When the kitties arrived to the house for a "newborn" photo shoot, my dog Erin wasn't quite sure they were of the cat family. They had only that day opened their eyes -- they didn't look like cats, they didn't smell like cats, they drank from bottles, and they weren't scampering like cats. She watched as we did the 3 little kitties photo shoot. She can be very cautious, even to the extent that we once watched a mouse eat out of her food dish and neither of us did anything. (She was scared and I, well, I was just stunned.)

Then, she came close. She looked at the kitten. There was a moment we waited, nervously, our hands ready to separate them if the situation deteriorated. And then, as if to experience the kitten better, she started to lick him. 

This is one of those moments. The camera was ready, the lights triggered, and the moment was caught. It wasn't staged or set up. Like many great shots, it just happened. If you're ready, you get it. Like a newborn baby's giant yawn or the great horned owl who finds himself looking at you eye level from the tree outside your window -- the camera has got to be at the ready....

17-55 mm lens at 26 mm, ISO 200 1/250 second, F8, in studio with 2 lights