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"A portrait is not a likeness," Richard Avedon said at the time of "In the American West. "The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion. There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth."

If interested in prints please notify me by email. I use allied photographic for all images.

And finally, when leaving a comment, please do not drop in swirling windmills, sniffing dogs, golden suns, or green little people. Just leave a comment. I don't do comment graphics and gimicks and neither should you.

The management.

Photos of Zen Cat (1)

Zen Cat's favorite photos from other Flickr members (531)

Contacts (519)

romixeta Romixeta
SuperGPphotogra... Gianpaolo Catania
Omri Suissa Omri Suissa
quocbaoPHOTO™ No real name given
Dariusz.Majgier.pl Dariusz Majgier
Björn Lexius Björn Lexius
southpaw20 Andy Watson
aperitive will i am
Miracle Man Rob Miracle
daisycakes1 pam
McGiffert No real name given
tbuh24 Steven Gin

Groups (50 50)

Group with Ҽxperience 704,190 photos, 126,521 members
Pretty Pictures of Ugly Things 43,355 photos, 3,391 members
FASHION ISLAND 8,687 photos, 203 members
Shoot the Street 47,065 photos, 1,662 members
Orton 25,028 photos, 4,489 members
The Spiritual Landscape 277 photos, 70 members
I wake up screaming 1,330 photos, 225 members
Creepy Doll Heads... 440 photos, 98 members
~♥~Dolls' Fanclub by OlyDoll~♥~ 2,919 photos, 1,224 members
"Abbeys, Monasteries, Cathedrals and Churches" 68,293 photos, 3,498 members
"Come from Land and Sea" Don't be selfish comment others. 105,763 photos, 5,130 members
Black and White beginners group 14,390 photos, 976 members
Souls (bw People) 16,931 photos, 1,743 members
Auto-Anthropology 17,097 photos, 1,522 members
Dedicated to Diane Arbus 8,900 photos, 911 members
no longer a group 420 photos, 7 members
Scary Dolls 3,285 photos, 569 members
Doll Heads 268 photos, 91 members
Cemetery People 938 photos, 140 members
National Geographic: Are You Good Enough? Post 1, Nominate 3 960,358 photos, 69,337 members
" Art of the Light " ☆☆☆☆☆ 39,663 photos, 9,092 members
flickr Masters of Sublime Statue Photography 142 photos, 19 members
In Black and White we Trust! 14,311 photos, 362 members
Southern California Cemeteries 213 photos, 30 members
Black and White Dreams 32,569 photos, 6,610 members
Creepy Dolls 8,710 photos, 1,503 members
Top 20 Tranquility 19 photos, 200 members
VINTAGE MOTEL SIGNS ONLY! 23,962 photos, 3,717 members
Water, Water Everywhere 11,630 photos, 1,003 members
Couples 19,107 photos, 5,161 members
Color Photo Award - PREMIER -- Post 1: Give 2 - Get 5: Go BRONZE 176,020 photos, 31,527 members
Decisive Moment 72,363 photos, 17,106 members
Creative Writing 2,419 photos, 507 members
flickrScorer // Post 1 score the 5 pictures before yours! 65,424 photos, 10,356 members
closed world 608 photos, 135 members
Night Photo 5,576 photos, 541 members
Natural Instant Diptych 1,965 photos, 460 members
Collaborative fiction 22 photos, 68 members
To my nostalgia 14,169 photos, 1,113 members
Portals and Passageways 985 photos, 107 members
Mannequin Hunters 7,119 photos, 712 members
A picture and a story 1,278 photos, 77 members
Portraits That Tell a Story (READ RULES BEFORE POSTING!) 101,270 photos, 8,242 members
Love is.... 72,681 photos, 10,284 members
Glendale, Jewel City of the Verdugos 1,118 photos, 117 members
Writers 4,225 photos, 778 members
Urban Fairytales 22,623 photos, 1,543 members
Southern California Architecture 7,298 photos, 438 members
Pushing Up Daisies 216 photos, 35 members
The Unofficial JPG Magazine Group 228,236 photos, 21,028 members

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Testimonials (6)

Annene von Durchgerockt says:

"Inspired and inspirational.

Everyone who picks up a camera or writes words should at least attempt to be as generous as Zen Cat."

16th June, 2006
Henrik says:

"Alvin is the Zen Cat. That might sound profound, or otherwise just stupid. But for me it's filled with meaning.

Anyway, I was going to talk about Alvin, not me, right?

He's just got that eye for photography that is pure talent. I remeber the first time I saw his photographs I asked him if he was a professional photographer. It turned out he's not.

He can take pictures of people and make them look alive. And then he always add fantastic stories. Looking at his photos is a truly satisfying experience."

11th February, 2006
Riot Sauce says:

"Zen Cat (Alvin) is one of my most favorite flickr photographers. He's got an amazing eye for everything - humor, beauty, tragedy, irony, and the talent to produce unforgettable photographs out of what he sees. I love his street portraits especially. And the newsstand guys. And the manniquins.

But there's more! He writes too. Alvin's pictures and writing together are little masterpieces (and just the right length for those like me with the attention span of a sand flea). If you've had a lousy day, skip whatever pill you take and read a Zen Tale instead. I guarantee you'll end up smiling. Or at least scratching your head wondering what that was all about. But you won't remember why you were in a bad mood, I promise.

Zen Cat seems (yeah I know, it's the internets) like the kind of person you'd love to have in the group of friends sitting around your kitchen table, talking late into the night. Just lock up your dolls, first."

2nd January, 2006
Polstar* says:

"What can I say about Alvin's photography? That he captures moments so perfectly? That he's inspiring? ... it's not just the photos, it's the stories that accompany them also. They are sometimes provocative, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always, always entirely enjoyable to read.
What a star ... one of the best on Flickr, without a doubt."

22nd December, 2005
smalldogs says:

"Like so many other photographers here on Flickr, ZC completely inspires me to get outside and take some pictures and just do a better job dammit! All of his pictures have a unique quality that I hope I can achieve with lots more practice. The night shots blow me away."

14th October, 2005
btezra says:

"~I stumbled in here because I saw a face that grabbed my eye and my attention one day, then I started to get addicted to the emotion and meaning in the images, and then I fully appreciated Zen Cat's eye and attention to people, places, things, that most would just pass by and never notice...thnx for all you have shared and the images to come...all the best!~"

7th September, 2005