PRETTY IN PINK

the journey back to LAAAAS VEGAAAAAS

Last week I worked the Nascar Stewies Award show in Las Vegas at the RIO hotel. It brought back a lot since I spent my early teens in Vegas and it was also the beginning of my passion for photography. I got my first camera at 12 years old after seeing my cousin holding a Pentax k1000 with a huge chunky lens. I had never seen a woman carrying around a camera like that. In the early 80s, you didn't see a lot of women carrying SLR cameras. My mother had a 110 camera that she used quite a lot but nothing of this proportion. I didn't have friends so i spent most of my time alone pensively walking around the desert with my Yashica Fx-3...I had asked (begged) my parents for that Pentax but ended up with a Yashica which is the cheaper entry level brand. One of the happiest moments in my life was when my brother and i sneaked a peek at our christmas gifts a week before christmas. I saw a white and blue box with the Japanese word Yashica. I was so happy and i couldn't believe it. It was very adult gift for a young girl. That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. From 1984 on i spent years spending my parent's money and any allowances or coins i could find at the bottom of my mom's purse on photo printing. Everything was about photo developing. It was a weekly occurrence. To my mother's dismay, i created hundreds of bleak lifeless photos of the desert and strange rocks...then i moved on to photos of my brothers and their friends. This was my world for many years until after college when i finally broke my shyness problem and met friends of my own. Here are two pics of my first camera and yes it's pretty beat up but sits on the top shelf of my book case. We're talking 29 years old so Yash sits there battered up in retirement.

Thanks to my metaphysical Mama, the poor man's SLR Yashica was one of the most important gifts she could have ever given me in this lifetime.



I had taped an Exposure table to the bottom of my camera to help me with f.stop calculations. Kodak would provide these tables inside the Film box that your cannister of film would come in. Remember those days?


My mother's original 110 Camera. ITT MagicFlash Telephoto Camera

DREAMING OF PHOTOGRAPHS

I had another dream where i'm walking around taking these incredibly beautiful photographs. Each time i have one of these dreams, i wake up being disappointed. i don't know where i'm at while taking them, it always seems to be somewhere strange and unfamiliar but each photo is a perfect composition, a story with depth and beautiful layers. No faults or imperfections...just pure beauty and im not critical of them like i usually am. i love and hate this experience...in one sense i know i'm seeing something beyond what i could possibly find in a normal day to day but at the same rate, i wake up and to my dismay i realize it never happened. The first few minutes of waking up..groggy and eyes barely open, there is still some glimmer of hope that it may have really happened...and then when i finally wake up...i realize it was only a glorious dream of photo perfection. These dreams always feel magical...as if there is an extra level of control beyond me and a divine timing of the elements that form the photograph...each image comes together effortlessly like magic. This is what i strive for everyday - to create magic in each photograph i take, while asleep or awake.

QUEENS

MORE FROM NEW YORK CITY

ADAM LAMBERT INTERVIEWS

shot and edited videos for the Adam Lambert interviews on SIRIUSXM.
good stuff..the boy is smart,sexy and so gay.

RAMBLING THRU BROOKLYN

NOW THAT'S FRESH!


Kitty named Claus..totally blind cat, i am still contemplating adopting his brother who is also blind. Frosty. (not pictured)

BROOKLYN, BUSHWICK & BEYOND

a little journey back into film shooting...living and loving the vivid deep color...posted as is..out of the camera no post-photoshopping...something great about how perfectly imperfect it is...eat dust digital!






Fellow photographer, Tina Zimmer took this portrait of me during a brunch in williamsburg at the Lodge.

THE VISITOR

LONG ISLAND ZOO EXPERIENCE

Recently visited the Long Island Zoo. Wow..kinda disturbing. All the animals looked a little rough...matted fur, small cages, overfed animals, isolated zebras, a big old giraffe stuck in a big barn..and there was a Big Cat show that i thought was going to end up with an inexperienced cat wrangler getting eaten by a pissed off tiger. Don't think i'll be visiting a zoo anytime soon.

MGMT CONCERT IN THE PARK = REALIZATION I AM NO LONGER 16. WTF? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? NO!

I recently attended the MGMT concert at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY on July 1, 2009. It was an interesting experience with an average audience age in the 14-22 bracket..many of whom were all sporting their scarves, bandanas and tie dyes..it was a regular love in - even if all the kids seemed to come off like spoiled brats. There was also some serious under age drinking going on near the stage. This i was not guilty of when i was 16..ok so i was thrown out of a Ramones concert once.

