Winner of the “Your Favorite Dog Or Cat Image” Challenge

Gimme a Break
By: Christine Till

Tell us a little about yourself?

12 years ago my husband and I, our daughter, 4 cats and the dog moved from Munich, Germany to a small town in New Jersey. We lived there for 5 years.
Then the whole bunch of us relocated to beautiful San Diego, CA. Ever since we moved to San Diego I feel as if I’d live through a never ending vacation.
Photography always was, is and will be my passion.
Writing would be my passion too, and it is … in German … but my English isn’t good enough to be much of an English writer.

Does your Dog/Cat wear Clothes? Do you have a photo to share with us?

This is my Sheltie, His name is Strolchi, which is the German word for “Little Tramp”. His coat is very voluminous, and it regulates his temperature pretty good, so he never needed or will need any clothes. When our daughter was little she would dress him up but he always managed to get rid of the clothes before I could even grab the camera. Now he’s old and no longer up for these kind of games.

Does your Dog/Cat like to go for Car Rides?

The cats as well as the dog hate car rides. We got Strolchi (the dog) from an experienced Sheltie breeder in Luxembourg, a very small country to the west of Germany, almost 14 years ago when he was 10 weeks old. Depending on traffic it’s a 5 to 7 hour drive from Luxemburg to Munich, and this was his very first car ride ever. Although we made many stops he got pretty car sick on his way home. He never experienced motion sickness again after this trip but nevertheless, he stays away from cars as far as he can.
The cats scream and whine starting the second I bring them to the car and only stop when we’re back home. One of the cats is able to trash a carton pet carrier within 5 to 8 minutes and get out.

Do you have someone that inspires you the most, either on or off RB?

I’m the most inspired by photographers who did not have the advantage of Photoshop, like e.g. Henri-Cartier Bresson, Dorothea Lange, Joe Rosenthal, Ansel Adams and many more. They knew what they did when they pressed the shutter, and film as well as chemicals were expensive back then, so continuous shooting mode was definitely not an option. That may be old fashioned but that’s how I learned to do photography and how I worked for more than 25 years, too, and although I’ve gone digital 10 years ago I still stick to “do it right or put it in the trash”.
There’s a whole lot of awesome art on RB, deciding for just a few of them is impossible.

What Equipment do you use when you are photographing your pets?

It depends… when they are “on my couch” (indoors) I usually use either a 50 mm or a 28-135 mm lens on a Canon 40D on a tripod – all natural light, no flash or special lightning set-up, because it makes the animals too nervous.
Outdoors I still use my older Canon 20D and a 70-300 mm lens – mostly freehand, no tripod.
And if I’ve to be very fast I just grab the Canon Rebel XTi.

Which 3 of your images do you favor the most of your dog or cat photographs and why?

That’s a tough question. I especially like the ones that don’t need a title, photos which show not just the animal’s beauty but also its personality.

Like this one

Proud, strong, alert and elegant – but patient and gentle enough to sit still for 30 seconds -The Gentleman among dogs.

Or this one

Curious, careful, sneaky and deadly – The purrfect carnivore.

Or this one

Fast, powerful, unpredictable when running, and always graceful – Poetry in Motion

Did you have any classes or are you self taught?

Apprenticeships are part of Germany’s dual education system. So after I had received my secondary leaving certificate (A-level) from school, a photographer took me on as his apprentice and I spent most of my time in his studio and darkroom (learning by doing) and attending formal education, and successfully completed apprenticeship after 3 years. After that I never stopped to take classes and attend seminars, e.g. to learn more about color management, printmaking and so on.

What’s your dogs or cats favorite food?

Strolchi’s favorite food is by far cat food and what’s on our table. Of course he doesn’t get much of that, but he does get his second favorite: Cesar canine cuisine as well as all natural bull strips and gourmet duck treats.
One of the cats prefers hard food over soft food, so he gets his Purina One nibbles. The rest of the bunch is not very selective. Except: They all love ham, so ham is what I use to give them medicine if needed..

Where does your dog or cat sleep at night?

The dog sleeps right next to my bed. He doesn’t like to sleep in the bed, I guess it’s just too warm for him. The cats sleep in my bed, mostly next to my feet. I had no chance to convince them that this is MY bed. When ever I put them out of the bed they sneaked in again as soon as I fell asleep … and after a while I gave up.

Do you have a favorite story about your dog/cat to share with us?

My favorite story is about one of my cats. It was around 11 pm, I was stretched out on the couch, watching the news … a small marble table with a glass of red wine and crackers right in front of me … about 5 feet above the table a balloon rice paper lamp hanging down from the ceiling … the cat’s head following the circles a fly was flying inside the paper lamp. Everything was cozy and relaxed.
All of a sudden something was flying through the air, immediately followed by a scream … and a huge mess! The cat had jumped on the rice paper lamp shade to get the fly. Of course the thin paper shade could not hold the cat and ripped apart, lamp and cat fell down right in my glass of wine, when the glass hit the marble it broke in thousands of pieces, red wine soaked the crackers and down into the white carpet. Loud screaming the cat ran out and through the hallway, leaving a trace of blood behind.
First I got a hold of the cat. One of the metal rings the paper shade is glued on was loosely wrapped around the cat’s belly, she couldn’t get rid of it and it scared her to death. First I got the ring off, then I stopped the bleeding; the glass had cut deeply into one of her legs. And then I started to clean up the mess. It was after 2 AM when I finally crashed in my bed.
So much for a cozy, relaxed evening – all gone in a blink of an eye.

Wonderful!! Great photos!!!

Beautiful photos and congratulations on your win!

Oh I am so sorry Christine, I have tears in my eyes, what a sad storry it breaks my heart, but wow 20 years old at least she had a good home for a very long time. The saddest storry that happend to me is, and this was back in Germany years ago when my Bird Rudi got sick and could not eat anymore, he was at the Vet for 10 days and was feeling better. A few days after he was back home, I was watching TV he flew on my Chest and just layed down, but he always for years sat on the Armrest starring at the TV, so that was wired. I just knew something was wrong and about 2 hours went by and I still supported him with my hand on my chest he fell asleep, I was crying for a week because when he layed on my chest he knew that he was leaving. An Animal can touch our hearts more than some people, how amazing!
Where did you live in Italy, I lived ther too…In Aviano