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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 (549)

Contacts (518)

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
Stephanie A.... Stephanie Richer
laurenlemon Lauren Randolph

Groups (50 50)

Group with experience 373,840 photos, 90,334 members
Pretty Pictures of Ugly Things 41,494 photos, 3,366 members
FASHION ISLAND 7,284 photos, 188 members
Shoot the Street 33,556 photos, 1,166 members
Orton 24,749 photos, 4,485 members
The Spiritual Landscape 223 photos, 69 members
I wake up screaming 1,315 photos, 225 members
Creepy Doll Heads... 416 photos, 94 members
~♥~Dolls' Fanclub by OlyDoll~♥~ 2,702 photos, 1,144 members
"Abbeys, Monasteries, Cathedrals and Churches" 63,576 photos, 3,433 members
"Come from Land and Sea" Don't be selfish comment others. 102,761 photos, 5,155 members
Black and White beginners group 13,915 photos, 969 members
Souls (bw People) 16,047 photos, 1,712 members
Auto-Anthropology 15,770 photos, 1,460 members
Dedicated to Diane Arbus 8,296 photos, 902 members
no longer a group 425 photos, 7 members
Scary Dolls 3,180 photos, 555 members
Doll Heads 237 photos, 71 members
Cemetery People 950 photos, 138 members
National Geographic: Are You Good Enough? Post 1, Nominate 3 917,634 photos, 67,961 members
" Art of the Light " ☆☆☆☆☆ 36,083 photos, 9,051 members
flickr Masters of Sublime Statue Photography 140 photos, 19 members
In Black and White we Trust! 14,061 photos, 364 members
Southern California Cemeteries 201 photos, 28 members
Black and White Dreams 29,102 photos, 6,634 members
Creepy Dolls 8,321 photos, 1,454 members
Top 20 Tranquility 20 photos, 211 members
VINTAGE MOTEL SIGNS ONLY! 23,266 photos, 3,689 members
Water, Water Everywhere 10,393 photos, 981 members
Couples 18,396 photos, 4,956 members
Color Photo Award - PREMIER -- Post 1: Give 2 - Get 5: Go BRONZE 168,574 photos, 31,406 members
Decisive Moment 71,298 photos, 16,621 members
Creative Writing 2,305 photos, 507 members
flickrScorer // Post 1 score the 5 pictures before yours! 64,081 photos, 10,285 members
closed world 611 photos, 135 members
Night Photo 5,501 photos, 544 members
Natural Instant Diptych 1,959 photos, 463 members
Collaborative fiction 23 photos, 69 members
To my nostalgia 13,865 photos, 1,106 members
Portals and Passageways 958 photos, 105 members
Mannequin Hunters 7,327 photos, 683 members
A picture and a story 1,183 photos, 75 members
Portraits That Tell a Story (READ RULES BEFORE POSTING!) 95,886 photos, 7,938 members
Love is.... 68,678 photos, 9,831 members
Glendale, Jewel City of the Verdugos 1,110 photos, 116 members
Writers 4,280 photos, 776 members
Urban Fairytales 21,317 photos, 1,525 members
Southern California Architecture 6,747 photos, 426 members
Pushing Up Daisies 216 photos, 36 members
The Unofficial JPG Magazine Group 223,630 photos, 21,041 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