Marisa Matluck Photo Blog

I spent this weekend moving (YES!) and had no time to “get out there” and shoot. So I went back back back into my super old hard drives and found some interesting photos of hurricanes and their destructive aftermath.

I think that most of these were from Hurricane Wilma. Remember that one South Florida? The one where we had no power for a week? I remember pushing my car through an entire parking lot just so I could fill the tank with gas at 6 in the morning.

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 recently returned from a nice little vacation in Virginia Beach. Why Virginia you ask? Well, I happen to have a remarkably good friend who just happens to live there. Aside from being a good friend, Michelle is one of the coolest people I know. I called her up and told her I wanted to come visit and take pictures and for 5 days she showed me around and let me snap away.

We did everything from concerts (Hall and Oates & Passion Pit), to bike riding, wake surfing, touring… we even visited a haunted hotel. Actually, we tried to visit the haunted hotel (The Cavalier) but the doors were locked so we peered through the windows. I am also 100% sure that we saw a ghost on the top floor window and when we mentioned it to her friends later that night, one of them confirmed that some one had in fact jumped from the very window a long time ago.

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Its been a while since I have been out, wait , thats not true. Let me rephrase: It has been a while since I have been to the Vagabond. So this Saturday night, I headed out with my good friend Joanne. You may recognize her from my post “Downtown Joanne”.

Anyway, her and I were just dancing, minding our own business, when suddenly there was a man on stage getting whipped with a paddle. Crazy! I guess that is how the Vagabond is, anything goes. Its a place where you go if you feel like going out in nothing but body paint and a wig or dressing as funky and independent as you like. A huge jump away from South Beaches “Models and Bottles” rule. It is really a one-of-a-kind place and putting a label like “club”, “bar”, or “lounge”, really does not do it justice.

SO, when I entered the Vagabond, I realized I had left my camera in the car. Not cool. After a cocktail, I went back to get it because I just cannot be without it. What if I miss a great moment… I would definitely regret it! I got back just in time for the festivities…

Enjoy (but not too much)

You can also see more of my photo on nbcmiami.com just type my name in the search field!

The Greynolds Park Love-In is a celebration of the 1960s with music, vintage clothing and memorabilia. This year, I attended on a mission for photos. I went last year and came out with lots of Peace and Love!

Some people never left the 60′s. Normally when I go to local events, I am surrounded by young, vibrant, inebriated, energetic people. This time I was surrounded by the typical “Flower Child” and hippie of the 60′s. The vibe was carefree and everywhere I looked I was flashed (the Peace sign). It was nice to see so many people outdoors enjoying Greynolds Park. I grew up in the area so I am very familiar with the park. It is a nice escape from the rest of North Miami Beach. It adds a flair of wildlife and outdoors that one doesn’t get unless they are hitting the beach.

Last night I witnessed vocal perfection! I went to see Erykah Badu in concert. I had never seen her live before and all I can say, is, her vibe was magnetizing. The minute she walked on the stage, my annoyance at her late start (10:00 pm) had disappeared.

She sang an amazing medley of songs ranging from “Love of My Life” to her very controversial “Window Seat”. I was quite surprised to realize that I knew most of the songs due to the fact that I have never purchased one of her CD’s in my life.

I had to post these photos today while the energy of the concert was still flowing through my veins. I took as many photos as I could given my seat and the security there. The minute an usher saw me taking a photo (towards the end), he flashed me with a light and my camera battery died. Its funny how that works out!

Hope you enjoy the photos of Erykah Badu as much as I enjoyed the concert

My last post was so well received I just had to put some more!

I bought myself a fun little fisheye lens camera last week and finally got the film back yesterday! I have to say there is such a difference to film and digital. I am the type of person who loves instant gratification and this little fisheye film camera had me anticipating photos for days. I just wanted to keep taking pictures so I could finish the role of film and develop it quicker!

Anyway. the Renaissance Festival photos were the best ones on the whole role of film.

For those of you who have seen the movie Role Models, you will appreciate this post.

Some friends of mine joined me this past weekend on a quest for interesting photography subjects. I found them at the Renaissance Festival in Deerfield. When I was younger, about 14/15, I used to go to the festival. Going now, in my 20′s, brought about a whole other experience. First off, if you go… drink the beer! There was one booth that had a man who brewed his own “medieval beer” that was absolutely flavorful and definitely helped me (and my friends) enjoy the rest of the afternoon. And if I ate cheese (i’m a vegan) I would have definitely had a “medieval arepa”. Leave it to Latinos to dress up an arepa stand with knight armor and make it medieval. I wish I had a picture to post here of it but it just didn’t fit my theme. I will leave it to the imagination!

So back to my first sentence. If you saw Role Models, then you too would have felt as though you were in LAIRE (and you would know what I am talking about). To grasp this, you really have to go to the festival. People went all out on their costumes. I’m talking pirates and fair maidens, fairies, leprechauns, jesters, kings, queens; you name it, they were there! There was one point when I was firing my camera to take some photos of a pirate and he said “hark, she is aiming her Canon at me!” Pun intended. Another interesting incident came when I was inline to get food and I saw a woman dressed in medieval wear literally pull out a metal plate from her basket and ask “can I have some fish miss?” and “you are most thanked” upon receiving fish on her plate.

It was really amazing to me how people stayed in character and I really felt like I was in a time warp.

I think I will be back next year… in costume.

It is now 7:17 pm and I am still at the office. That’s ok because as my previous post stated, I love it here! I was actually going to wait until tomorrow morning to add some photos but I happened to take some pictures a few minutes ago that I just HAVE to share with the world.

It really sucks when it rains in Miami, but the combination of clouds, humidity, and a big yellow lit building really make for a great view out of the office window!