Off the Wall: Beware of the Dog/Pasop vir die Hond

In my home town of Bethlehem and the surrounding Free State there are many "Beware of the Dog/Pasop vir die Hond" signs. They are presumably a crime deterrent and may have some legal protection in the event of a dog bite. Many of these signs have been up on their respective gates for some time and although the majority have been bought ready made there are some interesting original home made ones too. These signs on their unique gates with their particular dogs they warn about make for a fascinating interplay and a great series with a local flavour.

Bethlehem, Nikon V1 30-110mm lens ISO 1600
Beware of Upright Dog

Recently while driving around the old railway houses I saw a rather weathered "Beware of the Dog" sign and stopped to photograph it. This was embarrasingly from the car and I reversed a small bit to align the gate posts with the house pillars behind. Then surprisingly a dog appeared from the stoep and walked over to the gate as if it was a lazy Sunday afternoon which it happened to be. He was inquisitive and suddenly jumped up against the gate making for a great photo. The Nikon V1 shoots at 10fps (can even do 60fps!) and thankfully I nabbed the curious dog in great pose.

Bethlehem Hasselblad SWC Iford FP4 film
Scraggly dog investigating photographer - early attempt

Bethlehem Mamiya 7 150mm Fuji Acros
First photographs of dogs doing their thing

Clarens Hasselblad SWC Kodak TMY film
The irony and the beautiful gate

Apart from the opening photograph all the images are in black and white and all except one were taken on b&w film. The advantage is not clearly visible when viewed on the internet however film has it's unique quality. Digital capture is clearly so much easier and the chances of obtaining the subject, the dogs in this case in a unique pose are so much higher. This ongoing series has been a fun departure from chasing more serious landscape images. It has also opened the streets and though these images wouldn't be considered typical of street photography they have been hugely entertaining.

Reitz Mamiya 7 43mm Kodak TMax film
The shadow dog with a spade announcing the owner's retirement

Bethlehem Mamiya 7 43mm Kodak TMY film
Unhappy spaniels up the street

Bethlehem Mamiya 7 43mm Kodak TMY film
An alert dog with some flare

Bethlehem Mamiya 7 43mm Kodak TMY film
Boerboel with cardboard sign in English, Afrikaans and Sotho

Bethlehem Mamiya 7 43mm Kodak TMY film
Aggressive Boerboel making his intentions known

Bethlehem Mamiya 7 43mm Kodak TMY film
Large dog taking his role to new heights

When one starts looking there are so many gate variations and the dogs all have their own personality. The majority of dogs took their commission rather earnestly regardless of how shabby the gate or property appeared. The faithfulness of these loyal animals never ceased to impress me and this was irrespective of their circumstances. Although I never crossed the dividing line I am sure I would have borne the consequences. This man made boundary with it's access point to another unknown world is certainly fascinating and the gatekeepers are there to maintain that privacy. One wonders how many people we let into our inner sanctuary?