Salt Stained Eyes:

delusion or reality....

2011-09-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

have you been in this situation?

2011-09-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Come out to the Surfrider benefit art auction/happening this Thurs 9/15 @ 8PM at the Bowery Hotel. Lots of surfy art and boards as well as music , films, and drinks....The event is being hosted by Kassia Meador and Mikey Detemple .. I was asked to submit several pieces for the auction...check it here for more details: SURFRIDER

classic surf car..

2011-08-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

north countynorth county SD.......

waiting....

2011-08-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

this weekend should be interesting............ i wonder how its gonna be

underexposed...

2011-08-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

I snapped this one early pre-dawn morning in Oceanside.......I loved the Robert Frank feel to this morning had... I always love to go back to "The Americans".... The volume illustrates better than any history book could the post world war II undercurrent of america....

who is the alpha?

2011-08-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

cardiff by the sea, right near patagonia.....pups leads boy, boy leads parents.....classic!! kid was so stoked to have a pup!!

no rust buckets here

2011-08-16T06:33:00.000-07:00

such awesome cars in california..no salt on the roads, snow and extreme conditions to rust them out i guess

the family that surfs together, stays together..

2011-08-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

Oceanside Blvd. and highway 101; evening glass-off surf check....

Venice Skater

2011-08-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

I am really new to the skateboard shooting thing. not sure what works in an image but i was totally trippin on this guys skills in the bowl/pool. very fun to watch and attempt to shoot...

i was one of those guys..

2011-08-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

image from my brief trip to LA last month. Yes i was one of those cheesey tourists riding on the top of a double decker bus!!! only i had a camera wrapped in duct tape as opposed to some tripped out digital image grabbers...

Venice Beach Skate Park

2011-08-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a happy accident from the Venice Beach Skate Park.. what a killer bowl park!!!

Deer Tick Benefit at Mulcahy's in Wantagh Wed 8/10 sponsored by he Tommy Brull Foundation ...7PM come out if you can

some things should remain as they evolved...

2011-08-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

...............

Tommy Brull Foundation Presents A Benefit Concert with Deer Tick

2011-08-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

Open invite to all.

Please come join me at The Tommy Brull Foundation "Shine A Light Music Festival Featuring special guest Deer Tick"

The Show is scheduled for August 10th 7PM til 12AM at Mulcahy's in Wantagh NY. Mulcahy's is literally steps from the Long Island Railroad Wantagh Stop for all you Brooklyn and Manhattan people. Tickets are $30.00 in advance $35.00 day of event. Deer Tick have been featured in Taylor Steele's Castles in the Sand and the band has been featured on the David Letterman show-- in short THEY ROCK!!!

Specific info on the event can be found at:

http://tommybrullfoundation.org/shine

or : Facebook

The Tommy Brull Foundation is a 501(c) 3 non for profit group that my family founded to assist those in need in our community. The hope is that the foundation keeps the spirit of my brother Tom alive despite his physical body being passed on.

All proceeds from this Tommy Brull Foundation Event will go to the Camp Anchor Building Fund. Camp Anchor is a recreation program for significantly mentally, physically and emotionally challenged children and adolescents in Nassau County. There main location is Lido Beach NY and they are constructing a building to house their winter programs in>> A well worthwhile endeavor!!1

On another note- sorry for the slacker approach to the blog. I just got back from 2 weeks in north county SD. Hopefully i have some decent images to post up but i had some major lo-fi technical issues so i am keeping my fingers crossed. I did get to spend a wonderful evening with Cher and Steve Pendarvis and I am hoping some images came from my time with them...Great people for sure!!!

Please come out to support the benefit if you are around!! many Thanks

synergy.. i guess

2011-07-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

check out shipworm from molluskny rocking a channel island thruster complete with unSound surf sticker...he seems to have enjoyed himself!!!

The Dog Days of Summer

2011-07-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here is the new addition to the Brull household. Shane Mac is an 8 weeks old yellow lab. Whew, what an adjustment but he is quickly establishing himself in the line- up here at home. My man can nap with the best of us!! Avery is absolutely in love with her pup!!

