From greeting cards, to magazines, puzzles, pet food and more, one way or another, you have seen one of Chandoha's cats. Still working today, his 34 book "Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer," was released in October and spans his decades-long career.

Chandoha, born in Bayonne in 1920, said he was bitten by the photography bug at a young age. While in high school, he tinkered with his family's folding Kodak camera, but soon learned that taking photos was an expensive hobby.

"I got into it somewhat out of frugality," he said. "Each roll of film was a quarter and another 25 cents to have it developed and printed. In the late 1930's that was a lot of money."

So he headed to the public library to devour every book on photography he could find, but it still wasn't enough so he joined a camera club.

"I borrowed some of my mother's soup bowls and used a closet as a dark room," Chandoha said.

It was at the Lens Club of Bayonne that he was picked to apprentice for a New York commercial photographer earning $12 a week. The rate was low, but Chandoha said he was really learning.

Looking at the maple tree on his 46-acre farm in Annandale, Chandoha said that the best photos have backlighting like the sun shining through the leaves. On his direct light set, he uses six strobe lights from the background up to achieve main light and fill.

"Back lighting enhances the photos, gives it form, side lighting too, and with a cat, specifically a cat, it highlights the fur on the back or their ears and it makes the picture more sparkling."

Later working in several portrait studios, Chandoha was an experienced photographer by the time he was drafted for World War II so he was utilized in the Army as a press photographer for a GI magazine at Fort Dix and later as a combat photographer in the Pacific.

When he returned home, he attended New York University under the GI bill and studied marketing, but Chandoha said fate had other plans for him.

One night on his way home to Astoria after class, he found a shivering cat in the snow and stuffed it into his pocket. Loco, named for his crazy behavior, became his pet with his wife Maria and then Chandoha started taking photos of Loco with Maria as his handler.

The photos were published in newspapers and magazines, and the couple thought they might be onto something.

"I was thinking, 'did I want to be a hot shot Madison Avenue advertising man, or did I want to be a cat photographer,'" Chandoha said, but despite the uncertainty and pitfalls of freelancing, he took the leap.

He landed his first cover on Woman's Home Companion in 1951 with a picture of an adorable white striped kitten wearing a red bow.

More than 200,000 stock photos and 300 magazine covers later, plus countless products and advertisements, Chandoha said his career was slow going at first, but certainly fun.

He expanded to other animals, like dogs, birds and even monkeys as well as house plants and gardens, and was eventually named to as a Hall of Fame member of the Garden Writers of America Association.

His favorite works include five kittens sleeping and playing and looking bored, a dog who saw a cat for the first time, his daughter Paula showing off her missing two front teeth with a cat that appears to be doing the same, and his latest four seasons series that showcases nature during the spring, summer, fall and winter.

Maria, who Chandoha said was vital to the operation, passed away in 1992, and their daughter Chiara began helping him in the studio handling animals and later digitizing his film.

At 95, Chandoha still works, but his digital single-lens reflex is too heavy now, so instead he uses an iPhone.

"The composition and light never change, even if the mechanics of shooting have been simplified," he said, stating that his latest four seasons photos were shot on his 6 Plus with a tripod. "The ease of shooting has made everybody a photographer."

But Chandoha doesn't see that as a bad thing.

Search cats on Google, and you'll find more than 1.7 billion photos, and Chandoha is happy to think of himself as the forefather of viral cat photography. He further embraces the digital age by sharing his photos on Instagram and Facebook.

"I would guess that my first cat, Loco, in his day would fit into the celebrity category. His pictures were published worldwide," he said.

Find "Walter Chandoha: The Cat Photographer" on aperture.org and more photos on Instagram @Chandohacats and Facebook.