Money Is No Object

Especially When You Give It Away To Strangers

Spanish police briefly detained a drunk British man who was handing out money to strangers at the airport at Palma de Mallorca after arriving on a flight from Manchester. The man laughed constantly as he distributed the cash. He was carrying 50,000 euros in travellers' cheques and another 2,000 euros in cash.

FOOTNOTE: Cash-22 situation.

Cash-22 Situation

Money Makes The World Go Round

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This was the money shot, in more ways than one. It’s one of the photographs I took during my highway journey from New Delhi to Dehra Dun in December. However, hindsight is a wonderful factor. Let me explain. When I took the shot, the four-wheel-drive was travelling fairly quickly through a little town and I thought these were garlands hanging outside a little shanty shop.

It was only the next day, when I backed up the shots onto my laptop, that I realised the significance of the image. Yes, they are garlands, with sparkly golden tinsel by which to hang them, but take a closer look. Examine the image below - which is simply a cropped version of the original photograph - and you might be able to discern that the garlands are made from crisp, new currency notes.

When I posted the first images during my India trip, some readers asked how I managed to keep the camera steady and shoot from the open window of a moving vehicle. I simply improvised. I held the camera in my right hand and supported it in my left hand, trying to use the left hand as a sort of fluid tripod, rather than a metal, rigid tripod. Worked fine, most of the time!

(The Odd Shots concept came from Katney. Say "G'day" to her.)