Sorry for the lack of updates... been shooting a little as of late so hopeful more surfy stuff to come... getting psyched for the yearly jaunt out to north county San Diego... hopefully my less that quick surfing reflexes will come back before i come back to the NY endless bummer...

Dinosaur Jr - I don't wanna go there

2011-06-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

I got to catch these guys for the first time last night..... j...is pretty amazing to watch..my ears are still feeling the fuzz!!!!

really cool to see henry rollins buck down an person in the crowd after the guy decided to throw his boots at rollins....

Perfection...

2011-06-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

Gibson es 335.... so sweeeeet!!! unmatched tone and neverending sustain!!

wildlife...

2011-06-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

or urban blight??? not sure which

summers approaching ...

2011-06-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

soon i will be on vacation which will bring on regular dawnies.. hoping to re-establish a pattern of shooting...........

Wilco - I'm Always in Love

2011-06-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

love em!!

my new whip..

2011-06-04T06:24:00.000-07:00

I know this blog is supposed to be about surfing and my crappy snaps... but had to share this new addition to the quiver.... its an early 80's epiphone sheraton made in Japan... she's getting a bit of an overhaul/setup but should be ready by monday...this winter/spring weather pattern of serious flatness has re-stimulated another interest of mine..playing..errrr.. i mean hacking away on guitars...this girl should sing!!!!

I hope to start shooting crappy snaps again soon....

The Grateful Dead - Sugaree (Rockpalast, 1981)

2011-05-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

thank you... i needed that!!

lo-fi garcia

2011-05-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

what else can i say.......two of my favorite things...lo-fi photography and garcia and the wall of sound...

Unsound Art Auction and the Tommy Brull Foundation

2011-04-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

Unsound Surf in Long Beach NY is sponsoring their second annual Benefit Art Auction. Proceeds from the auction will support the Tommy Brull Foundation and the JDF. The Tommy Brull Foundation is a non-profit foundation that aims to provide support for individual with mental, physical or emotional challanges living on Long Island. The Foundation was started as a way to memorialize my deceased brother Tommy Brull

Killer art work from a vast array of east coast artists and yours truly will be donated

Check the foundation's website for more info: www.tommybrullfoundation.org

DUSTY AND RAGGED TWEED

2011-04-29T06:06:00.000-07:00

Neil's rig.. about as cool as it gets, ragged, old and full of fuzzy tone

low tide at dusk

2011-04-28T02:57:00.000-07:00

the colors of coop

2011-04-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

Eric Clapton: Groaning The Blues

2011-04-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

serious blues guitar clinic... watch eric weep!

extreme beach cruiser

2011-04-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

EXTREME Beach Cruisers- only in lb...

dual fin mini, anyone?

2011-04-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

looking for a joe bauguess dual fin mini-simmons in the 5'5- 5'7 range.. if anyone has one hit me up...

one of those days

2011-04-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

got in this morning for a little while- weak high tide lines, clean but way to peaky with short interval. still good to paddle.... hoping this week shapes up a bit being on vacation and all....

Grateful Dead - Peggy O - 6-26-94

2011-04-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

When i grow up i wanna play like this!!!

2011-04-13T03:21:00.000-07:00

frye...

2011-04-11T04:36:00.000-07:00

I havent heard much about this year's New York Fish Fry(e)..

quite reflection

2011-04-08T03:10:00.000-07:00

onefin with one of his his onefins

Mission Control..

2011-04-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

Leo's Lab.....

smile machines II

2011-04-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

blackie + Champ = Smiles.....

april fools day nor'easter

2011-04-01T03:30:00.000-07:00

surf's up and i am at work- wind will switch to side shore when i am off--- a cruel april fools joke i suppose

Bob Weir "Black Throated Wind"

2011-03-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

chestnut

threepeat

2011-03-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

three days of surfing this week...i actually am starting to feel if this is something i do...... now i gotta get back to snappin some salt stains.

