Cats are practically part of the DNA of the internet. Taking and sharing pictures of cats acting dopey, making hilarious faces, or even just simply existing is a time-honored tradition that dates back to the olden days (in other words, a few decades ago when the internet first became widely used by the public). For the most part, though, cat pictures are taken by total photography amateurs; maybe you took your phone out at the right time to snap a pic of your cat stretching in a weird way, or your kitty sneezed at the exact time you tried to take a selfie together.
For one professional photographer, the imperfectly silly nature of cats is the absolute perfect subject for his photos. And because he’s based in the bustling metropolis that is Tokyo, Japan, he has more than enough feline subjects to work with.
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Masayuki Oki Is a Professional Cat Photographer
The Japanese native spends his time wandering the streets of Tokyo, searching for stray cats to photograph. None of his pictures are perfect, and that’s kind of the point.
Oki’s subjects are strange, scrappy, and sit around cleaning themselves where anyone can see them. After all, they’re cats, and they just do what cats do best.
He Posts His Pics to Instagram, Where He Has Plenty of People Rolling on the Floor Laughing
Oki boasts an impressive 289 thousand followers, who love looking at the strange, often comical pictures he posts. He’s feeding into a demand that’s not likely going to go away any time soon; after all, who doesn’t love looking at strange cat pictures?
Oki Got Started Taking Pictures of Street Cats in 2013/2014
In an interview with PetaPixel , Oki explains how his passion was born on New Year’s Eve in 2013. “When I was exhausted in a nearby park during a break in between work, I met the fateful cat ‘Busanyan-senpai’ in the middle of the road in the park. From the time I met him, the course of my life changed greatly,” he said. “The more I look at him, the more things come to mind in my head, and the more I want to shoot. A passion was born in my heart.”
Then, at the beginning of 2014, he began taking pictures of cats he’d find on the street.
And Luckily for Him, He’ll Probably Never Run Out of Cats To Photograph
There are approximately 10 million cats living in Japan, with 1.1 million of them in Tokyo alone . Out of all of those Tokyo cats, around 60,000 of them are strays. In other words, Oki has plenty of subjects to choose from.
h/t PetaPixel
