Born under a bad sign the young Ms Brackstone was a mere slip of a girl when her first love came a knocking! Photography, the magic of the dark box, stealer of the soul! It was back in the day when Mel first got the itch for standing behind the camera (I say back in the day, the term days of yore could also be used). All we know is that the box brownie was still just an idea of Doctor Kodak in fact there are tales concerning the young Brackstone and her outrageous flirting with the innocent Doctor whilst he worked towards his breakthroughs in the development of cellulose film. She remains cagey regarding her first paid work as a photographer although recent documents released from the war office show that she was charged with documenting the ANZAC landings on the Gallipoli peninsula during the great war. This is also a likely start to her love affair with the sea , it is believed to have had something to do with a 48 hour Turkish artillery barrage and her sheltering in the shallows within a small scrape of a cave on the landing beach! All we know is that her early life has led her to be somewhat of a hermit crab ever since.

The cruel sea, an uncaring and harsh mistress with enormous swells and ready to suck you off the rocks as soon as look at you when stormy! Funnily enough the same has been said about the young Mel by one of her suitors. I tried to contact him to find out more about her early years but he seemed unwilling to talk claiming that if she found out he had opened his mouth he’d be a dead man. Strange though, it was not soon after our discussion that he vanished!! Local police remain unsure regarding the details of his disappearance but believe that the puddles of salt water, small piles of sand and scraps of kelp fronds found in his apartment may be vital in identifying his current whereabouts.

To say that Mel likes the beach is an understatement! It has been said that salt water runs in her veins, and that shipwrecked sailors have frequently been tossed over her ample shores! All we can know for certain is that she has struggled with sand in her underwear from time to time, recently this chafing has required the intervention of a medical practitioner or two. In turn it is believed that this has led to her spending more and more time away from her seaside playground, although she constantly denies these claims. She insists that her breaks from the beach have been nothing more than an opportunity to broaden her skills and develop her image portfolio. This is believed to be nothing more than a smoke screen to mask the real reason for her absence, the discovery of a dozen used tubs of soothing ointment in Ms Brackstones trash and having viewed her walking around like John Wayne for several weeks whilst avoiding the beach suggests that the intervention of a Medical Practitioner may be a more realistic reason.

Today she has become a prominent member of the RedBubble community. But as should any good investigative journalist I will remain in the gutter and report on the seedy side of how she has reached those dizzy heights. I have seen photographic proof that she has been in the company of scantily clad men folk on more than one occasion, namely one Paul Vanzella! For most that wouldn’t be an issue but as she has been heard to call Paul ‘Stud Muffin’ and has frequently commented on the size of his tripod! This journalist believes that it is logical to put one and one together and come up with an answer somewhere between two and a small semi detached house in the suburbs of Sydney! Of course at this point I’d like to point out that this claim can only be substantiated by what I read on the back of the toilet door down at the ‘Rusty Tripod’ (purveyors of fine wines and spirits) public house. This information linked to the comments she has posted recently on Mr Vanzellas recent work points quite clearly to significant sexual tension between them.

Mel remains serious about her art, she lives for it! That is why she insisted that her family moved with her to a medium sized cave on the beach, this commitment and living for her art shines through in her images which remain simply amazing. It also shows in her 27 children which can be directly correlated to the lack of television or any other usable contraception that works effectively when used in close proximity to sand.

Looking to her future we can only see Mel going from strength to strength, as global warming brings about new coastline she will be there to document the movement of water and show the beauty of the shoreline. However it remains a difficult situation for her balancing her love for the beach with the chafing so we cannot say for sure that she will stay there indefinitely. But rest assured just as sharks patrol the waters this harridan of the high water line haunts the beach making the shore a deadly place for the young photographer!