back in the groove

2011-03-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

well its been a while since i got two sessions during the course of the work week. out last night for a few hours on the simster. good to be back to the beach shaking the rust off

re-connecting

2011-03-24T04:39:00.000-07:00

well i finally got in the water for an hour and half on tues afternoon- small but clean low tide waves. first time wet in about 3-4 weeks. It felt great as i was starting to lose motivation. hoping to get in again after work today. looks like some fun little ones to be had. hopefully the wind stays offshore

one from the fall

2011-03-21T18:16:00.001-07:00

Wilco - Impossible Germany - Lowlands 2009

2011-03-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

nels going insane... tweedy is about the best song writer to come along in the last quarter century

your own private idaho

2011-03-17T04:20:00.000-07:00

as crowded as the line-up can become, surfing is still such a personal endeavor..

Furthur 3/15/11- Phil's 71st birthday

2011-03-16T04:52:00.000-07:00

still stoked after all these years....

morning glory

2011-03-14T18:14:00.001-07:00

sorry for the lag and lack of new stuff

smile machine....

2011-03-11T07:12:00.000-08:00

three fin simster- 5'8".. .nothin left to do but smile, smile, smile

missing the warm water..

2011-03-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

wishing for summer...

absurdity of form...random-ness

2011-03-09T02:55:00.001-08:00

more wanderings... my buddies at colony have a cool little back up blog:
http://tractorradioco.blogspot.com/

the world is turning...

2011-03-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

hope it don't turn away....

Hip-storical Landmark- Birth place of "On the Road"

2011-03-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

a little polaroid image of my wandering's yesterday..

The Chelsea Hotel was between 1883 and 1885. At time of its construction it was the tallest building in New York. It was designed by the firm of Hubert, Pirsson & Company in a style that has been described variously as Queen Anne Revival and Victorian Gothic.[5] Among its distinctive features are the delicate, flower-ornamented iron balconies on its facade, which were constructed by J.B. and J.M Cornell[3][5] and its grand staircase, which extends upward twelve floors.

Notable residents - a whose who in the creative world:

Authors
During its lifetime Hotel Chelsea has provided a home to many great writers and thinkers including Mark Twain, O. Henry, Herbert Huncke,Dylan Thomas, Arthur C. Clarke, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Leonard Cohen, Arthur Miller, Quentin Tennessee Williams, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac (who wrote On the Road there), Robert Hunter, Jean-Paul Sartre, Thomas Wolfe, Charles Bukowski. Dylan Thomas collapsed in Room 205 at the Chelsea on November 9, 1953, and died a few days later in hospital.[9]

Musicians
Much of Hotel Chelsea's history has been colored by the musicians who have resided or visited there. Some of the most prominent names include The Grateful Dead, Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Jeff Beck, Chick Corea, Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny Thunders, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Sid Vicious, Abdullah Ibrahim/Sathima Bea Benjamin, and Leonard Cohen.

Visual artists
The hotel has featured and collected the work of the many visual artists who have passed through. Philip Taaffe, Ralph Gibson, Robert Mapplethorpe, Peggy Biderman, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Robert Crumb, Jasper Johns, Edie Sedgwick, Claes Oldenburg, Vali Myers, Donald Baechler, Herbert Gentry, Willem De Kooning, Lynne Drexler and Henri Cartier-Bresson have all spent time at Hotel Chelsea.

Painter & ethnomusicologist Harry Everett Smith lived and died at the Chelsea in Room 328. The painter Alphaeus Philemon Cole lived there for 35 years until his death in 1988 at age 112, when he was the oldest living man.[11] Bohemian abstract and Pop art painter Susan Olmetti creates paintings outside on the sidewalk during her frequent summer residencies at the hotel.

lookin for the right.

2011-03-04T03:29:00.000-08:00

Here is Joe, another regular footer in the land of the left. Joe and i always seem to end up at the same peak, both looking to pick off the rare right that rolls thru..

surf check lenny....

2011-03-03T03:03:00.000-08:00

Lenny is the most reliable surf reporter that i have known. His first light report texts are terse and to the point, "waist- light wind... going". "ankle high..on shore... going".. Seems like the word, "..going" is always in the text despite the conditions. this guy loves surfing.

