May 17th, 2012

Cooper’s First Home Photo Shoot

For years you have seen pictures Cooper takes around his neighborhood. But have you wondered what kind of photos Cooper would take in your own backyard?

Tony was the lucky winner of Cooper’s first home photo shoot, the prize of last month’s special Cooper raffle to benefit PAWS. Cooper enjoyed meeting Tony and photographing every nook and cranny of his yard. Watch the video!

While exploring the yard, Cooper met one of Tony’s five cats, Rowen. Rowen gets to enjoy the great (sort of) outdoors in his cat enclosure – sort of like a dog run – which protects him from other animals and traffic. A great idea for humans concerned about the safety of their pets! Rowen and Cooper spent a lot of time staring at each other, and vocalized their greetings with many forms of meows, hisses and growls. Our interpretation was Cooper: “Why are you in a dog run?” And Rowen: “You’re the one on a leash, buddy.”

It was a fun afternoon, and a treat for Cooper to be able to shoot photos in a new location! This month Cooper raised $127 for PAWS, the Progressive Animal Welfare Society.

Speaking of paws, Cooper is currently licking his own, while reading his photo book. If you haven’t seen his book yet, check it out!

April 2nd, 2012

Cooper Exhibit at Chocolate Shoebox, Seattle

Never seen Cooper’s photos in person?  Time for another Cooper exhibit! Come to the Chocolate Shoebox in Seattle during most of April.

Drop by on Friday, April 13th (6pm – 9pm) during the Phinney-Wood Art Walk. It’s your chance to meet Cooper’s humans, grab an autographed copy of CAT CAM (Cooper’s photo book), and enter a special one-time raffle: The proceeds go to PAWS, and the raffle winner gets a home photo shoot with Cooper himself!

Also, we’re having a special sale during this exhibit: Cooper’s photos: 30% OFF! Come by and take advantage of this great deal!  As always, a portion of the proceeds benefit PAWS.

When: Art Walk “Show Opening” is April 13, 6pm – 9pm
(Exhibit runs April 13 – May 5, 2012, open daily 11am – 7pm)

Cooper’s stunning photos have exhibited in Seattle, Ellensburg, Chicago and London. The internet simply doesn’t do them justice – one truly needs to see Cooper’s framed photos in person. There are several new photos which have not appeared in previous Cooper exhibits – come see for yourself!

What is the Chocolate Shoebox, you ask? Only the best idea for a retail store ever: Chocolate + shoes. Is there a better combination, ladies? Also, everything is vegan, meaning no animals were harmed! They strive to offer organic and fair-trade and in many cases locally-made chocolates and sweets. Some of the proceeds from several of their chocolates benefit charities that work to help animals.

So swing by the Phinney-Wood Art Walk on Friday, April 13 from 6pm – 9pm. Meet Cooper’s humans, enter the special one-time raffle, be cultured, eat some decadent treats and catch some great deals!

Then go home, chew on some catnip, scratch up the couch and call it a day well spent.

May 9th, 2011

Australia, Meet Cooper

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.

September 14th, 2010

Cooper “In Touch” With His Bad Self

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.

September 7th, 2010

Cooper Shoots New Neighborhood

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?

February 8th, 2010

Best Cooper Video Yet

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.

January 27th, 2010

Portraits by Cooper

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.

January 24th, 2010

¡Cooper es Bueno!

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”.]

Here is a link to the article for those of you who speak and read Spanish:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1224933.

Cooper is currently curled up against the heater. ¡Gato bueno!

December 18th, 2009

Cooper Shoots New Video of Baby Brother!

Cooper_withVideoCam_01People 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.

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Cooper is currently bird watching from the living room window. Oh – now he’s chewing on the fern – gotta go.

December 16th, 2009

Cooper: Best of 2009 in Seattle Magazine

cover3 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.

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Cooper is currently hanging out on the stairs, taking photos of a spider.