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Best Fujifilm Cameras and Lenses for Travel and Food Photography

Best Fujifilm Cameras and Lenses for Travel and Food Photography

Best Fujifilm cameras and lenses for travel and food photography? It’s a question I get asked almost weekly – mainly by travellers coming to do our travel and food writing and photography retreats and culinary tours. Here’s advice from the perspective of a pro travel and food photographer and a Nikon user at that.

Once people find out I’m a pro photographer, one of the first questions I get asked, if I haven’t met them on a shoot, is what camera gear I use. And after that, it’s what camera and lens combination I recommend for travel and food photography for them.

As Christmas is rapidly approaching I’m also increasingly fielding questions on what camera kit to buy a loved one who is getting serious about travel and food photography, but is not a pro.

Since Lara and I are started hosting travel and food writing and photography retreats and Cambodia culinary tours a few years ago, I have been getting questions from people coming on our retreats and tours who are looking to buy new camera equipment before they arrive in Southeast Asia.

Our tour participants might not know what camera gear they want, but they typically know what they don’t want – bulky and heavy gear. Some have asked me my opinion about Sony cameras, but for me the best investment in lighter photography gear is definitely Fujifilm.

Having used our participant’s Fujifilm cameras on recent retreats and tours, this is my take on the best Fujifilm cameras and lenses for travel and food photography. But why Fujifilm over Sony? In short, a better lens roadmap and by all accounts, better reliability overall.

We’ve had Nikon, Canon, Sony, and Fujifilm camera wielding clients come to Cambodia and the only brand that required a trip to the local camera store has been Sony. While earlier Fujifilm mirrorless cameras were slow to focus and had horrid battery life, the latest generation of Fujifilm cameras are much improved in both aspects and I highly recommend them.

Here are the best Fujifilm cameras and lenses for travel and food photography.

Best Fujifilm Cameras and Lenses for Travel and Food Photography

For travel and food photography, professional photographers carry at least three lenses: a wide angle lens, a mid-range lens and a telephoto lens. For Nikon that means the 14-24mm lens, the 24-70mm lens and the 70-200mm lens, plus a couple of extra lenses for specific requirements, such as an 85mm F1.4 for portraits and a macro lens for food photography. Fuji now has equivalent professional quality lenses that cover this as well.

On the last Cambodian Culinary Tour we ran, we had a guest with a Fujifilm system who was frustrated that she could not achieve the same results that I was getting as we wandered around the temples. The difference was the fantastic quality of the lenses that I was using, while she was struggling with the kit lens that came with her Fujifilm X-T20. She knew the kinds of shots she wanted, but her equipment was already limiting her photography.

This is why with the Fujifilm lenses I’m recommending are the best ones that Fujifilm currently make and they’re easily the best Fujifilm cameras and lenses for travel and food photography.

If there is a less expensive Fujifilm camera and lens alternative, I mention it at the end of each review. However, I always tell photography students and our trip participants that your money is best spent on lenses, not camera bodies. Personally, I would buy the less expensive camera body and the best lens rather than vice versa.

NOTE: a click on the images of the cameras and lenses below will take you to Amazon, and depending upon your location automatically direct you to the closest store. If you make a purchase we earn a small commission.

Fujifilm X-T2 APS-C Camera

While the flagship APS-C sensor Fujifilm camera is the Fujifilm X-Pro2, the SLR form factor of the Fujifilm X-T2 will be more familiar than the X-Pro2’s design. Fujifilm call this an ‘enthusiast’s’ camera, but the specs would indicate otherwise: a 24MP X-Trans CMOS III sensor (for me 24 megapixels is the sweet spot these days), a fully sealed body made from magnesium alloy, an articulating LCD screen (handy for overhead food photos), and a much faster autofocus than its predecessor, the X-T1. It’s the best all-round Fujifilm camera they have produced so far.

If this is out of your budget, its smaller sibling, the Fujifilm X-T20, is also a great camera.

Fujinon XF10-24mm F4 R OIS


This wide-angle zoom is the equivalent of a 15-36mm lens on a full-frame DSLR seeing it more than covers the same focal lengths on a full-frame camera. The constant F4 aperture, combined with optical image stabilisation (OIS) built in to the lens makes it useful even in low-light conditions. This would be your go-to lens for landscapes or wide shots of landmarks, but beware that it’s not fully weather sealed.

While Fujifilm does not have an inexpensive lens covering the same focal lengths (a rare weak spot in their lens lineup), the Rokinon 12mm F2.0 NCS CS Ultra Wide Angle Lens gets pretty good reviews if you want a fixed focal length wide angle lens. Note that it’s manual focus.

Fujinon XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR


If you’re going to only buy one professional quality lens for your Fujifilm camera, this is it. With the focal length covered by this lens the equivalent of 24-84mm on a full-frame DSLR, it will be on your camera 70-80% of the time if you’re focusing on travel and food photography. Shooting at F2.8 produces beautiful, creamy bokeh (the out of focus areas in your photo) that you won’t get with the less expensive Fujifilm kit lenses. However, it’s way heavier than the Fujifilm kit lenses that they offer and it oddly does not have OIS like the wider XF10-24mm lens.

You could save money buying the Fujinon XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS, but if you enjoy making portraits, covering street scenes and photographing food, the XF16-55mm F2.8 is the lens to pony up the extra cash for.

Fujinon XF50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR


The equivalent of 76-214mm on a full-frame DSLR, this is your telephoto zoom to cover sports or wildlife photography. With a constant F2.8 aperture, it also makes a great portrait lens, so you can get real separation between your subject and the background. With OIS built in, it really helps with capturing fast-moving objects. Putting the Fujinon XF1.4X TC WR Teleconverter on the lens increases the focal length by a factor of 1.4, a great help with birding and wildlife photography.

