Personal Photography Project of Beth Mancuso
What is/was your personal project and what inspired you to start it?
My project is called “A Boy and His Cats” it is focused on both documenting and creating images of my sons with their cats. I found myself taking so many pictures of my sons with their cats that I realized I had started a project unbeknownst to myself. I fell in love with the images we were creating, and my boys love taking pictures with the cats, so it was a win-win situation.
Are there any challenges or ruts you faced during your project and how did you overcome them and keep a creative eye?
My biggest challenge is that our cats are mainly indoor cats so it is hard to come up with new ideas in a limited space. My boys often help me come up with creative ideas. The fishing pole image was inspired by one of my sons, he was dangling a kitty toy for our cat and said “look mom, I caught a catfish!”. I used that idea to create an image.
What have you learned through your process with your personal project?
That photographing cats is hard! Joking aside, I learned that by combining my vision with my sons love for their cats I was able to create a project that we all love. I know some day they are going to look back at these images with great fondness and that makes my heart sing.
Is there anything additional about your project that readers may find interesting?
The project is a mix of real-life moments and images that I created. Due to the fleeting nature of cats many of the images are iPhone shots.
If you are on Instagram you can find all of the images under the hashtag #aboyandhiscats
These are breathtaking. What an awesome project. I love the one with the outdoors reflected in the window and the diptych with them looking out the door.
What a fun project! I have one toddler who I love photographing, but she is at the age now where she does not like having her picture taken. Working on a “project” together, involving something that she loves, is a great idea. I don’t know which of these is my favorite – the sunset ones are beautiful, but the one with the kitten book is adorable!