When I thought about what my passion was for this assignment, animals were the first thing that popped into my head. I love animals with all my heart; I always have and I always will. Often I would rather hang out with my cat than one of my friends. I have also always loved taking pictures of my cats. I have found pictures that I took of my cat when I was about five, with my mom’s camera. Most of them were blurry, or my finger was over the lens, because I didn’t know how to work it well, but I have always loved taking pictures. Sometimes I will be in the middle of schoolwork, and my cat will be lying on my bed in a really cute position, so I will drop everything I’m doing and have a full photo-shoot with him.

I was worried when I came to Italy that I wouldn’t be able to pet any cats. I have been around cats my entire life, and having one with me gives me comfort, and calms me down immensely. I was over the moon when I found what I thought was a stray cat outside our house, and I was even happier when I discovered that it was my neighbor’s cat, so it would be around all the time! I named him Rory before I knew he was my neighbor’s, but it turns out that his real name is Bartolomeo, or Meo for short. He is very photogenic.

I love taking pictures of animals because it’s a real challenge. They move constantly, so it’s really tough to get a good picture that isn’t blurry or badly focused. This makes me feel really satisfied and accomplished when I do get a good one.

When taking pictures of Rory, I had to keep the camera at a distance. If I held it too close to his face he would get up and rub against it, ruining the shot. I always ended up in a weird position, lying on my stomach with one arm stretched out, or hanging over the railing outside our house trying to get a good angle at his forever moving body.

I am happy with the photos I managed to get. For me, taking photos of animals is really fulfilling, which is one of the reasons why I enjoy it so much. Animals are definitely my photography passion!

Emily Zumchak is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program.

All photos courtesy and copyright Emily Zumchak