The lens is expensive and heavy, so if you’re looking for a less expensive and less heavy option, try the Fujinon XF55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS which is nearly half the weight, but does not have that constant F2.8 aperture.

Those are the best Fujifilm cameras and lenses for travel and food photography as far as I’m concerned. But there are also a couple more that you may wish to consider…

Other Special Lenses for Fujifilm Cameras for Travel and Food Photography

Fujinon XF56mm F1.2 R


Most professional food and travel photographers will carry a lens like this in their kit. The equivalent of an 85mm lens on a full-frame DSLR, it’s perfect for portraits. With a maximum aperture of F1.2, you can really throw the background out of focus with a beautiful creamy and buttery bokeh. Often clients ask me why do you need F1.2 or a F1.4 lens that is generally twice the price of an F2 or F2.8 maximum aperture lens? The answer is that shooting at F2 with one of these lenses, it’s amazingly sharp, while a lens with a maximum aperture of F2 or F2.8 won’t be tack sharp until F4. I love my shallow focus portraits and I’m willing to spend the extra money to get that extra F-stop. It’s also particularly good for photographing food and cocktails.

Fujinon XF 35mm F2 R WR


This fast prime lens has a 50mm equivalent focal length, the focal length that you start with at photography school because it’s the closest to the field of view of the human eye. It’s also the best choice for street photography and it’s my lens choice for hitting the streets in Southeast Asia. Mounted on an X-T2 or an X-T20, the camera and lens combination is compact enough to make you appear to be your average tourist, but the results from using this combination is comparable to the big Nikon and Canon kit, but with arguably better color rendition. While I always carry one of these lenses, I still tend to go for the slightly wider Fujinon XF23mm F2 R WR for street photography.

This is the secret weapon of the Fujifilm APS-C system – professional results from a smaller, lighter combination than the traditional DSLR systems.

So they’re the best Fujifilm cameras and lenses for travel and food photography but what about accessories?

Must-Have Accessories to Accompany Your Fujifilm Cameras and Lenses for Travel and Food Photography

Fujifilm NP-W126S Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery


You can have a camera bag full of the best Fujifilm cameras and lenses for travel and food photography and be taking beautiful images, but perhaps not for as long as you’d like. The most glaring shortfall of the Fujifilm APS-C system is battery life. Fuji rates battery capacity for the X-T2 at 340 frames and the X-T20 at 350 frames – if you’re on an African safari that wouldn’t even last you until lunch! I’d be carrying two spare batteries everywhere as they’re very light.

ONA – The Bowery – Camera Messenger Bag


Given that you have some beautiful new Fujifilm cameras and lenses that you don’t want to lose, albeit a camera and lens kit that is low-key by design, a camera bag that doesn’t look like a camera bag is a good way to go, especially if you’re travelling in Southeast Asia. This ONA camera bag is one disguised as a messenger bag and has enough room for your camera, an extra lens and your spare batteries. For a more traditional bag, this Manfrotto small messenger bag has the traditional adjustable dividers and a tablet compartment.

They’re the best Fujifilm cameras and lenses for travel and food photography in my opinion, and that’s coming from a Nikon user. If you’re a Fuji user, we’d love to hear about your experience using the gear and especailly what you think are the best Fujifilm cameras and lenses for travel and food photography. Feel free to leave your feedback in the comments below.

If you’re looking for Christmas gifts for loved one who loves photography, also check out my post on Christmas Gifts for Travel Photographers and Travellers Who Love Photography.

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About Terence Carter

Terence Carter is an editorial food and travel photographer and infrequent travel writer with a love of photographing people, places and plates of food. After living in the Middle East for a dozen years, he settled in South-East Asia a dozen years ago with his wife, travel and food writer and sometime magazine editor Lara Dunston.

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Comments

  1. Nicky says

    December 18, 2017 at 3:55 pm

    I was thinking of getting the 10-24mm f4, 35mm f2, and 60mm f2.4 (to replace my Nikon), but now am falling towards the 16-55mm and 56mm you describe above. Would I be wrong? It would certainly save a little money.

  2. Terence Carter says

    December 18, 2017 at 5:32 pm

    Depends what kind of shooting you’re doing. If I’m on assignment doing general travel/food photography of a destination, my split generally is 10% with the wide angle 10-24mm f4, 80% 16-55mm and 10% with the telephoto lens (you can look this up through Lightroom metadata). If you were using the 35mm f2, and 60mm f2.4 as opposed to the 16-55mm, that’s a lot of lens swapping. In terms of portraits, the 16-55mm can cover everything from full body environmental portraits to head shots. As the 56mm is virtually the same focal length as the zoomed end of the 16-55mm you’d have to be able to justify the expense for that extra couple of stops of light. Personally, whenever I’m heading off to do a portrait on assignment, my 85mm 1.4 Nikon is on one camera every time. I shoot 90% of portraits with it. Hope that helps.

  3. Nicky says

    December 21, 2017 at 10:22 am

    Thank you! I’m shockingly bad at portraits. I hate telling people what to do, which means I only ever manage to snatch candids, and which I know I desperately need to work on. I think I’d be better off focusing on improving my travel/food output, and the 16-55mm sounds a good fit. I’m hopelessly in love with my Tamron 60mm lens for macro shots — which, despite being battered to hell as I bought it secondhand, makes everything beautiful somehow — and feel a little bereft at the idea of letting it go, hence the 56/60mm conflict above. But thank you for your thoughts. It’s clarified a lot.

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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

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It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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