photo hunt

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Awesome and Passover

The theme for our combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Saturday Photohunt is Awesome. Here we see Luna looking down upon us all from her awesome balcony perch.

Cats of course like high places and are fiercely territorial. Luna is no exception, so she enjoys the many high perches we have at CatSynth HQ. And as a shy cat, it gives her a way to observe guests without having to get closer, unless she chooses to do so.

Passover began last night at sundown. This is the holiday where we at CatSynth attempt but ultimately fail to follow the strict dietary rules for eight days. But what about cats? According to this website, several brands have varieties that are approved for Passover in 2012. One of our brands is on the list, though not the particular variety that I get for Luna.

Weekend Cat Blogging and the Carnival of the Cats are both hosted this week by Meowza at Mind of Mog.

The theme of this week’s Saturday Photo Hunt is Awesome.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator

Weekend Cat Blogging: Luna encounters the Skatchbox

Those who read yesterday’s review of Music of Invention concert encountered Tom Nunn’s musical invention, the Skatchbox. Today, Luna discovered this instrument for herself:

I chose this model of the limited-edition mini-Skatchboxes made specifically for the concert because of its visual aesthetics. It reminds me a bit of paintings of Kandinsky. As for the sound, it can make a variety of loud noisy timbrally rich sounds. They were a bit new to Luna’s ears:

I literally just scratched the surface (no pun intended). I wouldn’t yet play this in a formal musical setting. But it is loud, and a somewhat sneaky way to participate in this week’s Saturday Photo Hunt on the theme LOUD. Here is another image of Luna with the Skatchbox using the new America pack in the Hipstamatic app.

Those who have regularly seen my photos know I tend to prefer crisp images with high contrast, whether from the Hisptamatic or the DSLR. But this one seemed to work best blurred. And Luna was not going to cooperate for another take.

Weekend Cat Blogging #351 is hosted by The Bengal Business.

The Saturday Photo Hunt is up with the theme of LOUD.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by When Cats Attack!

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Point

There are so many interesting ways that one can interpret this week’s Photo Hunt theme of Point. Mathematics and highways come to mind, but this is of course also Weekend Cat Blogging, so as usual we feature cats. First, one of our many maneki nekos points its paw:

And here is Luna pointing while basking in the morning sun:

Both of these photos were taken with the latest lens and film options I got for the Hipstamatic app on the iPhone.

Another Hipstamatic photo on the theme does veer into the realm of highways. Here is one of several studies I did with the freeway entrance shield for the Bay Area’s infamous Interstate 238 for an upcoming article on the highway. It has the customary downward pointing arrow of freeway entrances in California.

Tomorrow (Sunday), we at CatSynth will be hosting the weekly Carnival of the Cats. If you have a feline-themed blog post from the past week, you are welcome to participate. Just visit the handy BlogCarnival submission form or leave a comment below.

Weekend Cat Blogging #350 is hosted by Kashim, Othello and Salome.

The Weekly Photo hunt theme is Point.

As stated above, we are hosting the Carnival of the Cats tomorrow.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Heart

Our combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Saturday Photo Hunt features the theme Heart. We have a few images that blend the theme with our interests in music, mathematics and of course, cats.

Here Luna poses with a heart-shaped kalimba (thumb piano).

Luna peers at the iPad, which displays a plot of a cardioid. We used a mathematical function that produces the heart-shaped figure when plotted with polar coordinates. The formula for the cardioid is: r = 1 – sin(θ), where r is the radius from the center of the plot and θ is the angle sweeping around the center. The best way to visualize polar coordinates is using one of those old circular radar screens where the plotter sweeps in a circular motion.

The photo also features one of Luna’s favorite toys, a heart-shaped plush toy with the word “kitty” inscribed on it. We have had it for years now (indeed, it was featured in a WCB/Photo Hunt back in 2008).

Weekend Cat Blogging #349 (Valentines Day edition) is hosted by Meowza.

