Way before cats took over the internet (if you were born in the 90’s or beyond, you may not even remember such a time), one man was making a name for himself photographing felines.
Walter Chandoha is the original cat snapper, with his recognisable images seen everywhere from National Geographic and Life magazines, to posters to puzzles and pet food.
Now 95, Chandoha has released a hardback book of his photographs – Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer (Aperture 2015), and it is a like a beautiful cat-filled walk down memory lane (think cute kittens on 70’s-style sofas like you would see on the back of your grandma’s toilet door, in the most comforting and adorable sort of way).
On the compilation, Aperture notes: “They bear examination not only for their singular charm, but also for having established a vocabulary of the animal studio portrait with Chandoha’s signature look: clean, brightly coloured backdrops and high-key “glamour” backlighting of his tiny, fuzzy subjects.”
Born in New Jersey, Chandoha can thank Loco, a shivering kitten he rescued, for his foray into feline photography. After having some pictures of the kitten published and then landing his first magazine cover in 1951, he went on on to shoot over 200,000 stock photos of cats and 300 magazine covers.
Photograph from Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer (Aperture, 2015)
Photograph from Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer (Aperture, 2015)
Photograph from Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer (Aperture, 2015)
Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer at is available from amazon.co.uk.
