Texty Tuesday x Shroom Girl

Today's post is dedicated to an old soul in a young body who will be referred to only as "Shroom Girl" - her wit, wisdom and cheeky texts have pushed me through some of the dark tunnels that life throws out. BIG thanks.

Monochrome Monday (Tusk)

Elephant images by Nick Brandt

The most impressive set of monochrome images I have ogled for a long long while. I'm talking about Nick Brandt's images of lions and elephants and giraffes and all manner of African critters. Shot on 6x7 film stock and blown up up huge eg 2 x 4 meters, including quite a few shot on infra red roll film. Just wonderful. Evocative. Out of my budget range - even the signed book below ($200).

You can have a massive platinum print of the elephant drinking above for a meagre $110K - a bargain considering that it's the last of a worldwide limited edition of 15 and the printing quality is flawless. And let's not forget the cultural cache of having something in common with the Jolie-Pitt's of the planet. Oh and there's no chance of you or me shooting our own beast as that elephant, like so many, has been killed by poachers.

Brandt isn't your typical western shooter, who travels to exotic places, bags the shots, sells them to the corporations and then repeats. He has put his own $$$$ into setting up local African rangers and support systems for endagered big easy targets. Check out more at his Big Life Africa Foundation.

Anton Bruehl

I had seen this iconic advertising shot from last century but never knew the photographer was Australian Anton Bruehl (1900 - 1983) until I went to a recent exhibition of his work from a time when film on large sheets the size of A4 was the only option. Yet, these folks had a technical mastery of their craft that seems alien in these post-post-modern times.

I did smile at a couple of "futuristic" fashion shots at the exhibition, especially this forecast by Gilbert Rhode written in 1939:

"man of the next century will revolt against shaving 

and wear a beautiful beard... 

His hat will be his antenna 

snatching radio out of the ether . 

His socks - disposable . 

His suit minus tie, collar, buttons. 

His belt will hold all his pockets ever did"

Hope your weekend features the best of the past and dreams of the future while maximising stoke in the present.

Search Engine

Today's post is for my goofy footed mate Andrew who provided the search engine for yesterday's surf mission - good company and some damn fine lefts on the DVS quad. CHEERS

ANZAC Day 2012

BIG thanks to my Dad (RIP) and all the other war veterans who put their lives on the line so we can have the freedom to do stuff as seemingly pointless as letting the ocean push us towards shore over and over and over until our arms feel like spaghetti and our legs are knotted with cramps and our faces have smiles that no drug can replicate. Like today - ANZAC Day 2012. Lest we Forget.

Recent and random

Reflection I

The light in the motel bathroom is very unforgiving. It all too clearly shows my receding hairline and the grey hairs that are left juxtaposed with the five day stubble that lingers despite there being a razor and shaving cream less than a meter away. Hard to believe that the eyes I see before me first saw Noosa Heads more than forty years ago. 

I am not surprised by the increased flab that challenges me from the other side of the mirror. I haven't done as much exercise as I usually do due to the record drought breaking rains and floods we have had over summer. Lack of exercise plus Christmas celebration does not make for an attractive reflection. But then again who am I kidding? At my age I should just be happy to still have a reflection.

Weekend Wonder

Swell + Sunshine + Weekend = Wonder

Gigantic Underwear

I'm all for celebrating, nurturing and respecting the Different and the Disenfranchised and there's no more a diverse universe then the WWW - Worldwide Whacked Web.

In the last week I have been offered $450M as a loan, pressured to join fundamentalist crusades, bagain surgical instruments, invitations to aRt show openings and gigantic underwear sales (I don't wear gigantic underwear, by the way) and all manner of lurid "opportunities". Clearly the harvesters of social media personal details and shopping habits that we are all so concerned about have failed to distil my spending patterns. So here they are:
*  food
*  wax
* petrol (gas) and mechanical
* insurance
* electricity, water, gas
* medical attention
* music
* photography
* coffee (strong, voluminous and NOT tepid)
* charities of my choice (I have enough, already)
* repairs to the Brinecave
* public transport
* bicycle
* surf equipment
* air
* sunshine
* waves

So there you go. Pretty simple. So unless you are offering me FREE use of an AF 800mm F5.6 or AF 600mm F4, I won't be interested. NOTE to benevolent patrons out there 800 or 600, OK and your logo here. This offer valid only for next three days.

Short Shootin

Riding short boards is one of my favourite pastimes. There's nothing better than that feeling of hitting the lip and linking up half a dozen flowing bottom turn/reo combinations on a nice long, uncrowded wall.

Channel Surfing Kook

There's always someone faster, taller, better, richer, smarter, funnier, sexier than us mere surfing mortals. And to them, we're probably channel surfing kooks. But at least we know how to have FUN in our own blissfully ignorant (of our shortcomings) way.
Kookon, I say. Embrace the inner kook.