May 16, 2014 by

Eleven weeks old and adorable!

kittens

Rafael and Sasha! Sasha just turned one year old, so he’s barely out of kittenhood himself, but he’s completely affectionate and loving with the babies. Even when they bite his tail and try to climb him like a tree… He’s a patient cat!

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Little Miss Calista, (with Rafael photobombing!) and her very tired mother, Maisie. Raising these babies is making Maisie more than a little tired. She’ll be glad when they find forever homes, and she can get back to napping at will again!

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Samantha has the greenest eyes of all the kittens – not as green as her mother, but very pretty!

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Sasha gives good baths! And my favorite cat of all, Roxie Pablo, is ready to take a real bath! Roxie is two-years-old now, and still my favorite. She was first, but it’s more than that; she’s just a very special cat.

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Calista gives good face. That little orange nose? Just perfection.

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Two shots of Vanessa! She’s actually my favorite of the kittens; probably because she loves me the most. It’s hard not to love a baby that looks at you adoringly, and follows you around, and only wants to be near you!

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And finally, one more of Calista, because she’s just so darn cute! She wins for best-looking!

May 13, 2014 by

On Instagram…

I finally joined Instagram, and wanted to share a little of what I’m posting!

Riverside, CaliforniaChristian Science Church, Riverside, CaliforniaThe Mission Inn, Riverside, CaliforniaWild flowers in Idyllwild, California.The view to Banning, California.

Idyllwild GateiPhone Photography

There’s a certain looseness shooting with an iPhone that I really like. No real editing–other the option to apply a filter or two–and no pressure. Just fun!

If you want to follow me on Instagram, just go to http://instagram.com/cherylspelts

April 30, 2014 by

On Twitter | March and April 2014

Cheryl

April 6, 2014 by

The kittens are five weeks old!

five-week-old kittens

The kittens are five weeks old, and sleeping out in the open now. Momma can’t keep them corralled any longer!

Maisie

Their mother, Maisie, has the most beautiful green eyes. Best eyes I’ve ever seen on a cat!

March 10, 2014 by

Baby Kittens! 13 Days Old!

baby kitten yawning

King of the kitten pile? Or just a yawn?

baby kitten sleeping

At this age all they do is sleep and eat, and then sleep and eat some more.

baby kittens

Such a pretty little face…

13-day-old kittens

I’ve gotten a few questions about how these were shot… Was it a “normal” camera? And the answer is yes! Just a normal camera and a 50mm lens at f/1.2. If you’ve studied photography even just a little, you probably know that an aperture of f/1.2 will give you an extremely shallow depth of field – but then when you combine it with shooing this close, it makes the field of focus even more narrow. On some of these only the tiny little whiskers on their noses were in focus. I did crop all of them slightly – but no more that a quarter of the image was trimmed off. But did I do anything to them in PhotoShop? Not really. I color balanced and then sharpened them, but there was no selective blurring, or anything else tricky. These really are the way it looks when you shoot wide open, and really close up.

So why did I choose to shoot this way? There are several reasons. One, I think it’s pretty. Two, I really wanted to focus on the kitten’s tiny little toes and their noses and whiskers. The narrow focus serves to isolate those features from the background, and really showcase how sweet they are. And three, I like to push occasionally, and get something a little different. Shooting the same subject the same way, more than once, gets a little boring. Gotta shake it up!

March 7, 2014 by

Kittens! Year Three…

ten-day-old kittens

Kiss, kiss!

baby kitten

Ten-days-old…

baby calico kittens

Little kitten faces

Little faces, ten-days-old…

When do kittens open their eyes?

This is the LAST generation of this particular cat family. The mother of these kittens is one of the kittens from last summer – in other words, she’s only nine-months old herself – but now that she’s letting me touch her, she’ll be on her was to the Vet to get fixed, as soon as these babies are weaned. Her brother has already visited the Vet, and she’s the last hold-out, so definitely the last branch of this particular cat family tree!