The Saturday Photohunt theme is Heart.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at Meowzings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Fluffy

For our combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Saturday Photo Hunt on the theme of fluffy, we have some unusually fluffy and quite playful photos of Luna:

Luna is technically a short-hair cat, but in the winter her fur gets longer and thicker, and is more visible when she rolls around instead of one her more staid poses. Of course, it’s nothing like the “floof” one sees on some cats.

These photos were done with the “big camera” – the iPhone (either straight or with Hipstamatic) is too slow to capture the detail of Luna’s fur.

Weekend Cat Blogging #347 is hosted by Salome at PaulChens FoodBlog?!

The Saturday Photo Hunt is up. This week’s theme is fluffy.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up tomorrow at Friends Furever.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Light Stripes

For Weekend Cat Blogging and the Photo Hunt, we preset this photo of Luna with stripes of light.

This was once again taken with the Hipstamatic on the iPhone, using relatively simple lens and film effects that bring out the light.

Weekend Cat Blogging #340 is hosted by Pam at Sidewalk Shoes, with help from Coco.

The Saturday PhotoHunt has a new home. This week’s theme is Lights. Thank you to tnchick for hosting over the past years.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this weekend by Samantha, Clementine and Maverick at Life from a Cat’s Perspective.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Two

For our combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt theme of two, we present a pair of Hipstamatic photos of Luna. A single pose, but two sets of lens and film effects:


It’s a sleepy morning for us, after I recover from two music performances over the past two days, and Luna basks in some sunshine after a wet and rainy Friday.

This weekend also marks the 400th Edition of the Carnival of Cats. That is quite a milestone, and we are happy to help celebrate! It is hosted by Mog, we has been the “Carnival Caretaker” over the past couple of years There is a history of the Carnival posted by last week’s hosts Nikita and Elvira of Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

Photo Hunt #291 is hosted by tnchick. The theme this week is two.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging #330 and Photo Hunt: Covered

This week we are reaching back into the archives once again for our combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt. This week’s theme is covered, and we have photos of Luna covered by a glass surface.

She quite enjoys sitting under glass during the daytime. It’s a way to experience the sunshine and feel “inside” at the same time.

Weekend Cat Blogging #330 is hosted by Mind of Mog.

Photo Hunt 285 is hosted by tnchick. The weekend’s theme is covered.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted here at CatSynth tomorrow! If you would like to participate, you can use the Handy Carnival Submission page™ or leave us a comment below.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Yellow

Today’s combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt is on the theme Yellow.  So we reach into the CatSynth archives for this photo of Luna with a yellow lens effect on Hipstamatic, taken in August 2010.

I don’t particularly like doing re-runs on the blog, but this photo seemed perfect and I am a bit pressed for time this morning, with preparations for San Francisco Open Studios next week and a meeting for another upcoming project.  So it will have to do.  It’s also surprising to see how far things have come in one year, both with the app and my ability to use it.  Many of the recent Wordless Wednesday pictures have also used the Hipstamatic.

Yellow is also the color of the LIVESTRONG campaign, in support of those who are currently fighting cancer and the memory of those who have lost their lives.

Many in the cat-blogging community participated in an event the first week of October last year, and will be doing so again this October 2.

Weekend Cat Blogging #329 is hosted by Kashim, Othello and Salome at PaulChens FoodBlog?! We send them our thoughts this week for the recent loss of their beloved dog, Ben.

Photo Hunt #284 is hosted by tnchick. This week’s theme is Yellow.

Carnival of the Cats will be up tomorrow at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat. Next week’s COTC will be hosted right here at CatSynth!

And the Friday Ark is back at the the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Wooden Cats

For this week’s combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt on the theme “Wooden”, we present some wooden cats:

We also reach back into the CatSynth Archives™ for this photo of Luna enjoying some sunshine near a wooden table.

In an environment I like to think of as dominated by glass and chrome, wooden objects and surfaces abound. Indeed, many of my acoustic musical instruments are made of wood.

Weekend Cat Blogging is hosted by Billy Sweetfeets, who is also hosting Carnival of the Cats this weekend (we pulled double duty recently ourselves, so good luck).

Photo Hunt 283 is hosted by tnchick. This week’s theme is Wooden.