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A must-see for pet owners! A camera that makes you want to capture everyday life.

2022年8月24日 19:00

Hello. I am Ito Yoizuki ( @__yoii_to ), a flower-loving photographer. I photograph flowers on the roadside during my commute to and from work, and seasonal flowers blooming throughout Kyushu on my days off.

Although I usually focus on photographing flowers, I also love cats and take pictures of them whenever I see them outside. In this article, I will introduce a record of "everyday life with cats" that I captured at home using the LUMIX G100 and three interchangeable lenses.

【The lenses introduced here are】

▼Medium telephoto
LEICA DG NOCTICRON 42.5mm / F1.2 ASPH. / POWER O.I.S.

▼Standard prime
LEICA DG SUMMILUX 25mm / F1.4 II ASPH.

▼Wide-angle/Standard
LUMIX G VARIO 12-32mm / F3.5-5.6 ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S.

Chasing the fleeting moments of an animal's gaze and movement

Animals defy human expectations in a good way. I love that they show me wonderful moments and natural expressions precisely because they don't always do what I expect. I especially enjoy photographing cats, and I often realize later that I was so absorbed in it that I kept clicking the shutter.

The way it crosses its front paws is cute... a very relaxed kitten

The thrill of when they turn their natural expressions toward me makes my love for them grow even more.

The LUMIX G100 is compact enough not to be intimidating to animals, even with the lens attached, and it is easy to hold and change positions since I move around while shooting.

Also, since the monitor on the back of the G100 can be moved, I love that it is easy to check the framing when I want to get low and shoot from a cat's eye level, or when I want to photograph a cat in a high place. As I use the camera more frequently, I realize how useful it is in many situations.

When photographing animals outdoors, I often keep my distance, so I made sure to attach the 85mm medium telephoto lens.

It seems to be observing its other cat siblings

Since they also go into shaded areas, I set the shutter speed to avoid blur for moving subjects. I raised the ISO sensitivity to 640 to ensure brightness, but I was able to edit the photos without noticing any noise when I developed them.

Kittens are at an age where running around is especially fun, so they are everywhere, making my head spin. There were times when I had to support my body with one hand while chasing them as they slipped between the trees, and hold the camera with my free hand.

An expression that says, "Can you come this far?"

The moment our eyes lock is cute; it's an angel.

The LEICA DG NOCTICRON 42.5mm / F1.2 ASPH. / POWER O.I.S. lens I used not only produces beautiful bokeh, but it is also excellent at expressing three-dimensionality, which is one of the reasons I love it, as I can feel the movement and breath in a single photo.

This lens is also useful indoors, where there are more situations that require light.

Discovering each and every natural expression

A cat before a nap, staring at something...

Stray cats that are used to people will turn their friendly faces toward you, but the pets that spend every day in the same house often show a different, more relaxed expression. It might be natural, but that is precisely why there are more opportunities to capture relaxed moments.

It was so cute that I wanted to pet it, but then... *grab*

When shooting at this distance, a lens close to a wide-angle is easier to use. Here, since there is plenty of light coming in by the window, I used a standard zoom lens that is also excellent in terms of portability.Because the LUMIX G100 is lightweight, the combination with this compact lens feels close to the sensation of taking pictures casually with a smartphone.

Cats follow various things with their eyes when they come to the window, so it is fun to watch. Their expressions change constantly, so I never get bored watching them. Since I wait for the right moment to shoot while observing the cat's expressions, I can shoot without any burden if the camera is light.

Since the zoom lens covers everything from wide-angle to standard, it is fun to be able to shoot while gauging the distance according to the situation. With the twilight light, I was able to shoot brightly enough even with the brightness of the zoom lens.

Casually capturing cuteness even indoors

Compared to the outdoors, the indoors are darker, and there are more situations that require brightness. You can turn on the room lights to supplement the light, but since the color of fluorescent lights affects the fur color and such, I want to shoot with natural light as much as possible. In such cases, using a lens with a low F-number can increase the freedom of shooting even indoors.

This photo was taken using the same medium-telephoto lens as when I shot the outdoor cat. Since light enters easily near the window, I try to aim for the timing when they come to take a nap, shooting in accordance with the cat's life.

And here is another type of lens with a small F-number. It is a standard prime lens with an open F-number of 1.4, which is good at capturing clear textures with nice bokeh.

The soft light through the curtains comes in from behind, and the fluffy fur is cute

Because I shot at F1.4, the fluffiness of the fur from the head to the neck where I focused is expressed softly. It is sleeping on a futon, but thanks to the low F-number lens, everything other than the part I wanted to show melts into a blur. I wanted to create an atmosphere of sleeping peacefully and comfortably in a dream, so I was able to express it just as I imagined.

One of the reasons I love cats is their eyes. They have a transparency that feels like a tiny universe, and they are beautiful, reflecting light like glass.

I focused on the eyes, set the aperture wide open, and shot from a slightly low angle. The texture brings out the transparency I feel every time I look at them, and the way the cat's whiskers and fur blur softly into a fluffy depiction is truly beautiful.

A black cat looking somewhere else while watching a human eat lunch

When shooting indoors, if furniture and other items are in the frame, the background gets cluttered, so it is better to lower the F-number and blur the background to draw attention to the subject (the cat).

A black cat who doesn't like large cameras—I snapped a photo while it didn't notice the camera's presence.

Animals have various personalities, and some are sensitive. This black cat basically dislikes cameras, so I rarely point a lens at it. However, I succeeded in secretly taking a photo through a gap in the curtains using the LUMIX G100 with a 12-32/F3.5-5.6 lens attached.

Perhaps its compact size and natural presence, similar to a human's eye level, meant the cat didn't mind it.

A kitten that looks a bit sleepy after playing until it was tired

This time, I used three different lenses to photograph the cat, depending on the animal's gaze, movement, expression, and the shooting situation.

For outdoor shooting, a medium-telephoto or standard prime lens is useful, as it allows you to chase a fleeting moment while keeping your distance.

Indoors, having one standard prime lens with a small F-number expands the range of scenes you can shoot, even in dark conditions.

When you want to shoot casually like a snapshot, or when you want to take pictures while interacting with the cat, a zoom lens that covers from wide-angle to standard is easy to use.

Capturing a fleeting moment of cuteness in a life with a cat

Thank you for reading until the end.

An animal's gaze, a moving moment, an expression—a continuous stream of cuteness. When humans intrude on a cat's daily life to take photos, the LUMIX G100 becomes a partner that captures the perfect shot.

It was a camera I wanted to own as a tool to capture and preserve those fleeting moments of cuteness as we live in the same world.

Yoizuki Ito: Twitter
Yoizuki Ito: note

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