Marisa Matluck Photo Blog

Yesterday I went to the beach for a photo shoot. Those are usually hit or miss. Actually, no, they are always hit! I had the pleasure of working with a woman and her 3 beautiful children. Earlier in the day, while anticipating the shoot, a storm started rolling in. You can imagine how bummed I get when I have outdoor shoots planned and it rains.

Luckily, by the end of the day it had cleared up but there was definite overcast. Not a problem… shoot was still on!

I was beyond blown away by the breathtaking calmness of the ocean and everyone in it. It was just what I needed at the end of yesterday!

Last week I had the opportunity to shoot a clothing collection for Ramy Brook <— fabulous NY designer. She flew down here for the shoot, there was hair and makeup by Susana Betancourt who is absolutely amazing at what she does, catered food, assistants, lights.. camera… and tons of ACTION. The best part of all, was the outcome. I absolutely loved shooting fashion and loved how the photos came out… I think a found a new calling

I never realized how beautiful a pelican could be until I photographed one with dark rain filled clouds as in the background. Last week, while photographing a maternity shoot in my favorite undisclosed location, I came across a bunch of fisherman returning to dock. These men were throwing scraps of fish at the pelicans and that allowed for some pretty awesome shots! There was one pelican imparticular who kept gracing my camera with its presence… Thus, I have cool Pelican photos!

Please note that these are not photoshopped

This year I didn’t get to Basel as much as I would have liked to. To be honest, I have been super busy (a good thing) and have felt quite bad that it has taken me almost 2 weeks to update my blog.

That being said, I made it to Art Miami and Scope and Art Asia. Thats all. For the second year in a row, I missed the actual Basel show. I really like Art Miami. My critique of the artwork I saw: I like the use of dimensions and patterns, mixed media, Patrick Hughes and the local Jen Stark were among my favorites. I was a bit disappointed with the photography I saw. There was nothing that really inspired me in that department. Nothing too memorable. Not to say it was bad, but I now feel challenged!

So here are a few photos of things I found interesting at the art shows.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do an engagement shoot for an absolutely beautiful couple whose wedding I will be photographing in just 3 short weeks! I am so excited to get to work with such awesome (and photogenic) people!!!

Which brings me to this blog post… we took a stroll down Calle Ocho. It was the first time I had ever actually walked around there other than the festival held in March. Rachel and Rene (the couple) are Cuban and wanted to have their shoot there. I was so glad, it was a nice change from the typical places people normally want their photos taken.

Anyway, as we were strolling along, they led me to a place where there is a monument and a torch and a super big tree. Im not sure what the monument and torch were for because I was mostly paying attention to the tree but it had something to do with Cuba I am sure. Rene told me about this tree, called a Ceiba Tree, that is very important in Cuban culture. I had never seen such roots. All the photos you are about to see are mainly just the roots of this ginormous tree. I did include one photo of the couple just because they are awesome!

I recently borrowed an underwater housing for my fabulous G11 Camera. I really do love that cam!

On Saturday, I joined my grandmother and my sister for a nice relaxing day at the beach. Lately I have been working so hard that when I have a few free hours I use them wisely and do absolutely nothing! So I brought the camera and the casing and ventured into the great blue. Aside from my sister posing as she normally does, there wasn’t much to photograph seeing as it was a relatively calm day on the ocean. There weren’t even many waves.

I took this opportunity to really meditate and “become one” with the ocean. My name, after all, means “of the sea”. We so often take seaweed for granted. I know that sounds silly but imagine all the amazing little creatures that live in them. Us swimmers usually avoid them and throw them at each other not realizing that they are just a beautiful living thing housing other living things just floating on top of the sea.

There are 2, actually 3 , things that I love about today. (Listed in no particular order)

1. One of my favorite people in the whole world became a dad yesterday! Welcome Matias

2. The amazing rain outside.

3. The trip down memory lane I just took while putting this post together.

There are 2 places in the world that I have been that have left an everlasting impression on me. One of them is Vietnam and the other is New Zealand.

When I decided to make photography my profession, and really focus on it, I bought a camera and a ticket to Australia and hoped for the best. After 2 weeks in Australia, I was ready for some new scenery other than the beautiful beaches of the East Coast of Oz. My next stop was New Zealand.

New Zealand is BY FAR the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The sunrises, the sunsets, landscapes, glaciers, open fields, waterfalls… all of it is just extremely breathtaking. Words cannot even describe what it is like to be in this place of such greenery and beauty. So I leave you with photos…

On Friday night, I attended an über cool fashion show at a hip, new, members-only burlesque bar called La Fee Verte. It was my second time there and I actually really like the place. You have to be on a list to get in which could sometimes be annoying but they only let a certain number of people in the place. This is great because you can enjoy the atmosphere with plenty of breathing room!

The crowd is cool. Its an ‘anything goes’ kind of place. Did I mention their drink specialty is Absythine?

The reason for the event was a KRELwear fashion show. Krel is a local designer (support the locals!) with such a talent for knitting and color. “The one of kind line embraces flaws with no rules at all; enhancing originality through organic methods, let it run, knit.” I took that from her site. I am not a fashion critic but I have happened to photograph my friend Erin Newberg in her clothing before and it is absolutely, without a doubt,  photogenic! I didn’t include many of her pieces in this blog post because they are featured in my photo gallery on NBCMiami. These can be seen by clicking here.

I was really glad I was able to bring my camera in the place. I don’t think they allow photos to be take which is why I am not showing the faces of the girls that stripped down to everything but nipple covers and undies. I love being able to take pictures in dark surroundings where the light hits the body just enough to see curvature. Lets face it, women have beautiful curves. And this, my friends, is why I enjoyed taking photos that night  (for artistic purposes).

I know it has been a little over a week since I have produced a picture show. I have to admit, fireworks are one of my favorite thing to photograph. I mean, you know what you are looking at, but they way I shoot fireworks, I never know what the end result will be until I get them up on my computer and look at them in a large view. It is a bit like the excitement of developing film

This year, I celebrated the 4th with one my nearest and dearest on her birthday. It was a a Happy Birthday for Tati and a Happy Birthday for America!

Second Saturday is something I look forward to at the beginning of every month. For me it is a time of rejuvenating my creative expression. This month I started off on my own, just me and the camera, in my friend Karina’s art gallery. I was actually super impressed with this months exhibition (as well as all her past exhibitions). Her gallery featured instillation art by Yucef Merhi entitled “Words”. It was a myriad of lights and screens and projectors all used to evoke emotion in “Words”. Truly brilliant. It also made interesting photos for me as it was different to the other Tungsten lit galleries.

After roaming the streets and going from gallery to gallery, I was joined by a first time gallery walker. I love it when people are “devirginized” to the Wynwood gallery world. It is a great thing to do on a Saturday night and there is always something cool to see!

I hope you enjoy viewing the photos from Artwalk. If you would like to see more, you can check out my weekly photo gallery on NBC Miami. (woooohooooo!!)

I have to mention one last thing… While stepping into Butter Gallery, I noticed the bartender had a nice sign on his bar that said “Women of Wynwood.” Now, while driving to the studio on many a morning, I have noticed women wearing bright pink uniforms that dawn the logo “WOW”. So I asked said bartender what it was and he explained to me that it was a way to get women out of the homeless shelter and give them jobs taking care of the Wynwood neighborhood that so many love. I found it to be a great initiative and I look forward to lending my services to this cause. If you would like to help or for more information, please visit their website by clicking here.