Thunder Birds

Copyright

I take my hat off to commercial and fine art photographers like Darryl Meredith (above) who line up day after day pushing the boundaries of their art to create spectacular images for their clients - some of whom want to reap the benefits of photogs' overheads and years of aesthetic development for next to nothing (as well as copyright!) If you need a quality photographer on the Sunshine Coast contact Darryl on the link above. Otherwise catch him out at Moffatt on a black carbon fibre Hayden board.

With One Hand Waving Free

Continuing yesterday's theme of shooting the shooters, today's surf shot is by Noosa local Big Corey (above). He's usually seen around Sunshine Beach with a Holga full of 120 film but now and then he gets up close to the action with a 35mm film camera - below showcasing Gaston Otti on a rainy sunday morning.

"Yes to dance beneath the diamond sky 
with one hand waving free

Silhouetted by the sea, 
circled by the circus sands

With all memory and fate 
driven deep beneath the waves

Let me forget about today until tomorrow"

from Mr Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan 1965 

Pezgirl

"Over the mountain, watching the watcher

Breaking the darkness, waking the grapevine" 

from Pink Floyd Set the controls for the heart of the sun 1968

Josh Constable styling in small waves down near the rivermouth while the media look on.

Today's blog is for my colleague Emma who has been sick for the last couple of weeks. Get well soon, Johnny Depp and the rest of us miss you.

Totally Random

Thought I would throw a quick random JPEG. Granite Bay x NikonosV. I hope to get 5 rolls back tomorrow. Ant..tici....pation......

Thank God It's Friday!

Stunning sunset tonight after a mad week of crazy rain, stinking hot humidity, lost boards and lost dogs.

Thank God it's Friday. Hope you get a few barrels.

Or at least some fresh air like Nick (above and below)

Detritus

Nava Young going left on a right hand point last week and this morning's beautiful dawn, shot while standing beside the old silky oak desk I used to study at as a kid. Today it's piled with the detritus of our holiday including:-

stickers for Rhythm (one with a handscrawled blog address for Marc Llewellyn)
a Cyrus Sutton business card
a stack of ATM paper thingees
a Johnny Depp "Pirates of the Caribbeen" Pez dispenser Emma gave me
a brochure for Phil Jarratt's online beach house surf collectables emporium
a stack of USB sticks
two folders of 120 format monochrome negs that are waiting to be scanned
5 rolls of 35mm film that are waiting to be processed
a neglected scanner
two external firewire drives
a freebie pen from the government
an empty plastic grocery bag
And that's just what I can see without poking it too much.
Might just leave the room, shut the door and tidy that up later

Gaston x Wach

Another missing board. This one belongs to Gaston Otti, a craftsman and a damn fine shredder, seen below at Sunshine Beach last sunday. Board is by Christian Wach. Please put out the word. Cheers.

Log Pirate(s)

Spread the Word

Broker but Stoker

We're back from the Noosa Festival of Surf and to paraphrase Cyrus Sutton, "broker but stoker". Shot a lot, surfed a lot, wrote a lot, ate a lot, met a lot of wonderful folks and worked on my new crazy old guy beard. Spent a lot, drove a lot. Failed to blog. I'll make it up to you, as they say. Full report over the next few weeks as my little 35mm Nikonos frames return from the C41 lab. Until then, this is why I want an iPhone. Pic by my mate Andrew Dale (that's him styling above in the Amateur Men's Comp at the Festival).

Leaving Las Vegas

Finally we are about to hit the highway for Noosa Festival of Surf. After several burglaries here over the years, we have implemented a military approach to security and have these trained guards keeping an eye and a claw on things while we are away.

You don't want to mess with these guys or their supervisor, Mr O'Reilly the 23 year old concrete garden gnome.

Hopefully there will be a bit of moving brine worthy of busting out a few frames of film.

Until then, happy slidings in your part of the blogosphere.

Sleep deprivation and crazy dreaming

Quite dark when I got up today and noticed some clouds to the south east with some dawn imagery potential.

Made a strong coffee and headed down to the bike track where the fit ones were already rolling, striding and generally making me feel shabbier than I already was. Sleep deprivation and crazy dreaming don't mix, even on a Friday. Fortunately the camera just keeps going, as if possessed by a strong Japanese work ethic. No holiday for you Mr Eos.

