I used to wonder what my three cats were doing when I wasn’t around. Judging by how they behaved while with me, I assumed that they did a lot of sleeping, eating, chewing on plastic, and hitting each other. So, I set up a webcam so I could check in on the kitties while I was away and guess what they were doing? Sleeping, eating… you get the picture.

Also getting the picture is Cooper, the Cat Photographer, in his new full-color photo book Cat Cam: The World of Cooper the Photographer Cat. Yes, a cat who takes photos! But you won’t find multiple shots of food bowls or toy mice in this book, as Cooper explores the outdoors, capturing scenarios unique to his take of the world living a foot from the ground.

Equipped with a small, lightweight camera on his collar that snaps a picture every two minutes, Cooper takes a weekly photography adventure through his Seattle neighborhood, where he lives with his human family and co-authors, filmmakers Michael and Deirdre Cross, and their baby Cameron.

Trust me, once you see these photos, you will be blown away that they were taken by a cat. While some of Cooper’s vivid pictures are abstract in nature, there’s a variety of beautiful landscape shots, encounters with fellow creatures, and portraits of his family in and around their house, all from the feline’s perspective. A lot of the images are fun, especially Cooper’s shadowy self-portraits, and you can imagine what the cat was thinking while bracing for the shots; others are truly endearing, like the quiet, heartfelt moment Cooper captured between Deirdre and Cameron at home.

The pictures included in Cat Cam are collected by season, beginning with Cooper’s Spring frolicks through his snowy, cold Winter romps. Each chapter contains a written introduction by the artist himself, along with a lovely photo of this 5-year-old orange cat (taken by his human friends). Also, Cooper intermittently adds a Cooper Tip, his tried and true helpful hints for fellow photography enthusiasts and cat lovers.

As if photos — and good photos at that — taken by a cat wasn’t compelling enough, what is truly amazing is that the selections in this collected work are true to the artist’s vision. The photos are not cropped, color-corrected, or enhanced in any way, so you’re seeing exactly what Cooper sees, unaltered.

Impressive… Most impressive.

Cat Cam: The World of Cooper the Photographer Cat is a one-of-a-kind photo experience that’s intriguing and fun, and obviously perfect for cat-lovers, as well as photography buffs. A portion of the proceeds from purchases of the book go PAWS: Progressive Animal Welfare Society, where the Cross family adopted Cooper as a stray 5 years ago, so not only would this little photo book be the most talked-about stocking-stuffer you could give someone, but by buying it, you’ll also be helping out other animals not as fortunate as Cooper.

Honestly, you can’t help but smile when you look through this book. And, Cooper? Well, he’s just so insanely adorable, and his human co-authors, well, they’re no slouches either (matter of fact, they could pass for movie stars!). Michael and Deirdre Cross, of Cross Films, are one of the geekiest couples out there, dressing up as superheros, scifi characters, and more, not only on Halloween, but for the movie/TV marathons regularly held with friends at their home. Along with these events, Deirdre bakes some geekalicious creations, like this [vegan] Eye of Sauron Pie for their Lord Of The Rings viewing sessions. I look forward to seeing what this talented trio has to offer in the future, perhaps a reality TV series, Cooper The Super Cat, defender of the feral, isn’t too far off.

Check out photographercat.com to keep up to date with Cooper’s happenings, which now includes video of his many adventures, and to find out how to purchase some of Cooper’s more popular prints from his gallery showings (yes, he’s had Gallery showings!). You can also became a fan of Cooper’s Facebook page.

Video

Geek Find is a column spotlighting cool and geeky creations, like artwork, books, toys, and crafts. At Geeks of Doom, we love to help the little guy, so if there’s something you’d like us to consider featuring in Geek Find, please send an email to news@geeksofdoom.com. [If you’re not sure if your submission is suitable for Geek Find, send an email anyway – it never hurts to ask, and hey, we’re nice people.]