Cat Feed in Porto, Portugal

Ok, this one is definitely one of my personal, all-time favorite memories. And to be honest, the image has more to do with dumb luck than anything else.



I was in Porto, Portugal at the time. As some know, I enjoy a little vino sometimes, and at this time I was all about that Port wine. I'd taken the train out of Porto, Portugal early in the morning into the wine country. Got back by mid-afternoon and decided to walk along the port river there, tasting some of the finest port wine available for no more than 5-7 euros a glass I think. And there, they don't serve the port in those BS tiny little port glasses like they do in the U.S. They use a proper wine glass. And brother/sister, that's some fine liquid I'm here to tell you. So divine.

I'm not sure how many glasses I'd had as this point, but it was certainly bordering on the outskirts of a few too many as I recall. The city's architecture is beautiful and I was leaving for Santiago del Compostela, in Spain the next morning... so I simply had to get out and make some images before I lost light.

Trouble was, I could barely still walk, let alone work a camera. But I persevered and gave it the ol' college try even though the buildings were now blocking the last of the light.

At the time, I was still a cigarette smoker (but now 6 years finished!) and because I was bummed I'd let the afternoon pass by without getting any decent images of this lovely city, decided to find a nice spot to have a smoke.

Ambled down some dark alleyway and out to a small patio area. The last bit of sun was streaming between two other buildings and since my eyes has already adjusted to the shade, I was temporarily blinded as I fumbled around in my pockets to find my Zippo lighter.

Got my smoke lit and was trying to adjust my eyes and regain some of the focus lost to the delightful last glass of fine port wine I'd just consumed. I kept hearing this strange sound that was like sand landing on a piece of metal. I looked over to my right and tried to figure out where the sound was coming from.

Below I could see some cats on a tin roof scrambling for something falling from above and a large bird surveying the gang of feral gangster kittens below. I looked up and saw an old woman tossing out food for the gang below, and became fascinated by the little line of multi-colored clothespins just below her.

I took a drag off my smoke and thought, "Dang, I bet that would make a nice image." The sun was quickly slipping away, so I raised the camera up, didn't even look at my settings, and then the woman went back inside. The sun direction changed so that that last light was gone, and the cats moved on. I got one shot only and I was nearly blind when I made it. You can even see some of the food debris she was tossing below caught in mid-air.

At first glance it just looks like a nice architectural image. But if you give it a little time, it reveals so much more.

You should pick this one up if you're so inclined... then when you later realize what's so awesome about it, you can thank me later.

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