Anticipation

Two more sleeps until Noosa and the annual surf festy. There will be surfing on four, three, two, one and no fins. (And that's just on the fringe) There will be sunshine, rain and many photo ops. For all the details including the Oz premiere of Cyrus Sutton's new movie Stoked and Broke click here. Oh and a serve of swell on top please Hughie.

Holy Fin vs Holy Deck

Caught up with a bunch of my brine brothers last night for dinner and tall tales at an inner city hotel. There was earnest discussion about board design, including the mini-Simmons seen first in Oz in the 70s (see above). There was banter and bruhaha about the desirability or otherwise of buying new logs as opposed to classic old logs via eBay. In between beverages and steak chomping (and sometimes at the same time) we managed some post-modern dialectic about how wrong it was to deliberately drill holes in decks or fins in the 21st century. And as usual we talked story about epic wipe-outs and sundry salty disasters including the newish one from Dave about the chap out at First Point (looking serene below). Apparently he was knocked out by a beginner and was saved from drowning by his pony tail, when a SUP-er dragged him onto largish hull by the hair. 

Nice T bone, Melbourne Hotel. Thanks guys for maintaining The Stoke.

Water pushing sand

High Fry

I could have spent a couple of days playing with the light and dark but still I wouldn't have done these boards or the wonderful 2011 Alley Fish Fry justice.

Beautiful craft and friendly folk - big thanks to the guy behind it all, Grant Newby. And yes he knocks out some exquisite shapes like these Simmons style sticks (below).

To be continued.

North or South?

This shot (above) is me on surfboard number three, a copy of MP's fangtail seen at a 1970's Pa Bendall Contest. It was like the first four boards I ever paddled - all single fins - like those of my heroes at the time - Wayne Lynch, Nat Young, MP, Peter Townend, Rabbit, Lopez, Reno, Rory, Owl. 

But that was a long time ago, last century. And strangely, despite advances in board design (and my advancing years), I'm thinking seriously of adding a modern, channel bottom single fin to my quiver. Maybe the thought is just some kind of mid-life crisis thing. Maybe not. My memory reckons there are some waves like certain point breaks on certain days that are just made for one fin. 

If you share similar memories or curiosity about single fins, rejoice, the good folks at Sunshine Beach's Solace surfshop have organised a single fin comp tomorrow. Check out some rocker and riding on boards that are older than 1985, be there.

"The main reason I built the first Fish was to correct a design flaw. I was riding pintails and my swim fins were hanging off the back of the board, causing drag when I dropped into hollow waves....Kneeling down on the patio with my swim fins on, I traced around them to give me an idea of the tail area I needed to keep my fins out of the water"

Stevie Lis describing the genesis of his first Fish design in 1967 as published in The Surfer's Journal Issue 20.1 

Many templates and tracings later, those early Fish designs have cross fertilized with ideas from around the surfing globe - Simmons, Greenough, Van Straalen, MR - and more to produce a hybrid modern generation of the Fish Family. Like the famous Grateful Deadheads, the Fish Family pop up around the world at various Fish Fries - non-commercial meets where one can wonder at the hundreds of boards on display and talk story with random strangers who are carving a similar track. This weekend sees them parking their caravan of soul at the Currumbin Alley 2011 Fish Fry organised by Grant Newby. Big thanks Grant. 

Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast or both? Single fin or Fish? Either way, there's plenty happening to interest all manner of brine sliders. Have a great, safe, respectful weekend.

Down by the River

 

A day in the life of a river mouth - a place of work and play, navigating the swell.

"She could drag me

over the rainbow

send me away

down by the river"

from Neil Young Down by the River 1969

The last installment in my homage to Neil Young series (for now). Irrespective of whether you love or loath his music, you have to admire his work ethic - according to Young he wrote this song and Cowgirl in the Sand while sick in bed suffering a 39 degree fever. Keep that note pad handy!

Be the Rain (Get Off My Cloud)

Get out of the rain today and check out the amazing photo work of the late Peter Crawford (RIP) at the D-Bar Cafe Gallery, Coolangatta, Gold Coast, Oz. Timeless classics by a Nikonos master from the analogue days - Lopez, MP, Buttons, Bertleman, Hakman and Greenough to name a few.

Words (between the lines of age)

Autumn dawn rumbles through my window

As I hurtle towards infinity

At the speed of mortality