’d like hanging out with them.
Cooper’s adorable face appears on page 93 of the December 2009 issue.
Cooper is currently hanging out on the stairs, taking photos of a spider.
Cooper has been hoping that a kitten (or maybe a litter of them) would emerge from Deirdre’s belly. But last Tuesday, December 1st 2009, she gave birth to a human baby boy! His name is Cameron David Cross.
It has been a bit of adjustment for Cooper getting used to his brother. After all, he has been an only child for over four years and used to getting all of our attention! While our family continues to adapt, Cooper has decided to take some photos of his baby brother.
“Baby Nap” Cooper, never wake a sleeping baby.
“Mother and Child Reunion” Love this shot of Deirdre holding baby Cameron.
“Sweet Kisses” This is a beautiful angle. Great shot, Coop!
Cooper is currently curled up in an otherwise empty baby papasan. He is considering busting out his new video cat cam again tomorrow.
Well, it’s finally happened – Cooper is now shooting with a Video Cat Cam! We’ve been working on getting it up and running for a couple of weeks and today he went outside with it for the first time. It’s about the same size as his still photo camera, very lightweight, and doesn’t seem to bother him at all when he’s wearing it.
We currently have the Video Cat Cam set to shoot video for 2 minutes then sleep for 2 minutes. It’s really interesting to watch the unedited footage – such a different experience than going through the still photos from his original camera.
In this video you’ll see Cooper spy on some dogs being walked, leap up on top of an 8-foot fence and enter his cat door to eat an afternoon snack.
Many of you who have been following Cooper’s work over the years have noticed that he’s not shot any photos of “wild” animals in the neighborhood. We think the video camera is going to be our best opportunity to see birds and squirrels as Cooper lurks in the bushes.
Next time he goes out to shoot video we plan to change the camera settings to shoot 1 minute and sleep for 3 minutes to give him a greater chance of actually moving – he spends a lot of time in one hiding spot before moving on to the next!
The camera came from our friends at Mr Lee’s Cat Cam who are also the makers of Cooper’s original camera.
Cooper is currently attacking the Christmas tree. You can look forward to video footage of him being squirted with the spray bottle and shown to the door.
This weekend Cooper had a live television appearance, this time in Australia. G’day!
My cousin Macaela called us yesterday and screamed into the phone, “Cooper is in In Touch, oh my god! Quick, turn to page 58! How freakin’ cool!” And I said, “Huh? Wait – is that a magazine?”
One of the secrets to Cooper’s success is somewhat obvious. Cooper won’t admit it himself, as he is a little shy. So I’ll come out and say it: Cooper is a handsome devil. He is an artist, and his work speaks for himself. But just like the lead singer in a band, his fame may be somewhat assisted by his natural good looks. Cooper could sell cat food if he really wanted to – maybe as a part-time job. Maybe that would help him pay for that new lens he’s been hinting for. Whether in front or behind the camera, Cooper, you’re doing great things!
Cooper’s family just moved! We are still in Seattle, but have relocated to a quieter street. This is better for both Cooper and his baby brother Cameron.
“Labor Day” A flag raised for Labor Day by one of Cooper’s new neighbors.
“Brick House” Love this shot from through the weeds!
“Joe” On the right you can glimpse one of Cooper’s new friends!
“Squirrel” We can’t be sure, but we think this is the first photo Cooper has taken of a squirrel – apparently being chased up into a bush!
In addition to taking beautiful still photos around the neighborhood once a week, Cooper has occasionally been shooting video with his new Video Cat Cam. And this week Cooper shot his best video yet!
Cooper is a pretty solitary fellow when he’s out with his camera. He usually sticks to photographing the landscape, trees and plants. Every now and then we get a surprise cameo appearance from a human subject.
“Dorks” This is one of Cooper’s best known portraits of his humans, Deirdre & Michael.
“Baby Brother” Up close and personal with Cooper’s little sibling, Cameron.
“Garden Girl” Cooper commiserates with a gardener pulling weeds.
“Little Boy Orange” This cute child holds his hand out in friendship to Cooper.
People have been asking how Cooper is adjusting to being a big brother. The results are in: he loves hanging around baby Cameron (particularly if he isn’t crying). Cooper is always curious, and especially about the little noises coming from our newest family member.
Just in time for constant reruns of The Christmas Story on TV, Cooper has won some sort of award! It didn’t come in the form of a leg lamp but Cooper has been voted one of Seattle magazine’s Best of 2009!
Cooper has been hoping that a kitten (or maybe a litter of them) would emerge from Deirdre’s belly. But last Tuesday, December 1st 2009, she gave birth to a human baby boy! His name is Cameron David Cross.
“Baby Nap” Cooper, never wake a sleeping baby.
“Mother and Child Reunion” Love this shot of Deirdre holding baby Cameron.
Well, it’s finally happened – Cooper is now shooting with a Video Cat Cam! We’ve been working on getting it up and running for a couple of weeks and today he went outside with it for the first time. It’s about the same size as his still photo camera, very lightweight, and doesn’t seem to bother him at all when he’s wearing it.