Sharing = winning

One of the highlights of our recent road trip was catching a few point break "party waves" where 3 or 4 of us would all ride the same wave, hooting and laughing and generally kooking it up. It helped that there was an extreme offshore and the swell was big enough to enable us to all ride the same wave without running over each other's wake (or board). It was a heap of fun and also gave each of us unique perspectives on each others' so called "style". So, when I found this quote the other day about the concept of "sharing", I thought I should share it. BIG thanks to all who share - a wave, an image, a dollar, a smile, a concept, a seat on the bus.

"Sharing is the mechanism that propels culture forward. Cultural evolution, like its biological counterpart, is driven by random mutation. This process of recombination, iteration and sharing enables the stickiest of ideas to survive."

"When we share it is as though the global imagination is breathing. To inhale is to be nourished by inspiration - to exhale is to evoke it."

The Director - The Imaginary Foundation 

interviewed in Juxtapoz magazine May 2011

Full = slow

The hard drive on my ancient Mac is full - mostly of potential blog stuff that I keep thinking I might use. So, in order to free up some space, here's a selection of the blog cloggers. No particular anything, except, they are vaguely brine-oriented and I didn't want to delete them until I had blogged them. Above, somebody else's Nana downtown Caloundra.

Bazza, elder logger and owner of this nice Riley balsa (wooden) sled.
SS Dickey wreck north of Moffatts and some mangroves that thrive in the intertidal zone.

Roadtrip

Waiting for a mate to pick me up to head south for a road trip in search of brine. This shot from an earlier one involving 880 kms in one day. AND I don't have to drive this time. BIG shout to Bazza for the lift. Sure beats hitch hiking.

Turn out the lights

They sold me a six foot board with four fins and a stack of DVDs. They put on free music and single fin surf comps. They provided a surf friendly meeting place for tall tales of tube time to be told.

And now Solace Surf Shop is about to close their doors for good this Saturday. Just so wrong. All the best for the future and BIG THANKS.

"When the music's over

turn out the lights"

from When the Music's Over by The Doors  1967

Same street, same session

Cory from TheTooMuchFunCollective and I have been shooting a few land and water collaborations in the last few months when our paths, the light, the wind, the tides, the crowds and the swell have all lined up - no easy feat.

Of course being the ageing urchin that I am, I have been taking things easy standing on the sand dunes with the seashells shooting with a lot of glass, while Cory does the hard yards shooting from the water. That's him in the barrel on the Brine Times blog masthead and in the corner of the shot at top of this post. Surf frames are Azzy who lives a few doors down from Corey's at Sunshine Beach. Same moment, same session, different angles for the light to refract.

Two Donny's

Donny Bro

Sunshine Beach

Autumn

2011

4 M

Apologies to those who thought there might be some crispy colour shots of the brine this foggy Monday morning. Instead, I have digressed down a monochrome mental maze with Metal and Meaning on my mind.

Michael Angelo Batio at the weekend Guitar Show. I have no metal in my collection but was blown away by his craft, creativity and inspiring words in between songs, BIG THANKS and to the Guitar Brothers for putting on the show. Tim Gaze update to follow.

Meaning is what you make of it?

I heart carbo? 

Shot by my mate Tony after the saturday Guitar Show. On the way to the pub, they were giving out free potato chips (H!). I initially declined due to watching carbohydrates taking over my girth, but The Guitarist talked me into it. And, no kidding, this was the first chip I pulled out of the pak. No, my nails are only long on one hand - for guitaring.

Guitar Weekend

This weekend the Vintage Amp and Guitar Show is on in our part of the island. So I'll be mooching around with my camera soaking up the vibes of those who can actually knock out a respectable cover or a tune of their own.

Fortunately, I have my old mate Tony to explain the nuances. That's him above on the road somewhere. We don't catch up enough but when we do, the decades seem to evaporate as our conversation swings from tube amps to catching tadpoles together in Year 2 to new music worth mentioning to unmentionable (here), yet hilarious adventures from the road or beach or campsite. Mate, this note's for you.

