Walter Chandoha: Right here, right meow

If you’ve perused the stock at the Wexner Center Store lately, you might have noticed the ne plus ultra of cat photos gracing the cover of one of the books in stock. A kitten—the whitest, fluffiest kitten to have ever graced this good Earth—is perched atop not one, not two, but three brightly colored silken pillows, every wisp of its softer-than-soft fur backlit to enhance its fuzzy-wuzziness. The title is straightforward enough: Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer, and while you may not know his name, you likely have seen Chandoha’s work in the pages of National Geographic and Life magazines, not to mention on posters and pet-food packaging.

Since first rescuing a kitten from a snowy New York City alleyway in 1948, the now-95-year-old Chandoha has secured a reputation as one of the best in the feline foto biz—“the godfather of cat photography” according to Wired. In Chandoha’s new book, readers encounter 50 examples of his photographic work, plus photo tips and diagrams of his studio setup, and the backstory on how he came to make a career out of animal photography.

On occasion of his book’s release, Chandoha chatted with artnet about his process, the painter Vermeer’s influence on his work, and more. Of course, artnet couldn’t resist asking which makes a better photographic subject, cats or dogs.

You can probably guess the answer.

“(Cats are) more expressive than dogs, first of all. They get into more situations than dogs would ever dream of getting into and they vocalize so much differently—they purr and they snarl and they meow in different cadences. I prefer cats; they have so much more variety in their postures,” says Chandoha.

Want more tips from the master? Check out this New York Times video interview with Chandoha.