Tarantula spotting & other adventures in the Amazon

Most mothers i think, would not even consider such an expidition as this but on the eve of her turning 60 my mother and I embarked on a tarantular spotting night walk into the depths of the Amazonion jungle! We doused ourselves in insect repelant, tucked our trouser legs into our socks, and as night fell we ventured into the wild unknown...











Within minutes of leaving the safe haven of the lodge we were deep in the jungle, a place not for the faint hearted! The high pitched chorus of a 1000 cicadas filled the night air, at every turn there was impenetrable scrub, spikey exotic plants, muddy lagoons, thick spider webs and BUGS!!












"SSHhhh" ....said our guide as she pointed into the dark, we shone our flashlights down and just off the path beside us was the hugest hairiest tarantular you have ever seen! "yikes, gulp, arg" my reply, gripping mothers arm as tight as i could!













Further on and deeper in we went, shining our flashlights in all directions trying to adjust to the dark, and the eerie noises of the jungle... There, another one, even bigger this time, with thick legs stretching the width of a dinner plate, it lay in waiting at the door to its burrow... for prey!

More and more everywhere we turned, black and glistening in the light of the torches. We saw a scorpian spider swaying in its web, a nest of fierce red bullet ants scuttled around our feet and in the water beneath the mangroves a pair of huge eyes shone out, the eyes of a caimen crocodile!

Mother was handling this experience remarkably well, and while her other 60 year old friends probably celebrate their birthdays with a meal down at the local club, this will be a night my mum will never forget!

The old fisherman from Makara

On the stony shores of Makara
Across the jagged rocks
There lives an old sea farer
Retired from the docks

His batch is nestled on a hill
Looking out to sea
Strangled by the yellow gauze
Beside a cabbage tree

He’s been so long a Fisherman
The life was born to him
But now that he is older
He rests with weary limb

He couldn’t leave the ocean
Like he’s by his lover’s side
His heart beats with the waves
He exhales with the tide

A whiskey warms his insides
From the cold and lonely night
When the families have left the beach
And the birds have taken flight

On stormy nights the howling wind
Does make the awnings creek
The ocean crashes on the land
The hills so grey and bleak

But he wakes to watch the sunrise
Turn the sea to gold
He walks down to the waters edge
To see the day unfold

He wanders for a while
The sand between his toes
The salty smell of sea kelp
Whistles through his nose

He watches in the rock pools
As fish dart out of site
And up into the sky
As the ocean gulls take flight

He cuts a paua from the rock
With his little axe
And wanders home to brew some tea
Brushing through the flax

And as the sun sets in the south
He smokes a fish that he did catch
And takes a seat upon the porch
Of his little Makara batch


By Bronwyn Hume © 2007

In pursuit of the perfect photograph

In pursuit of the perfect photograph I have climbed through demolition sites,
loitered in graffiti alleyways, been pricked by cactus & chased sheep around paddocks!

I've also discovered a cool new way to display my prints to get them out into the world, for exhibition and sale! Prints are mounted on black or white foam board with wall hanging clips & hook.

You should know where to find my photo gallery online....? Flickr is where! :) Drop me a line if your interested in purshasing!? 6 x 4 prints are $10 each or 3 for $20.

I hope you enjoy the sometimes prickly, sometimes corroded world of Bronzebrew! x

Bobby Dollar had a girlfriend

Bobby Dollar had a girlfriend
he thought his bitch was pretty hot
theyd been goin steady for fuckin ages
till Bobby said "Guess wot?"

"Wot is it darrrl" said shazza
"Wot ya gone and done"
so snorting rather loudly
Bobby told his bitch the pun

"Ive sold your ass on Ebay luv,
to a bloody yankee collar!
I got a bloody bargain though,
he gave me one american dollar!"

"Geez babe" said Shazza, not amused
"My mates warned me, they did holler,
never trust that man they said
that man called Bobby Dollar!"

So whats the attraction?

You may think I'm crazy because i do get excited when i see a rusty dumpster or a dead fish on a beach; these are just some of the filthy crusty degenerating mediums that tantalise my fascination with photography. I am not the only enthusiast for things decaying and decrepit though, there are groups for us like 'Dead things on a beach' www.flickr.com/groups/deadbeach/pool or 'Rust Whores', 'Rural Decay and check it out - RUSTY & CRUSTY - www.flickr.com/groups/rusty_and_crusty

I've delved far into the depths of what's hiding in there; some people have given me inspiration to say the least, the likes of the macro addict Imagination Alone - www.flickr.com/photos/imaginationalone or the texture obsessed Dann Solo - www.flickr.com/photos/dannsolo or the grandfather of rust Alsieber –
www.flickr.com/photos/alsieber

There is also 'goat eating shirt' guy who’s beloved goat has eaten over 1250 shirts, but hey that’s another tangent, I might make a blog just for that goat ,idea?
Here he is: www.flickr.com/photos/99439895@N00/sets/72157594434951060

What i love most is having like minded people that seriously dribble over rust! And that’s a quote - www.flickr.com/photos/pogonophobia/2277833554

I like to photograph these things in solitary, mainly yes because other people sometimes don’t understand and think I’m nuts but there is something quite peaceful about pealing paint, an abandoned house, a corroding water pipe...this world is getting older, wrinkly and decrepit, if you just stop to take a look you'll see!

www.flickr.com bronzebrew's Rust & other degenerate textures & visuals photoset

Self promotion for the consumerist

Fancy that, self taught photographer turns entrepreneur! If you stare at this slideshow from schmapp for long enough my photo of the octopus street art outside Fidel's cafe in Wellington will appear. they chose my photo from a set on Flickr - insert more self promotion here: www.flickr.com\photos\bronzebrew150.
But are you and am i any better off for it? now im providing free advertising for schnap or whatever their called and i myself have fallen into the evil ring of trying to ballyhoo you by this advertisement (btw, my photos are for sale, contact me for a fee quote)...
It seems this modern world will drown us in mass media, advertising anarchy fuelled by the money wheel of industrialism! material possessions the 'must have' to gain what we all desire most in life- true personal happiness. We are tantalized by the shiny, the glamorous, the 'new black' , it's a porn industry for consumers... mass media melds our lives, why bother with subliminal advertising any more! from when we leave the house from every angle though every orophus of our bodies we are bombarded with advertising. is it really up to us how we spend your money, or is that just what we like to believe?

The photographer

A door slams shut , the outside left to plunder
through the monotonous heat of a midday summer
trinkets gleam like thought clutter

The photographer
my neck prickles, I'm in one corner of the room
hes in the other

I drop my bags and rinse my hair in the sink
water dries crisp over my hot skin
where do we begin...

I thought I knew him
come look he says in here
I will photograph you nothing to fear

You are beautiful
like this emerald i have for you
diamonds for a pretty girl

Over by the veil
my mind wanders
click click click
look at me, now look at me
release yourself

You pig, you toad, you fiend!
give this to me a keepsake
for my turmoil
my broken dream

B.H 08