Galleries

The ITL group celebrated the launch of their new office space. It was an afternoon of celebrations, laughter and good times among work colleagues.

After the ITL group moved into their new office space, they asked me pop in and take some photos. The new decor is the perfect mix of refreshing, modern and eye-catching.

Bullet is the sweetest Labrador mix, who was was found on 13 January 2024 in a Wynberg area outside a pub where his rescuer witnessed people kicking the dog and throwing stones at him. No one seemed to know who the dog belonged to and where he came from and no one claimed him. The mom of Bullet’s rescuer took him in and started contacting various welfare organisations and eventually spoke to Paulette at PlumPets. I spent some time with him as PlumPets needed photos to help network and find him a forever home.

I worked with Theo and Freya’s mom and naturally, we became friends through our furkids. I was so happy to finally meet them and capture their sweet faces. Freya is a beautiful ginger girl, although quite aloof at first. Theo is just the most handsome love bug.

Lily and Lucy are beautiful tortie sisters who came from unfortunate beginnings – they were found in a bin along with two other siblings and their mom, who had presumably given birth in the bin. Despite their rough start they are very friendly and cuddly kitties. They spent some time in foster and they are now in the juvenile section at PlumPets Animal Shelter’s cattery. Their brother, Socks, is also in the cattery with them and sometimes this duo becomes a trio.

Although Lily is a little shy at first, once she gets to know you, you’ll be able to enjoy gently head butts.

If I could press a reset button on 2020 I would. The Covid-19 pandemic rocked the world, shutting down industries, changing the way we live, the way we exist. On 23 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa would be entering into a 21-day lockdown to fight the pandemic. Little did we know at the time how stringent the laws would be. The sale of alcohol and cigarettes was banned; social gatherings of more than 50 people were banned; our international borders were closed; we could only leave the house within a five-kilometre radius between 6-9 am to exercise; a curfew was imposed from 8 pm to 5 am.

This 21-day lockdown was meant to allow the private and public hospitals to prepare for the peak of the outbreak.

Lockdown presented an enormous problem for me – my photography business was starting to gain momentum. After a year of self-employment as a writer, editor and photographer, I was earning a steady income. But lockdown meant I was no longer able to work as a photographer – it was not an essential service.

As lockdown extended, the restrictions became more ridiculous. There was a lot of anger around the restrictions in place here in South Africa; many didn’t make sense. I wanted this series to highlight that. But then I started to read up on the lockdown laws globally. And I realised we weren’t the only country with bizarre restrictions in place.

My Lockdown Laws photo series represents the international laws of lockdown. It was shot in my home, and my husband and I were the subjects because I was unable to, under lockdown, photograph anyone else. Each shot was planned, framed, and then using a tripod, timer and a lot of patience, photographed.

The Lockdown Laws photo series in detail

1. “When you get time to stay in, stay in. Maintain social distancing, even at night. Don’t come close to each other, no kissing, nothing. Keep a distance. Even in the middle of the night.” – Bheki Cele, South African Minister of Police
2. “There will be no social distancing at those hairdressers. The people will be in contact with each other. It is too risky to do so. The hairdresser can also give advice online.” – Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South African Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
3. “There’s a theory that, in April, when it gets warm – historically, that has been able to kill the virus. [The coronavirus would weaken] when we get into April, in the warmer weather – that has a very negative effect on that, and that type of a virus.” – Donald Trump, President of the United States of America
4. “I don’t drink but recently I’ve been saying that people should not only wash their hands with vodka but also poison the virus with it. You should drink the equivalent of 40-50 millilitres of rectified spirit daily. But not at work.” – Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus
5. The sale of tobacco products still remains banned in South Africa. The reason? “When people zol, [joint] they put saliva on the paper, and then they share that zol.” –  Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South African Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
6. In France, all people leaving their homes had to carry a signed form, or attestation, explaining where they were headed and why. A different form was needed for each outing. Failure to produce one resulted in a fine.
7. In the UK, lockdown laws prohibited having family over to visit, but technically you could hire a family member as a handyman or cleaner. Visits to other households were banned except if you were a worker in someone’s home. “There’s a reason we’ve made those rules clear on cleaners and indeed childminders. It’s because an awful lot of people rely for their livelihoods on being cleaners. And of course, they should be socially distanced while doing that work. That’s the purpose of the change – not to allow family members to meet.” – Matt Hancock, UK Health Secretary
8. One of Panama’s measures to combat the spread of coronavirus involved the separation of the sexes. Women could leave their homes to buy necessities on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Men were allowed out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
9. In the UK, no person may participate in a gathering which takes place in a public or private place indoors and consists of two or more persons, which lead to #sexban. “What this is about is making sure we don’t have people staying away from home at night. It is fair to say the transmission risk of coronavirus is much lower in the open air than in internal space, but obviously we do not encourage people to do anything like that outside at this time or any other.” British junior housing minister Simon Clarke
10. “All our airlines are fitted with HEPA, High Efficiency Particulate Air filters. Because the airline is unlike a taxi – once you’re in it, you fly and therefore for two hours you are compressed inside it. So the filter is able to eat any form of virus including corona virus.” – Fikile Mbalula, South African Minister of Transport
11. In South Africa, outdoor exercise was limited to between 06h00 and 09h00. Movement is also limited to a 5km radius from home. “If the regulations allow jogging for the whole day, it means that for the whole day police will have to monitor people exercising. But, if there is a prescribed time, they can deal with the issues they are supposed to deal with during the rest of the day.” – Ronald Lamola, South African Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
12. But, aside from the ridiculous laws and quote, one message that was echoed across the world: if you can work from home, work from home. “Businesses will be encouraged to adopt a work-from-home strategy where possible. All staff who can work remotely must be allowed to do so.” – Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa

Published on Bored Panda, 11 March 2020

#1 Captain Hook

Captain Hook became a pirate cat due to an injured eye. He has also had reconstructive surgery on his functional eye due to an incomplete eyelid. He’s very timid and very attached to another cat that was trapped with him – Tinkerbell. This dynamic duo, affectionately nicknamed Tinkie and Captain, are still waiting to meet their humans – for now, they’ve lived at PlumPets animal shelter in Plumstead, Cape Town. This photograph was a challenge to get – he refused to come out of the safety of his cat tree. So, I sat quietly with him, getting to know his gentle soul while listening to his beautiful purr. The image is a bit grainy due to the high ISO I had to use, but I believe it adds a bit of mystery and magic.

#2 Chuck

It was love at first sight when I met Chuck at PlumPets animal shelter. He was a tiny non-descript kitten who made a beeline to my lap. On closer inspection, I realised there was something wrong with his mouth. I was heartbroken to hear that his chances of adoption were slim because he is “different” but that it was ok because they keep all the “rejects”. I couldn’t let that happen – I had to have him in my life. Four years and one dental surgery later, he’s the most precious wonky-jawed boy. No matter what life throws at him, he finds a way to push forward. He inspires me to be the best I can no matter how tough life can get. I’m beyond grateful to the animal rescue organisations that work tirelessly to help the helpless and, in particular, to the ones that give perfectly imperfect animals a second chance.

#3 Diego

Handsome boy Diego has a special nose – like his namesake the saber-toothed tiger from Ice Age. He was surrendered to TEARS with his mom (who had cat flu) and siblings when he was just a few days old. His human mom met him when he was just 13 weeks old and it was love at first sight. “He’d been overlooked until my daughter spotted him. We had to have him in our lives.” Today he lives happily in Kirstenhof, Cape Town, surrounded by a loving family of cats and a dog called Moose. He might struggle with allergies and sounds like Darth Vader when he breathes, but he’s loved, happy and home.

#4 Whiskey

Fluffball Whiskey was adopted from the SPCA in Grassy Park, Cape Town. His mom says, “Who knows what horrors he went through but in the process lost his ear and his tail. He was such a skinny little boy and was so weak his little feet would just slide out in front of him.” But that’s in his past, today he’s living his best life as an indoor bunny with his bestie Soda in Bergvliet, Cape Town. He loves eating kale, carrots, and apples while giving endless soft cuddles. During this shoot, he hopped around enjoying a touch of sunshine and grass tickling his feet.

#5 Selcuk

Beautiful Selcuk was rescued as a puppy in Turkey where her ears were brutally cut off – this was fairly common at the time as a way for people to identify the strays. When her dad found her and knew he had to have her in his life, he moved the world to bring her home to Pinelands, Cape Town. It was an expensive and difficult journey but today she’s a shy, gentle, kind soul who loves belly rubs and quiet words of encouragement. She took a long time to get to know me, and the day I wanted to photograph her, she refused to come out of this room – I had to improvise by joining her on the floor.

#6 Mr Grey

He may only have three legs, but that doesn’t slow Mr. Grey down one bit. He’s happy to be a foster fail – he comes from Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha and they suspect he was hit by a car. His human mom took him in while they were waiting for his leg to be amputated (“It couldn’t be saved and was just dead weight,” she says). Well, he stole their hearts and now he’s kicking back in Parklands, Cape Town surrounded by a house of brothers and one sister.

#7 Layla

Sweet Layla was only about five to six weeks old when she was brought to Dr. Rozanne Visser, a vet who was helping at a Tin Can Town outreach in Blikkiesdorp, an informal settlement in Cape Town. She had a large open wound on her chest and a bad ulcer on her right eye. Unfortunately, her eye couldn’t be saved and had to be removed – but while that was happening, Dr. Visser fell in love with her and adopted her. Today she’s living her best life in Parklands, Cape Town, and really doesn’t believe she’s any different to any other dog out there.

#8 Anushka

Darling Anushka has gone blind in one eye due to excessive scratching caused by a food allergy. She’s very affectionate and loved her moment in front of the camera in the PlumPets cattery, where she’s patiently waiting to find her forever home. While she knows her forever family is out there, she’s being well looked after and loved by PlumPets, an animal shelter located in Plumstead, Cape Town.

#9 Master Jack Sparrow

Feisty ginger Master Jack Sparrow is another foster fail who lives with Mr Grey in Parklands, Cape Town. He was adopted from DARG in Hout Bay, Cape Town. One of his eyes did not develop correctly, while the other has a deformed eyelid. He will have the dud eye removed, and corrective surgery on the other eye that also has a cataract. He will probably go completely blind, but because he’s not going anywhere he will be able to find his way around his home. He is highly energetic and attached to his new brother, Mr. Grey – they spent ages racing around the garden

#10 Bello

Bello lived in a colony where two elderly ladies were feeding. Unfortunately, they were no longer able to care for the cats and phoned PlumPets to remove them. The most troubling thing about the colony is that many of the cats had incomplete eyelids – including Bello. He’s had four separate surgeries to fix his eyelid (this photo was taken shortly after his last surgery). He may need to undergo a fifth surgery depending on how his recovery goes. Although Bello is not feral, he is very shy and takes a bit of time to get to know you. But, he’s hopeful that his forever home is out there. For now, he’s living at PlumPets animal shelter in Plumstead, Cape Town.