Brian Bent- Hot Rod Church For Sinners....

2011-03-02T02:52:00.000-08:00

join Brian's Church.... This is one of my favorite photographs from the last year..

salt stained polaroidz..

2011-03-01T03:31:00.001-08:00

another salt encrusted polaroid image from saturday......need more waves

surf check

2011-02-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

had a rare opportunity to surf two days in a row. It was my first time on a smaller board in well over three months and my first time in the water in the last month. WOW talk about rusty.... anyways i also shot some film another first in quite awhile. Playing around with some extremely expired fuji instant film and an old polaroid propack. i love the fickleness of this film and the inconsistent results when used in more extreme tempertures...
.

getting wet

2011-02-27T07:01:00.000-08:00

last two days i was lucky enough to get in the 37 degree water for a little surfing. serious rust in the joints and arms but still great to get that icy water in the wetsuit

Oasis - Hey Hey My My

2011-02-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

not bad for a couple of blokes ;)

2011-02-24T15:56:00.000-08:00

my lady...

someday....

2011-02-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

things around here will change..

Inspired...

2011-02-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

I just finished Patti Smith's memoir entitled "Just Kids". The memoir allows for an intimate and honest look at both Smith and her lover/friend/muse, Robert Mapplethorpe and their lives as emerging artists. Their relationship and the mutual passion to create is inspirational. Getting a peek into the NY underground in the late 60's into the 70's is equally as fascinating. The book recently won the national book award. check it its well worth.

first photograph in several months

2011-02-20T14:49:00.000-08:00

here's a shot of ave.... indoor life..very expired polaroid....it felt good to play with a camera again....

Grateful Dead - Deep Elem Blues (acoustic)

2011-02-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

surf check

2011-02-17T08:09:00.000-08:00

hasnt been much to see for a long time.. my whine continues...

Come back...

2011-02-16T09:53:00.000-08:00

PLEEEEEEZE!!!!

subtle signs of Spring...

2011-02-14T23:02:00.000-08:00

If you look close enough and pay attention subtle signs are evident.. Spring is slowly emerging..notice the longer days, the slightly different quality of the light and slowly receeding snow. can't wait for those fun little log sessions......

badness

2011-02-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

love the look of this hot rod and driver.. north county SD

2011-02-11T03:30:00.000-08:00

i love the diversity of southern california's coast line. so different from long islands miles of unvaried beach break

2011-02-10T02:47:00.001-08:00

one of my first attempts with my holga after a long long absence from shooting..

warm sunsets and light winds

2011-02-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

one of my favorites from last year... i miss warm sunsets and light winds big time

wow- not your usual laid back lame uke playing

2011-02-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

take that you lazy slacker beach uke player- serious music by Jake Shimabukuro. be patient this guy wails

2011-02-04T02:41:00.000-08:00

full house

2011-02-03T04:34:00.000-08:00

serious vibe going down here.... check it

hulls chillin

2011-02-02T02:40:00.000-08:00

given today's ice storm...hulls on ice..

Mississippi John Hurt - You got to walk that lonesome valley

2011-01-31T16:01:00.000-08:00

check out the right hand- unreal playing.

creekfish remorse

2011-01-31T09:46:00.000-08:00

ya ever sell a board only to regret it shortly thereafter? Several people i know are in this exact predicament right now. I've been there as well.

the contrasts of long island

2011-01-27T09:42:00.000-08:00

summer lifestyles but winter realities

rushed excitement

2011-01-26T05:45:00.000-08:00

been awhile since i have had that rushed excitement of running down to the line-up...

10 degrees Farenheit

2011-01-24T04:38:00.000-08:00

another cold and dry weekend.. i havent snapped a photo in way too long. havent been able to surf in a way too long..cabin fever has set in but comfort is found being found in the warm tones of a stratocaster..

this photo is the anti-answer to hye tydes "muscle car mondays"..

