Digital Image Cafe Photographer Profile
Mel Brackstone - Austrailia

With kangaroos and bushland just beyond her home, Mel Brackstone doesn't have to go far to find subjects for her photographs. An Australia native, Mel has spent her life in Brisbane having only to bear six weeks of Winter.

One of nine children, Mel remembers a wonderful childhood, surrounded by lots of playmates who were encouraged to use their imaginations to entertain themselves. "I've always been an obsessive," says Mel, "originally it was art and painting, then I went into gardening and bonsai, then carnivourous plants, and from there to photography." She is also a lover of reading and has a large bookshelf full of well-thumbed paperbacks and Australian geographic magazines.

Originally, Mel was a drafter. However, she suffered a severe head injury in 1986 which forced her to find a different way to use her brain. "Bonsai entailed my learning new skills, that could be learned slowly, and required repetitive tasks that helped me learn to concentrate again," says Mel. Once the shelves of her greenhouse were full of bonsai plants, she became interested in pitcher plants, and eventually began selling them at weekend markets. In 2003 she decided to learn about macro photography since she wanted to take pictures of her amazing collection of plants. But then, the drought struck and water restrictions became so severe that the market for plants disappeared. "My interest in the plants lessened, and my interest in photography went through the roof," Mel says.

Mel's first digital camera was a Canon G2. With spare cash from the sale of her carnivorous plants, she's been able to upgrade cameras a couple of times and now uses a Canon 5D with the 20D as a backup, and her PowerShot Pro converted to full time infrared. She also uses Lensbabies to help add an extra dimension to her work. Mel says she prefers landscape photos, but "as I learn more, and see more from others who have so much talent, I discover new ways of seeing." "Anything shot with a Lensbaby is usually enough to keep me interested. Infrared helps me find subjects to shoot when the light would otherwise be too strong and harsh for normal photography," adds Mel, who says that Brisbane provides very, very bright light throughout the year.

Mel joined the Cafe in September 2006, and her experience has been "mind-blowingly amazing!" She can't believe that she has progressed so far in such a short amount of time. Mel says that she was originally inspired by quite a few people from the first site she joined, passionforpixels, which is an Australian camera club. Tutorials and feedback from member of various photography sites have helped Mel hone her skills. "There are so many wonderful photographers online, I wouldn't be able to name just one, but there's lots at both the Cafe and Shutterbug, as well as the Australian sites I've been at, including Australian Digital Photo of the Day, photographycorner.com, passionforpixels, and last, but not least Lensbabies.com," says Mel. "My love for shallow depth of field has been fed mightily by the use of my Lensbabies lenses and the macro close up filters. Lensbabies is also helping me get an appreciation for people photos," Mel adds.

In addition to being a photographer, Mel is also the mother of two grown children, and she does the books for her husband's cartography business. She would love to travel more, but because she and her husband are self employed, they don't get away often. This year she was lucky enough to go on a photographic trip to New Zealand. But, generally she shoots locally, with occasional trips to the beach for sunrises. But, with the bushland right out back, creative fodder abounds..."as long as its foggy or early in the morning when there is a bit of dew around." Why not come and take a look for yourself? 27°33'57.33"S,152°54'50.96"E