Sucker and Kuroma were the warm up bands for MGMT. Kuroma turned out to be the highlight with their unassuming looks and very assuming guitar solos. Another highlight was overhearing the deep conversation among the groupies in the long serpentine line that wrapped around the park pre-show. Impatiently waiting in line, young teenagers prattled on about how MGMT is not Management but M G M T. "Like don't you know?" My date was not amused. You know it's bad when a 27 year old complains she feels old. Another highlight was watching the people dance in the "free seats" located outside the park while "A Time To Pretend" echoed in the distance...they were singing "a time to pretend we have tickets to this show..."
All and all, i enjoyed the evening...even if i felt like 80.







The scarf wearing, bandana sportin, obnoxious kids in line..."it's M G M T!"



My partner in crime, Megan...expressing her disdain for the kids above...



MGMT KIDS!

4:48AM

Restless. Thinking of change. Sometimes i'm moving so fast i can't feel my life. Tonight i can feel. Only after opening up and expressing something beyond me can i finally feel my life. In this moment, i have gratitude. Being here and being able to express myself through a medium i understand enough to get out of the way for. For being able to make others see themselves in another light. To find beauty in every human being...maybe the very same beauty im waiting to discover in myself.

I think of my mother. I think about whether im a good daughter. If im a good friend. A good lover. A good person. If im on the right track. If im too hard on myself. If im too critical. If im impossible. If i haven't contributed. If I haven't made a difference.

If only for this moment..i am free and i'm made of everything.

BW KODAK DISPOSABLE // 2005

i recently shot off the rest of what was left on an old disposable camera i found from 2005/2006. it expired 2006 so im guessing anywhere before 2006. there is a clear difference in digital/film. seeing these reminds me of what film photography can achieve even from a crumby expired disposable.
soft, emotional, intriguing and otherworldly...i think digital struggles to find that sensitivity even when retouched. there is an atmosphere, dimension and softness that film has in its pure untouched form that digital tries so hard to be but cannot...yet?






a lot of my club photography in 2001-2003 was done using disposable cameras due to the fact i was broke. strangely enough i think those early years of using disp cameras helped define my style.

the disposable years: 2001-2003

KINGS OF LEON

WINTER WONDERLAND NYC // MARCH 2009

STEVEN

BOWIEBALL

the night was a total success. off the hook. close to 1,000 people showed. very hot indeed. some highlights from the night...































the rest are here: www.flickr.com/photos/missmaro
and a slideshow was published on the Village Voice Online

SCOTT WEILAND

ELECTION DAY 2008

i woke up extra early to vote, 7ish...walked a block from my apartment to vote..i could already feel the excitement and electricity in the air..this was going to be one hell of a day. the day was charged..mass consciousness all focused on a victory for Obama...wow..what an incredible feeling to have a vote count towards something you believe in and to feel the mobilization of the masses. VIVA OBAMA!

LEATHER FEST 2008 NYC

I had a really great time having my way with the boys on Sunday. Below are some highlights from Sunday. The entire slideshow is on the Village Voice Online













View the entire slideshow on the Village Voice Online

BROOKLYN GIRLS

I recently had a cameo appearance in Hooray For Goodbye's music video for the song "Brooklyn Girls" I played a photographer photographing a brooklyn chick on a rooftop...here are a few photos from that video shoot...

MICK ROCK

Mick Rock made an appearance at the Rock & Rescue Benefit...along with debbie harry, moby, ADRock, JD Samson, Gina Gershon and others...

MICK & MARO







the rest of the event photos are here: Village Voice Online

BUSHWICK WASTELAND SOON TO BE HIPSTERLAND

deryck todd lives in bushwick

YES OBAMA! YES

ok, so this rather large graffiti tag appeared on the wall across from my apartment building in Bushwick this week...i'm pretty sure the artist who created it lives in my building...i could smell residue krylon spray paint fumes in my stairwell. Not very artful but very poignant.

JUSTINE JOLI // ADULT FILM ACTRESS & MODEL

had the pleasure of running into Justine Joli last night at the Ellen Stagg party at Savalas in Williamsburg. She is a super cool person not to mention super gorgeous..





and Ellen Stagg, Photographer

BLINDED BY THE BEARD

ANOTHER BIRD FOR MARO

LOOK WHO'S IN MY APARTMENT! PART 1

quentin came all the way out from the east village to hang.

I NEED.....

GLAMDAMMIT!!

from the Glamdammit 4 year anniversary party at Don Hills. Michael T strikes a pose for my lens.

