The original viral cat photographer

Before the internet made cat photos trendy, Walter Chandoha made them a thing

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The cat photographer
(Image credit: Walter Chandoha)
(Image credit: (Walter Chandoha))

(Image credit: (Walter Chandoha)Chandoha, 95, has spent the majority of his life behind the lens, and it was early in his career when he discovered he had a knack for capturing animals. Although the New Jer)

(Image credit: (Walter Chandoha))

(Image credit: (Walter Chandoha)For 40 years, Chandoha's cat photos — with their signature backlighting — have appeared in advertisements (for pet food, shoes, and even women's lingerie), magazines (from Na)

(Image credit: (Walter Chandoha))

(Image credit: (Walter Chandoha)With his window of opportunity revealed, Chandoha would give his wife the okay to pull her hands away, then photograph madly while the cats were in pose. He'd run through a z)

(Image credit: (Walter Chandoha))

Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer is available this October from Aperture

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.