Trent x Tricko

Above, Trent Dickey, hanging 10 at First Point a couple of autumns back and on the other side of the carpark, Captain Tricko, sailor, raconteur and busker of awesome cultural value jamming on his cigar box guitars while avoiding the hot gaze of the local constabs at post code 4567 during his Big Fat World Busking Tour, autumn 2011. Thanks for the chat, CD and performance. Those cigar box guitars are so lo-fi yet so incredible. Support street performers and hire the Captain for your next BBQ, blues party.

Shoot the shooter

The down side of taking surf photos is that nobody wants to shoot the shooter when the surf gets good. In all the years (decades) I have been surfing there's no shots of me surfing good waves. Hopefully that might change later in the year when I join a boatload in the Maldives. Big shout out to Tony Stewart, artist, logger and shooter of shooters for these images, which I have manipulated without his permission. I might show these to the doctor today when I have my annual skin cancer checkup, "Look I truly wear sensible sun protection in the water!" Well on the small days anyway.

Guitar Amp and Vintage

It's back to brighten the dark nights and short days of winter - the 2011 Guitar Amp and Vintage Show See guitar stuff, hear guitar stuff, buy guitar stuff. Reignite your passion with the pentatonic scale or just buy some bargain strings to replace those 12 rusty disgustings on your little sister's hand me down steel string.

For the fret fanatics, there will be plenty of workshops and live performances including the legend  Tim Gaze whose guitar magic with band Taman Shud on the Morning of the Earth soundtrack still inspires. Stick it to the global financial circus and keep the economy going by buying a hand made instrument of sonic delight from one of Brinetopia's local luthiers.

Low Fi

Today's post is for Jack Brull of Salt Stained Eyes - one surfer who knows his way around vintage boards, music and low-fi photography. Neil Young once said "Better classic than plastic." But in photography, sometimes plastic is classic. Long live film.

3rd fro from the sun

What better way to start guitar week than with some surf music? This morning's blog infused with the innovative spirit of James Marshall Hendrix and his 1967 tune "3rd Stone from the Sun".

"and you'll never hear surf music again"

from "3rd  Stone from the Sun"  by Jimi Hendrix 1967

Happy to be back

It was the worst feeling. Worse than rocking up at a perfect lineup to discover your board had blown off the car's roof racks - somewhere back on the highway.
Not as bad as the times coming home to discover some drug dependent soul had ransacked my home and stolen Ms Brine's old gold.
But def worse than running out of film or digi memory at a perfect lineup - an empty deflated feeling of loss and disbelief when that cryptic message from the Google Gods hit my Mcsreen preventing me from blogging. "Something wrong at Google? Has somebody hacked our computer? But I've got so many good shots to post. Noooooo. This can't be happening." I thought, as I scratched my old timer beard and rummaged in the fridge for the emergency comfort chocolates. "Well those planets were lined up for the first time in 110 years or something, the tarot lady down the road said."As if I should have seen this coming.
But today, the waves are rolling in on a sunny ocean and Captain Google-Blogger says "Climb aboard. The search engine is fixed - just a few lose screws. All good to go". Happy to be back.

Ben Nothling during the one-day mini G-land sandbank swell last winter, before the digi buffer ran dry.

Break Out the Wettie

NYC Fish Fry 2011

Details here

Twin x Machina

Attend or else Winston will summon the pigeons!

How cold is it? And not even winter yet. Reminds me of Jefferson Airplane.

"The summer had inhaled and held its breath too long

The winter looked the same, as if it never had gone

And through an open window where no curtain hung

I saw you, I saw you, comin' back to me

One begins to read between the pages of a look

The shape of sleepy music, and suddenly you're hooked

Through the rain upon the trees, that kisses on the run

I saw you, I saw you, comin' back to me"

from Comin' Back To Me by Jefferson Airplane

One for the shelves - Prof Anne Marsh looks at Oz Photography.

Capricorn Dancer

Deus x Machina

Random One

I don't normally do two posts in one day, but it's Monday and it's raining so maybe a little extra randomness required. Music this morning by M Ward, L Reed, L Skynard, F B Slim, Love, The Loved Ones and the Love Mongers.

"All of your demons will wither away"

from "Demons" by Fatboy Slim 2000