Huy Cat Photography Blog

The Sawnee School of Ballet recently asked me to photograph headshots of their Company dancers. These girls (and Gregory :)) are great and so easy to work with. As I chatted with each of them during the session, the overwhelming theme is how long they’ve been dancing. I can’t help but be amazed at the commitment they must have. Look for them this December performing The Nutcracker. More information can be found at the Sawnee Ballet Theatre.

To see the full gallery of headshots, click here.

Quiet. That pretty much describes Annika when we met. Fortunately, I had my kids with me that day they got along just fine. Annika didn’t say much to me that day, but she was nice enough to let me snap a few shots. Here’s a few. To see the rest of the pictures, click here.

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No, we don’t call her KA. In the fast pace of online communication, it’s just easier to use her initials. So in the online world, she’s known as KA… at least to me. I wouldn’t doubt it if that’s how her friends type her name when they’re text messaging. One of the things we wanted to accomplish in this session is to take KA’s “senior portraits”. She’s going to be a senior in just a short week. So first, we headed out to KA’s high school.

But this session isn’t really just about KA, it’s also about little sis, A.

And Mom, M.

And Dad, T.

OK, let’s get back to the “senior portraits”. Here’s KA again, with her prom dress on the rail road tracks next to their subdivision.

And about half way through our shoot, here comes the train.

You can view all the pictures of this session by clicking here.

Today is Betsy’s Senior Prom with South Forsyth High School. The weather forecast for today was rain, rain, and more rain. As I was preparing to go to photograph Betsy, I was thinking what a terrible weather day it would be for her. But no, the skies opened up by the time I got to her house.

Here she is on her porch.

John came over shortly to pick up his date.

Here’s a quick fun moment.

And a few headshots of Betsy before they’re off to the party.

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The rest of the photos can be view here. Special thanks to Austin and Jacob for assisting with the lights.

Nicholas is now one year old and I feel like I’ve watched him grown. That’s because his parents are fanatics about taking his pictures. I’ve seen his online photo gallery and I think there’s at least a picture of him per day he’s been born. Here’s a few quick snaps of him at a nearby park. More to come later.

Ok, I try not to do a lot of gear talk on my blog, but after my friend Bob allowed me to try out his new 85mm f/1.2 II lens, I had to post some results.

Here’s two pictures shot at f/1.2

Outside, it was too bright to shoot wide open, I shot this one at f/1.4.

And here’s one stopped down a bit at f/2.

One last shot at f/1.2.

So, what’s my opinion on it? First, it’s a solid lens. Many will say it’s heavy, but I think it perfectly balanced my camera (with the grip). I only tried this lens out pretty much wide open, so I didn’t stop it down but I suspect it only gets better stopped down. Being such a fast lens, I was always impressed that I didn’t have to reach for the flash in doors.

However, it does take a lot of shots to make sure you got it right when shooting at such a thin DOF at f/1.2. The focusing is slow which makes it not a great lens for sports. But, I never thought I would use this sports. And finally, there’s purple fringing shooting it wide open.

This is the second year I’ve been asked to work with Ben Vigil for Pure Fashion. Today is their Hair and Makeup Day. Having done this same event last year, there were many young girls I recognize this year. Once again, the event was held at Siggers Hairdressers. Here’s just a few head shots taken of over 60 young girls.

Oh, how can I forget one last thing. I need to thank Jessen and Susannah for being my personal assistants that day. I couldn’t have done it without their help. Thanks!

The holiday season is almost upon us. So, it’s time to photograph the kids again.

Here’s cousins showing their petite fashion

And big brother

Little sis was so cooperative.

Look at this tickle smile!

The girls are having too much fun…

How can he be serious with little sis hugging him.

And, let’s dance.

But wait, shhhhhh

because the girls are up.

We’ve known Katie for almost 10 years now. She’s one of the nicest girls out there. Today, she’s on her way to her school’s homecoming dance. I just realized that over the 10 years, I’ve never taken a picture of her. So, this is one of the first photographs I’ve taken of her.

View all the pictures by clicking here.

And here’s her friend, Molly

And here’s Katie with my assistant-in-training, Austin

I first saw Rhett when he was performing at our company’s holiday party. He was playing the harp so beautifully. The following year, he conducted our own Broadcom Band at our own holiday party. Now he’s running the Atlanta Harp Center in Alpharetta. He’s given me the opportunity to take some photos of the beautiful harps they’re selling. I don’t know much about what makes a great harp. But I must say that the following harps are just gorgeous.

Oh, I forgot to mention that these were photographed at Atlanta’s own Piedmont Park.

The following pictures were taken at the gazebo.

A closer look at these beautiful harps

And here’s Rhett himself.