I LIKE THIS COLOR GREEN

saw this car in bushwick on the way to the L train. i dig this car even if it's called a "Cutlass Supreme" i don't get why american cars have the worst names...like "Ford Aspire" have u seen that car? makes you want to "Aspire" for a better car... anyway, seeing this car made me feel like it's 1983 or something like that. im so 80s!

THE NEW "MEN" ON THE BLOCK

new kids on the block...in rare form...they were hilarious as they picked on each other.
dorcester in the house!

MORE FROM MIDTOWN PART 5

MADONNATHON

photographs from madonnathon...august 17th, 2008 at BB Kings on 42nd street, nyc






copyright 2008 maro
the rest of my madonnathon series is published on the village voice website

SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN THE WEST VILLAGE

PLAZA

from midtown

BUSHWICK BEAR KILLING

confirming my belief that it's just not safe for stuff animals in bushwick.

THE EARLY YEARS

Photos taken from 1983 to 1988 in Las Vegas, Nevada
© maro
photos were taken with a yashica fx-3

2003

This parking garage has been replaced with the new ew York Times Building. 41st Street.

QUEEN BITCH @ ARLENE'S GROCERY // AUG 7 2008

these bitches rock

BUSHWICK AND BEYOND...cont..

meet carmello...hanging out on morgan avenue in bushwick

and yeah..i'm into clouds..specifically white puffy ones...probably because i want to live on one.

MCGRAW HILL PART 2

CHOICE C*NTS FLYERS

i designed the flyer for the next choice c*nts party...fun.

WENDY KIDD

taken in the east village. wendy kidd is my hairdresser and is also the drummer of Queen Bitch an all female all bowie cover band. they're performing this thursday at arlene's grocery. can't wait.

BUSHWICK

first two..central avenue
deryck todd on his rooftop in bushwick (st. nicholas street and jefferson)

SHOES // 2004

RANDOM

taken in stairwell in bushwick loft housing on cook street.

VINNIE PASTORE AKA BIG PUSSY

He was interesting....wouldn't do anything i suggested...i wanted to shoot him in a specific place and he turned around and said no, let's go over here...in the end...i always get the photo i want. i know what im looking for the moment i lay eyes on a person..

Protest In Midtown

opposing views...dalai lama fans clashed with protestors outside radio city music hall today where the dalai lama held a lecture. After exiting the venue, fans were bombarded with protesters of the dalai lama...causing a clash of views..







more info here.
NYTIMES

I LOVE GETTING FLIPPED OFF

i don't know why but i'm starting to enjoy taking photos of people flipping me off...happens so often these days...i mean you care enough to flip me off...so there's still a little bit of emotion in this apathetic world. Just when i thought prozac had sucked society dry of any feelings other than blaaaaah..

Who's That Lady?

The Healing Begins...

Buddha Momma

photo by perry

The Cat's Meow

Squeeky. This cat has no boundaries whatsoever..will step on your face and then come back and step on your face again. Apparently right up my alley... squeeky is winning my heart...

BOWIEBALL // JAN 20, 2008

I'm the official photog for this..deryck todd's parties rule the school.

Mary J. Blige is my new favorite person

Last friday i had to shoot Mary J. Blige at the SIRIUS Satellite radio studios. She performed a live show on the radio for one hour. I was completely floored by this woman. Tearing up through the entire show because i felt so much of her emotion. This woman is probably one of the most passionate, energetic, honest, dynamic people i've ever seen. She sings COMPLETELY from the heart. The show gave me chills from the sheer power that came out of the studio and at one point she finished off a song with tears rolling down her face. this woman is raw and real. After the performance, i took a few photos of her for our press circuit and she looked at me with these warm, innocent, beautiful eyes. I just said "thank you" and she said "you're welcome" i meant thank you for more than just the photo. I meant it for sharing her soul and good energy with everyone in that room and healing all of us with it. I admire her courage to be vulnerable and to express her pain in a positive way. I would think every artist dreams of having such a positive impact on themselves and on others.

So much to tell..don't know where to start...

first of all...perry's latest cover story..he sent me this and i nearly fell over. it's fucking brilliant. so proud of my bro!
cosmo cover by perry hagopian

thanksgiving in LONG ISLAND

I Work Here

shocking. monkey in the middle.

Happy Birthday Pops

At least he has a good view of 3 plump trees. I sat there for an hour and leaves were falling on my head. The cemetery is nested in the catskill mountains. Evergreen is the name of the cemetery and was also the name of my father's pharmacy and the street i grew up on. There's a theme ha
view from his left.

Apple Picking w/ The Hagopians

My Brother Is Super Talented

Interviewed for Marie Claire Magazine....click on image to enlarge photo.

