The fate that led to the famous photos of photographer Harry Whittier Frees began with a small incident that happened in his family.

Cats celebrate their birthday (Photo: NPR).

From the early 20th century until the 1950s, American photographer Harry Whittier Frees was known for his distinctive style and subject matter of photography. Photographer Harry often captures familiar small pets in people’s daily lives, these animals are dressed in cute costumes and arranged so that they appear in funny scenes.

The fate that led to the famous photos of photographer Harry Whittier Frees started with a small incident that happened in his family. Once at a birthday party, people passed a small paper hat around the table, someone put the hat on the head of the family cat.

Photographer Harry immediately took a picture of a cat wearing a hat. The picture was immediately acquired by a postcard manufacturer, who also ordered Harry many photographs made in a similar style, as customer demand for such postcards skyrocketed.

Cat drying clothes (Photo: NPR).

Cats working in agriculture (Photo: NPR).

Since then, Harry began to borrow dogs and cats from neighbors, friends and pet stores, and then prepare costumes for them. The small, pretty costumes are hand-sewn by the photographer’s mother and grandmother, who help the photographer’s family. After that, these pets will be put into lively and humorous scenes.

Harry’s job is not too difficult, but requires great patience, because in order to get a good photo to sell to the postcard maker, Harry has to take dozens of photos over and over again. But he also couldn’t get angry, because these dogs and cats didn’t understand what was going on. These pets are often naughty, refusing to stay still for the photographer to shoot.

After succeeding in the postcard business with funny pictures revolving around pets, Mr. Harry allows himself to only have to take pictures for 3 months a year to make a living. The rest of the year, he spends resting, regaining his inspiration for photography and coming up with new ideas.

Cooking cat (Photo: NPR).

Cat wedding (Image: NPR).

The photos taken by Harry became expensive postcards, and gradually, he was also photographed by advertising agencies, magazines and children’s book publishers.

Despite being a successful photographer with an array of personal photography subjects that are quite popular, but Harry Whittier Frees never reached wealth and abundance. In fact, contemporary photographers do not even consider the pictures he made as photographic work.

Mr. Harry also does not participate in photography associations, he does not have contact with photographers, but quietly pursues a separate subject area alone. For the rest of his life, Mr. Harry lived a quiet celibacy. He passed away at the age of 74 in 1953.

The photos that Mr. Harry made to this day are still loved and remembered by posterity, viewers see in the photos a sense of humor and timeless appeal.

Cats play jumping rope (Photo: NPR).

Cats play on swings (Photo: NPR).

Many people believe that photographer Harry Whittier Frees was the first photographer to bring cats into photography. His photos make viewers laugh with delight and whimper at his ability to capture the moment.

The photos taken by Mr. Harry do not use tricks or photo-editing methods. There was a time when Mr. Harry’s photos were very popular for use as postcards, book covers, calendars… Mr. Harry himself has published many picture books that summarize his photographic work. me.