Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer

Within the genre of commercial animal photography, Walter Chandoha is a master. His photographs of cats in particular have appeared in the pages of National Geographic and Life magazine, and have been absorbed into the public subconscious via countless posters, pet-food packaging, T-shirts and other uses. The Internet is awash with cat pictures, but Chandoha's cat pictures might be seen as the forefather of them all. Chandoha's images are striking not only for their singular charm, but also for having established a vocabulary of the animal studio portrait with a signature look—clean, brightly colored backdrops and high-key glamour backlighting of the subjects. The Cat Photographer is a fun book, but it also offers insight into the unique career of a successful commercial photographer who carved out his own niche. Here, Chandoha is interviewed by David La Spina, who has been working with Chandoha and his family to bring his archive to public attention, and Brittany Hudak. The interview includes photography tips and diagrams of Chandoha's studio setup, and an account of how the photographer came to make a living with animal photography.

Format: Hardback
Number of pages: 112
Publication date: 2015-10-27
Measurements: 7.4 x 10.2 x 0.6 inches
ISBN: 9781597113304

Chandoha might be considered the forefather of the Internet’s now-ubiquitous cat photo. –T Magazine
Walter Chandoha is the most famous cat photographer in the world, and a man whose unique vision has been influencing feline portraiture since the 1950s. –Blouin Art Info
the go-to guy when you needed a cat photographed –Wired

Walter Chandoha is a veteran photographer and writer who has worked as a professional freelancer for over sixty years. His flora and fauna photography has appeared on over three hundred magazine covers; in thousands of advertisements for various companies, from small businesses to the Fortune 500; in numerous book publications; and on posters, billboards, various printed matter, and even credit cards.
Walter Chandoha is a veteran photographer and writer who has worked as a professional freelancer for over sixty years. His flora and fauna photography has appeared on over three hundred magazine covers; in thousands of advertisements for various companies, from small businesses to the Fortune 500; in numerous book publications; and on posters, billboards, various printed matter, and even credit cards.
David La Spina has an MFA in photography from the Yale University School of Art. He freelances for the New York Times and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times 6th Floor blog.
David La Spina has an MFA in photography from the Yale University School of Art. He freelances for the New York Times and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times 6th Floor blog.
Brittany Hudak is a PhD candidate in the joint program of art history at the Cleveland Museum of Art and Case Western Reserve University. She received a master’s degree in Victorian media and culture from Royal Holloway, University of London, in 2007.