A dollar short and a day late... so it goes

2011-01-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

That last step to the tip is so elusive and rare for me..while my success percentage is slowly increasing, too often i get enjoyably stuck in trim about 6 inches from the tip. I'll choose to blame this pattern on our inconsistent waves and my lack of commitment to logging when swell moves to a long period interval rather than my ability level... yeah right, i am sure my BS is pretty transparent. When i do get to the tip, the ride is rather short lived because I stubbornly refuse to pay attention to the subtle and not so subtle signs of enpending doom. I envy the guys I know who regularly stick the noseride!! live and learn and i gotta commit to more practice...

ducks in a row

2011-01-19T19:35:00.000-08:00

hess quad fish.....

The Rolling Stones - Little T & A - Live 2006

2011-01-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

MORE KEEF!!!

Martin Luther King "I have a dream"

2011-01-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

take 17 minutes to watch the kind of history that we are capable of achieving.

Its 15 degrees Fahrenheit in New York and flat..

2011-01-17T05:37:00.000-08:00

I want to be here.. July in Pacific Beach, San Deigo

KEITH RICHARDS - Happy III (1972)

2011-01-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

Open G Tuning... unreal stuff

Simms21 Midi-Simmons

2011-01-14T04:35:00.000-08:00

seems like a dream from the distant past

2011-01-13T02:57:00.001-08:00

we used to get waves when it snowed- seems like some distant dream from the past.

another winter storm and still... NO WAVES!!!

2011-01-12T08:14:00.000-08:00

Only exercise i got today was shreddin the snow-blower!!! throwin massive buckets of snow , with plenty of rooster tail turns!!!

Jetty Marching

2011-01-11T05:08:00.000-08:00

from the other side of the glass

2011-01-10T03:11:00.000-08:00

It's a rare occasion that someone aims their lens at me when i am in the line-up; however i was lucky enough to be digitally captured on Saturday afternoon by Robert Wands.......

Saturday was a complete surprise, great little log session. I kinda wrote the day off but a nagging impulse kept pushing me to "go check it". I stumbled upon a fairly consistent knee/thigh to occasional waist high peelers. Perfect light off shore breezy and a wave that broke from the outside all the way in without sectioning. Oddly a satisfying day. Loving my Tyler 9'9 Point model.

Kinda tough to stay in sync with surfing when the surf conditions dictate that you can only get in the water once every two weeks. This winter has been as dreadful as I can remember as we have been plagued by a lack of consistent surf and a heavy sideshore wind pattern.

surprise little log love....

2011-01-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

pleasantly satisfied after the stealth little session this afternoon. wispy light off shore winds, with little thigh occasional waist lines coming in. waves did not section at all....

trim speed..

2011-01-07T06:33:00.000-08:00

put it neutral and let it fly.....trim speed is like no other

clarity....

2011-01-05T17:46:00.000-08:00

“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

winter loggin

2011-01-04T18:13:00.000-08:00

an oldie but i really have always liked it

smear and smudge campaign

2011-01-03T22:51:00.000-08:00

Before i got back into shooting film, I was playing around with captured video stills from some of my favorite surf film scenes. i was then using photoshop to play with the image a bit. this is a manipulated screen grab from the Cape St Francis segment of the Endless Summer. This scene is so important to the history of surfing and the sense of adventure that is brought to surfing. looking back the manipulated image comes across as kind of cliche but I kind of like it nonetheless..

2011 resolution

2011-01-03T02:41:00.000-08:00

my 2011 resolution is to get back to shooting. its been a lapse of about 2 months since I blew threw some film. hope to put together some new images for 2011- bare with me!

Dead Flowers

2011-01-02T06:14:00.000-08:00

been reading Life by Keith Richards... what a great read... re-ignited my love for all things Keith. Check this version of Dead Flowers (keith, Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams and Hank Williams III)- serious DNA in the room that night!

happy new year- stay in today!!

2010-12-31T09:39:00.000-08:00

Stay in today, moment by moment. New Years day often calls for a reflection of the year past and planning for the year ahead. My objective is to be solidly grounded in the moment as it unfolds--- surely way easier said than done but that's the intention.

wishful thinking..

2010-12-30T12:18:00.000-08:00

here is a shot from last winter..... no such luck lately here in new york