THE ASSIGNMENT

I decided to to the DS106 assignment Love: In Three Frames.

“In honor of Valentine’s Day, use three photos to tell the story of a relationship. You can use “real” photos that you’ve taken in a relationship. Or search for Creative Commons images on Flickr and find a story to tell with what you discover. You can find a bunch of examples at Slate today.”

I did neither, using my own images or CC. I happened to have random images saved on my computer that I felt were appropriate. The assignment asks you to create a story of a relationship through three images.

My assignment is based on my relationship with my first high level pet when I was a kid, a cat. (I consider dogs/cats to be high level, and hamsters, birds, snakes, etc to be low level in terms of personality.)

Your litter was born in the apartment next door. I actually wanted your sister instead. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with you. It was quickly apparent you were my cat and I was your favorite.

I couldn't stay forever, even if I wanted to. I couldn't take you with me, even though I wanted to. I remember hearing that you lost your appetite and waited at the door for me everyday for the first four months.

You're likely very old now and I wonder if I'll ever see you again. I don't know which I should hope for… For you to never forget me or for you to remember me.

The Process

So the assignment called for telling the story of a relationship in 3 images. At first I thought of doing my relationship with my dog, but then thoughts quickly shifted to that of my first serious pet, a cat.

I used three random images from my computer. A girl with a kitten (I think this particular image was viral for a while), some famous houses from San Francisco, and a picture of feet that I liked.

I knew that I wanted to keep the feel of the examples on the Slate website by using a Polaroid frame. I make a quick and correct assumption that the Pixlr vintage photo editor would offer varieties of Polaroid frames, so I went there. While at it I decided to run each of the images through various overlays and color effects for some diversity.

I eventually took the pictures into the regular Pixlr image editor as well to get the drop shadow effect. I would open my Polaroid-framed image and a blank image (800×600 pixels) and copy the Polaroid into the new blank. From there I accessed the following menu options: Layer > Layer Styles > Drop Shadow From there I just cropped the images down. I did this because the drop shadows make it more like an actual Polaroid photograph, rather than just a frame effect.

I decided to add text through the captions rather than trying to squeeze them into the images. This gave me time to cut down what I wanted to write. It was really easy, especially in the last frame, to want to write a lot. I decided I could save some of it for my story section of this post.

I feel that this assignment deserves more stars than it’s rated on the DS106 website, purely on the basis of how much I cried like a little bitch the entire time I was doing this assignment. Some of the Slate examples were really moving and made me tear up too. Digging up a way to express my sad relationship with my cat through images and words was far more emotionally draining than I anticipated and I’m not afraid to admit it. I like animals.

The Story

So this is my relationship with my cat, that I got when I was in the 6th grade. A litter of kittens were born next door and my family wanted one. I actually wanted a gray one, but we ended up getting a Seal Point Himalayan.

I grew up in San Francisco, and that’s where I left my cat behind. I really wanted to take her with me, but circumstances prevented that. She’s the only reason I’ve gone back, but the last time was years ago. I know when I first came to Japan (many years ago) she waited for me every day at the door and wouldn’t eat. Eventually she had to stop waiting though and that moment was bittersweet. I didn’t want her to pine away in depression, but I also didn’t want her to forget me.

I saw her maybe once or twice after that. She didn’t recognize me anymore, but I wonder if she still remembers the time that we spent together. Do cats have memories?

The only evidence that I have that she’s still alive is that news of her passing hasn’t traveled down the grapevine. I wish I could see her again, but I don’t know if I’ll reach her in time. I take comfort in the assumption that animals like cats can’t possibly experience nearly as complex emotions as humans.