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Red Alpha Well, maybe not every little boy wants an Alpha. Some may want a fire engine, while others hanker after a tractor. But most little boys dream of driving if not owning an Alpha at some point. And if it’s a red one, so much the better. It just looks faster. I was in my very early teens when I discovered Alpha Romeos. Never a petrol head, I knew nothing about cars other than the fact that they have six wheels if you include the spare and steering wheel. But that didn’t matter. You don’t need to know how to make bread to enjoy a slice with peanut butter and syrup – another little boy’s favourite. I liked the look of sporty cars and the Alfa Romeo Spider was the epitome of engineering fashion and speed. Then, in the late seventies, I needed to buy a new car and realised that I could afford my dream. Off to the Arnold Chatz dealership in Hyde Park. Where else, he was the champion who drove Alfas and sold Alfas. (The dealership still exists but has moved location.) Dressed in rather shabby jeans, I failed to impress the showroom salesman who saw me as an Alfasud buyer at best. He quickly informed me that there wasn’t a spider to test drive and suggested I give the Sud a spin. When I pointed at the spider standing on the floor, he informed me in a hallowed voice that it was Arnold’s personal car and wasn’t available to be driven by anyone else. Astonished that I would actually wish to speak to him, he disappeared for a while and returned to inform me that Arnold was busy, but that I could take his spider for a drive. I did so and within minutes, my dream was shattered. I’m barely six foot (in the old language) and was skinny as a rake at the time. But I felt too big for the car. Bitterly disappointed, I returned to the showroom where the salesman again suggested I drive the Sud. Turning around, I discovered the Alfa Giulietta. A blue one. After a quick drive, I knew it had to be mine. The salesman and I completed the paperwork and two days later I drove it out of the dealership. I kept it for eight years – until just after Alfa pulled out of South Africa. A sad day for little boy car lovers.

Three-banded plover - natural surroundings The statement holds true for everyone, but more so for the photographer. I took this picture because I don’t have an image of a Three-banded plover. So, it’s a record shot – not intended for this site. Not a rare bird, it caught my attention as it hunted along the edge of a stream and I watched it for a while – taking shots every now and then. Once back home, I took a look at this picture on my large screen. Nice bird, lousy, noisy background. I was going to trash the image but my photographic mentor, Martin Barber changed my mind, showing me how to use a gradient to completely change the background. Three-banded plover - modified surroundings And this is what the final image looks like. They tell you, while photographing, view your subject from as many angles as possible. Squat, lie down, climb up, move left, move right. Each positional change alters the perspective, so take a shot every time you move places. Very often, the keeper is not the image you originally saw. Come to think of it, so much of life looks different from another angle or following a tweak. There’ve been countless times when something in my life has turned out remarkably different from what I’d imagined. Over and over, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by an event, situation or occurrence that wasn’t what I pictured in the first place. Next time you’re faced with a situation, an obstacle or a hinderance, take a breath and another look. See if it works for you.

Only One Cow This is a collection of eleven stories, all different and each with twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages. Triumphs and tragedies – unique and commonplace, predictable and unforeseen – are woven into a rich fabric of storytelling that makes for a quirky and pleasurable read. Editor, Karina M Szczurek from Karavan Press wrote: ‘An avid reader and lover of short stories, Rob Glenister has now put pen to paper – to use the time­worn cliché – and produced Only One Cow. An admirer of writers as diverse as Roald Dahl and Herman Charles Bosman, Rob has developed a writing style that fits somewhere between these two great authors. He has a talent for seeing things differently and an insight into people that allows him to draw out a varied cast of characters to the delight of his readers.’ Take her word for it, not mine and enjoy the book. A signed version of Only One Cow is available at a price of R285 (including courier fees). Simply click on the Order Now button and complete your details. We will contact you as soon as we can to arrange

We all have some propensity for risk – some of us only a tiny, teeny little bitty. Others, like these men, photographed fishing off the Kalk Bay peer at the height of a storm, are just plain adrenalin junkies, not happy unless they risk life and limb. I always consider myself a bit of a risk taker, until I saw them. You get a perspective of the magnitude of the waves if you compare the height of the fisherman standing upright and the top height of the wave immediately behind him. For me, it was a frightening situation and, if you do catch decent size fish, how the hell do you land it in these conditions? But, was this courage or bravado – verging on insanity? Simply getting back to safe territory is going to be challenging. That wave is going to crash down on the pier with an almighty force. If you’re in the way, you’re in the water – simple as that. Me, I think they’re crazy. But then, everyone to his or her own. That’s what makes life so interesting.

People ask me why I don’t belong to a club. Or why I don’t pursue photographic ratings. The answer is simple. We see things differently. That gives you the right to associate or align with how I see things or to disagree. Differences of opinion are okay in my book. However, if you want to actively participate in a club or pursue photographic ratings then you need to conform to standards, rules and evaluation criteria that you may not agree with. Do these constraints make for better photography? Possibly. Do they make one a better photographer? The jury is out on that one. A simple image illustrates my point. This picture was taken during a “Street Outing” in Kalk Bay many years ago. I don’t know the subjects and didn’t even speak to them. I simply took a pic as they were about to cross a relatively busy road. On viewing the image back home, it dawned on me that crossing a road means different things to different people. At the time, I would have stepped off the pavement and walked – without giving a thought to what I was doing. Hopefully, I would have been programmed to look left, right and left again before doing so. For this group, it was a far more complex matter. The height of the pavement was an issue. The unevenness of the ground was an issue. The width of the road was an issue. The line of sight, given fading eyesight was an issue. The expected speed of walking was an issue. The time before the next vehicle arrived on the scene was an issue. The speed of the next approaching vehicle was an issue. The capability of the driver of the next vehicle was an issue. And the list goes on. Yet, all we asked of them was to look left, right and then left again. But any of the issues mentioned above could have resulted in death, rather than arriving alive on the other side. Ansel Adams said 'No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. So, I will judge my own images based on what’s inside of me, and break the rules if I deem appropriate. I will publish them on this site if I believe they warrant it. You have the right to like or not like my images. That way, we both get to exercise our choices.