Photographer Captures Tokyo's Stray Cats in Their Natural Element

The only thing that might be more challenging than herding cats is photographing them. Thanks to their acrobatic movements and fleeting facial expressions (not to mention their refusal to comply with human wishes), it takes a gifted shutterbug to capture all of that purr-sonality.

Enter Japanese photographer Masayuki Oki, who’s known for his playful portraits of Tokyo’s street cats. Spoon Tamago recently highlighted Oki’s work, which he publishes on Instagram (Oki has nearly 50,000 followers) and on his blog. Recently, Oki also compiled his images of pouncing, playing, and fighting felines into a book, titled busanyan (meaning “ugly cats” in English), which was published in Japan in 2015.

Next up: Oki told Spoon Tamago that he eventually wants to travel through Japan and photograph all of the country’s stray cats.

Follow Oki’s adventures via his blog or Instagram, or check out a sampling of his feline portraits below.

[h/t Spoon Tamago]