Forest Cat Imaging

Forest Cat Imaging's website is intended as a destination for my photography (and maybe some video and timelapse--thus "imaging" rather than Forest Cat Photography). I think of it more of a “garden” that I am tending and nurturing for its own sake (and my sake), rather than a showcase of my images. Now semi-retired, I have some time for “gardening.”

I've considered myself to be a "serious amateur" photographer for over 40 years. Up until now my photos have been scattered among hard drives, thumb drives, SSDs, CDs, DVDs, etc..

It was never the intention to turn my hobby into a source of income, nor is it now (but we’ll see where this goes). It's more about respecting and nurturing (and financing) a strong visual creative drive, and seeing where it leads.

For me finding and creating images is mostly about the process of visual discovery, a mindset, particularly as I hike or as I experience public events such as fairs, airshows, marathons and other sports. To some degree the resulting images are sort of secondary. Back in the days of film I often thought it didn’t matter if I had film in the camera. The same is sometimes true now, though with memory cards rather than film.

While I'm most drawn to quiet peaceful scenes, there is also a thrill in noticing and capturing the momentary stories in peoples lives amidst the noise and activity and sometimes chaos of public events--scenes, facial expressions, sometimes drama or humor. As much as I love solitude and Nature’s silence, I appreciate a good dose of high decibel chaos now and then as I look for images at an event.

Why "Forest Cat Imaging?" It's because I wish to remain mostly private, and to maintain boundaries between my professional career and my personal life. So, searching for a pseudonym, I decided to honor my late Norwegian Forest Cat. He was over 20 pounds of feral energy and aggression and need who evolved into a (mostly) gentle beast as I earned his trust and love by recognizing and taking care of his deep basic needs. While he died in 2020, I'd like to think that part of him lives on, most often imagining him as a black bobcat wandering the wilderness of the Quabbin Reservoir.

THANKS FOR VISITING!