February 28, 2014 by

On Twitter | January and February 2014

  • Feb 27 · PBS’ Frontline profiled “Generation Like” tonight, and their social media-driven world. Gen X and the Millennials? Very different world!
  • Feb 25 · If you miss your exit, then you miss your exit. It’s not that big a deal. Just get off at the next one! #literallyandfiguratively
  • Jan 16 · I hate being away from home on days when there’s a big wildfire in a nearby town. Makes me a bit nervous…
  • Jan 11 · Ethan Morton, author of “Anything Goes,” a new book on the history of musical theatre, made the comment. #RuthEtting
  • Jan 11 · Audiences didn’t care – they were getting to see a star! Love to #PBS for getting it RIGHT!
  • Jan 11 · About how her numbers were rarely integrated into the plot of the Broadway show – but audiences didn’t care – they were getting to see a …
  • Jan 11 · Just heard a referance to Ruth Etting on PBS’ TheatreTalk! And it was spot on!
December 31, 2013 by

On Twitter | December 2013

  • Dec 24 · Amazing he’s still alive… And grateful he sailed between me and the car behind me! It was just like magic! #drunkdriversuck
  • Dec 24 · A car just sailed through a red light, at 50MPH downtown, while I was in the middle of the intersection – going the other way – legally.
  • Dec 24 · It’s 83 degrees today – clear and sunny gorgeousness! So grateful to live in such a beautiful place!
  • Dec 16 · Done with finals! I have officially completed my first semester in law school. So happy! Now, on to Christmas…
  • Dec 10 · Torts Final is done and I feel really good! Which could be a sign I missed issues… Or it could mean I did really good! Either way, I FEEL good!
  • Dec 9 · Palm trees in the background, oranges in winter, and a pretty girl – all the elements of a vintage ad meant to… http://fb.me/3xE3NmyDC 
  • Dec 9 · The Steam Punk Contingent! I don’t think these three were officially connected with the event, they were guests,… http://fb.me/12BwoqFhT 
  • Dec 9 · Every year Heritage House in Riverside hosts a Victorian Christmas Party, and this year I finally got to go! http://fb.me/1cEBNR4mH 
  • Dec 9 · Heritage House | A Victorian Christmas – http://cherylspelts.com/?p=4469 
  • Dec 9 · Jenna and Michael – http://cherylspelts.com/?p=4455 
  • Dec 8 · Victorian Christmas at Heritage House, circa 1895, then chocolate martinis and appetizers at the Mission inn! #iLoveRiverside
  • Dec 6 · I posted 11 photos on Facebook in the album “Jenna and Michael” http://fb.me/1HHAIMnX3 
  • Dec 5 · Restaurant Impossible is filming in Redlands this week! At a place called Mill Creek BBQ? If you live nearby, there’s a radio event!
  • Dec 3 · There’s a mass of gray rain clouds hanging over the coast. The kind of day I wish I could stay inland, in the sun!
December 9, 2013 by

Heritage House | A Victorian Christmas

Heritage House | A Victorian Christmas

Every year Heritage House in Riverside hosts a Victorian Christmas Party, and this year I finally got to go!

Heritage House | A Victorian Christmas

Palm trees in the background, oranges in winter, and a pretty girl – all the elements of a vintage ad meant to entice people to move to beautiful sunny Riverside, circa 1895!

Heritage House | A Victorian ChristmasHeritage House | A Victorian Christmas
Me and my Mom in front of the Christmas deer. Notice the orange trees in the background. I love the California Christmas look! And one of the strolling musicians.

Heritage House | A Victorian Christmas

The Steam Punk Contingent! I don’t think these three were officially connected with the event–they were guests–but they were so cool as they serenely strutted around the circular pathways. True Victorian spirit on display. One of the real highlights of the event, in my opinion!

Heritage House | A Victorian ChristmasHeritage House | A Victorian Christmas

Hollyhocks! In December? How cool is that?

Heritage House | A Victorian ChristmasHeritage House | A Victorian Christmas

There were women demonstrating traditional domestic arts in the carriage house – these two were spinning and knitting.

Heritage House | A Victorian ChristmasHeritage House | A Victorian Christmas

My Mom and Grandma enjoying the garden area. That interesting piece of citrus fruit smelled fabulous. I’m a big fan of all citrus smells, and this one was really good!

Heritage House | A Victorian ChristmasHeritage House | A Victorian Christmas

Caroling and handing out programs.

Heritage House | A Victorian Christmas

We heard a rumor that each of the thirty docents was responsible for baking twelve dozen cookies each, and that they would still run out by the end of the afternoon. That’s over 4000 home baked cookies! It may not look it in these images, but there were a lot of people there – very popular event!

Heritage House | A Victorian ChristmasHeritage House | A Victorian Christmas

A couple of shots from inside the house. I couldn’t resist shooting the toilet – it was just so pretty!

Heritage House | A Victorian Christmas
And finally, the fountain in the front yard.