Other Galleries Archives - Page 3 of 10

Photographs to Electrify a Curious Mind

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 24 September 2015 0 Comment

So many questions never get answered. Not that one is incurious but life is too short or the answer is not readily available. Whatever the reason, one never finds out. Instead of the usual canon of photographs of stunning sunsets or virgin African bush populated with grazing animals, this is an unusual collection of eclectic photographs. Take time to ponder on each.

For instance I have always been fascinated with Mount Everest. For me it defies belief that people would want to climb it knowing that the risk of dying is 1 in 10 and that the risk of losing a digit or a limb is even higher at between 2 to 3 in 10. Yet, for all that, men in the hundreds will not be dissuaded by the deprivations of freezing cold, oxygen sparse altitude and precipitous climbs in order to satisfy an inner yearning, a life-long desire to conquer their fears and the mountain.

Main picture: Climbers ascending the highest mountain in the world and the greatest challenge in their lives

Pictures to Cheer Us Up

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 21 September 2015 0 Comment

After a week’s sabbatical due to work commitments, the Casual Observer is back at work – not work work – but my home work – not homework – but work at home – the blog. Instead of a depressing blog on the Springbok’s thrashing at the hands of the rugby minnows, the Japanese – the less said the better – instead you may have another beer to drown your sorrows. I don’t need an excuse for a drink. I am balancing a Savanna on the couch as I type.

As an aside, I did not watch the rugby as I was sleeping after a cool 21km race in Irene. When I arrived at Rodizio’s in Bedfordview for Arnold’s birthday party, the first question that he asked me was the final score. The match was just finishing as I entered the restaurant. Without hesitation, I proffered a winning margin of 35 points. Fortunately I did not place money on that.

Moreover I must have been the only South African not to watch South Africa beat the All Blacks in the World Cup final in 1995 – 24th June to be exact. The mundane reason was that I was boarding a KLM flight back to South Africa at Schipol Airport in the Netherlands. Not being a rugby playing country, it was impossible to find a TV set in any of the lounges which was showing the game. A third division Bundasliga soccer match was the closest that we could get to rugby. Finally two hours after take-off, the captain announced that as he was aware that the South Africans on the flight must be interested in the final score, he announced that South Africa had won.

The plane erupted. Even if he had announced the final score nobody would have heard. That was inconsequential. The fact that South Africa Africa after so many years of sporting isolation had thrashed its traditional rugby foe was all that counted. Joel Stransky was the man of the match with 3 penalties and 2 drop goals.

Unrest in Port Elizabeth

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Other Galleries 9 September 2015 1 Comment

Port Elizabeth is still close to my heart as I was raised there. I only relocated to Joburg after completing my articles as there were no work opportunities there. Due to the numerous protest actions nationally mainly as a result of service delivery – poor, non-existent or shoddy – it is a daily occurrence throughout South Africa. Due to the number of these riots, they receive little publicity. For me this one did. My paternal grandmother Daisy Elizabeth McCleland, the family matriarch, lived at 99 Albert Street which judging by the photographs is slightly off the epicentre of some of these riots.
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When curiosity gets the better of common sense

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 21 August 2015 1 Comment

I suppose that we can forgive them for as the adage goes “They know not what they do”. Taking the metaphor further, curiosity killed the cat could have applied in this case. Fortunately misfortune did not befall any of these curious individuals. Of course none of the culprits possessed common sense and part of the process of growing up is to make mistakes which one must do unless they result in serious injury or death.

A personal misdemeanour that I was reminded of later in life, but which I do not actually recall as I was too young, was when my father was constructing a canoe. I attempted to use the thin wooden strips as a walking beam which snapped under my weight.

Main picture: What sanction does one impose in this instance? No pocket money for the next 50 years?

Consequence of Showmanship

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Other Galleries 8 August 2015 0 Comment

Of course the real reasons for this fatal crash will probably never be known but all the evidence points to the fact that an act of showmanship was the probable cause of this gruesome accident.

The proud owner of a new car was killed with three of his neighbours’ children when his car was sliced in half when he crashed while taking them for a drive to show off his new wheels.

The 39-year-old man’s 10-year-old son was also in hospital fighting for his life after the accident on a curve near the Dros restaurant in the Mpumalanga city of Middelburg.

A Pilot’s Eye View

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 8 August 2015 1 Comment

None of these photographs are of staid boring settings such as Heathrow in London but rather of exotic locations mainly in the Pacific Oceans. It is just a pity that it is only the pilot and the co-pilot who have such spectacular views.

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Highly unusual photographs

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 22 July 2015 0 Comment

Somebody emailed me these photographs last week. I have seen a few before but most are new to me. No central theme runs through this collection. Hence the term “unusual” is probably appropriate.

Innovative ways in which animals keep warm

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 7 July 2015 0 Comment

Even the dumbest animals find innovative ways in which to keep warm. That implies that they are not so dumb after all. Even the smallest sliver of sunlight or the warmth of another animal is used in their quest for warmth.

How did they do it?

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 4 July 2015 0 Comment

Sometimes one has to wonder how people get themselves into a predicament. Some photos illustrate the result whereas others show some of the circumstances giving rise to those predicaments.

Vintage Photographs

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 21 June 2015 1 Comment

None of these photographs represent earth shattering events. Rather they are old photographs that provide a view on the minutiae of an older age. That age cannot be accorded the epithet of gracious, rather it should be have the appellation of a bygone age.

All of them are part of the National Geographic Found series

Main picture: A British airman gives a signal to another friendly aircraft, 1918

The Opinion Pieces are an eclectic bunch on current affairs & history often with a human interest aspect. The Movie/DVDs reviews are mainly on documentaries with a smattering of movie reviews.

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