I was inspired by a beautiful shot of an electric guitar over at Salt Stained Eyes FB site to do a post today about the acoustic guitar I got for a big birthday, but the potential of a light leaked Holga shot got the better of my time. So, for now, here's Geoff from Western Australia - now resident of the bushy Noosa Shire hinterland. Have a great weekend and if the surf goes choppy try tuning your six string down to DGCEAD or something like that. EADGBE is for 6.0 thruster days.

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.

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.

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.

Reaquainting myself with the tune "Beasley Street" - spoken word angst of hip post-punk poet John Cooper-Clark, who I shot on film with a lens I should have kept. There are more images somewhere in the Brinecave. His Mancurian eloquence captured the social disintegration of the British north during the Thatcher era in. (Think early Joy Division, or even Pink Floyd Animals)

from the album Snap, Crackle and Bop 1980

The song is the antithesis of the sunny joy of rolling around the brine on a board in the sun, but an occasional listen reminds me just how good life is in Brinetopia. Today's shout out goes to all those dedicated volunteers doing their bit for their sick, thirsty, hungry and socially marginalised brothers and sisters. A couple of groups spring to mind:

Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, WaterAid. I love my whales and dolphins, but I love my fellow humans more.

Congratulations to Stephanie Gilmore - another surfing world title. That's four out of four attempts. 100%
Here seen dropping in literally on Mick Fanning during a Charity Comp a few moons back.

Winter ended early and spring has delivered its annual bounty of beauty. Time to get outside and ride.

From my window at work I can see a river that flows to the sea. In the distance, way past the airport, the oil refinery and the new football stadium, I can see a couple of islands made of sand. I'm pretty sure the surf is cranking and the local sharks have gone Christmas shopping somewhere else. There's air in my bike tyres and wax on my board. Can I leave now?
Autumn 2009

I have this little plastic fantastic camera that cost less than $100 AU. No light meter. No auto focus. No glass. Just plastic and a metal spring to open the shutter. It sweeps light onto film, in a fairly erratic and unpredictable manner. Like life - unpredictable  but often full of pleasant surprises.
Spring 2009

So you think your're a long term local? Meet Brian. He lives on the Noosa River in between the burger joint with the Elvis out front and the Solace surf shop. He's been there for 40 years. Brought the cactus behind him in from Cuba. It's a rare one. The flowers are awesome and Brian is a top bloke. He let us use his cactus garden for a fashion shoot a month ago.
This is a collaboration between me and Corey Wilkie and Brian - a collaboration between the seemingly opposites of film and digital, hi tech and low tech, youth and old age.  Say gidday and have a listen to Brian's yarns about Noosa before the Big Money moved in. Thanks Champ.
Winter 2009

Foggy mornings and light offshores - perfect conditions for the plastic fantastic Holga camera and a few slides with mates.
Spring 2009

Mrs Brine has graciously reserved some room in our refrigerator for some 120 roll film for my little plastic camera and her 70 year old TLR. We feed them a little bit of light when the Brine Budget and Nature align. Dawn patrol on the deadly treadly. B&W is Gail Austin's surfshop Goodtime in downtown Brinevegas. Gail's family are legends in this part of the planet.