Los Angeles

Midtown

7:44am

Last Stop, Coney Island

so i attended the siren festival on saturday. caught new york dolls and we are scientists. at the end of the night, i checked out the gaming area and realized some of the coney games are serious old school...i even won a cheetah at the rifle shoot..basically shot 10 out 20 moving targets. not too shabby! the cheetah looks like a demented leopard...like taxidermy style...im thinking i need to throw it out or donate to the kids down the block....i'll try to add a photo of the demented cheetah over the weekend....

Harry Der Hagopian

it's been a very interesting week. i saw three movies in the past week that have brought me to this weird place tonight. in this order, "sicko," "war photographer" and "the lives of others." all three movies leading me to a place of pure openness in my heart and of complete vulnerability. All three have dealt with the topic of humanity , unselfishness, enlightenment, moral ethics and just helping our fellow man..something i think is lacking in this world lately.

this week im forced to look in my own life and realized that i have lost touch with it. some events have taken place that have lead me to believe that i need to listen to my intuition and clear out certain things that don't feel geniune and right. it's hard to say goodbye but i think it's time. I can see the truth of others. This is something i need to pay attention to.

i came home tonight and cried my eyes out and realized this was the week and days
leading up to my father's death in 1994. Wednesday, july 18th. i could feel it but it was confirmed by a phone call to my mother. I guess you never quite get over it..the feeling of that loss stays with you forever. It seems like every july i end up feeling this. It's as if this emotion for this time period is recorded and buried deep in my subconscious.

If there was anyone that defined humanity , it was my father. a pharmacist who would let everyone pay their bill whenever they could but no one ever left the pharmacy empty handed. He would deliver drugs to the elderly door to door after work. He even took in my brother's friend who was physically abused by his father. This kid lived with us for 2 years even after my brother left for college. He became one of the family and he was also gay. In 1988, i wasn't even out and gayness wasn't as accepted..there was no queer eye for the straight guy or ellen.

We had open doors and people would come and go. they could always find some love at the hagopian house. i feel very lucky to have felt that kind of non-judgemental love and acceptance. this is my tribute to my father, harry der hagopian. i have not forgotten who you are and what you've taught me. you will always be in my heart. Every day of my life, i hope i can give what you've given to me to others and to my art.


below...photographs taken from "war photographer," photographs by james nachtwey.

SIRIUS Canada

Serena Ryder
Peter Elkas
Wil

The World Needs A Little More Elmo

This guy has quite the racket going. He was taking dollar donations for free photos and petting...and let me tell you...a hit with the kiddies....he had a little furry red bag in his hand that was full of cold cash. Fun but borderline creepy because he was randomly hanging out on 6th and 48th which is like the diamond district. Not a whole lot of kids around there but A for effort in his creativity for panhandling.

Abraham Solomon

dj and squatter featured in the new york times. we met each other while rubbernecking on a cabbie altercation on the street at 23rd and 8th.

Downtown Meets Uptown

Choice C*nts @ Sultana // June 30, 2007

Get In.

Heavenly.

ok, i forgot about nuns. it's like bizarre seeing nuns hanging out in midtown. the crazy thing about this is that after i took their photo, i had my ipod on and SEAL's "heavenly" was playing..i just had this chill travel down my spine.

Stella...

Happy Birthday To The Coolest Mom In The UNIVERSE!

remember the transformation of the manifestation of the universal evolution. haha!
my buddha mama! I got my passion and endless creativity from my mother! Everytime she snapped photos of us and brought out the photo books, she taught me how to look at things.
Phyllis then...

Phyllis now...


A great great photo my mother took of my father....she captured my father in a rare emotional moment..

Businessman In The Meat Packing District

Take A Walk On The Wild Side

a recent night out in brooklyn...featuring liz & sacha.

NYC from the 36th Floor // Mcgraw-Hill Building

Kingston, NY

A tiny review of the town of Kingston, New York

Yes, a little on the sleepy side...not much activity here but the town definitely has it's charm.

PROS:
1. Late at night you can hear the faint sound of the railroad

2. NO WAITING IN LINES anytime anywhere. check out the DNV or Post Office..if you've living in NYC, you'll want to move to Kingston for this reason alone.

3. Street parking meters are 10 cents! PER HOUR!! I was having a long lunch with a friend of mine and we were 30 minutes late adding money to meter (um, 10 fuckin cents!) Guess what? There was no ticket! Apparently the meter maids don't hide in the bushes and pounce when your meter expires.

Oh yeah, and the ticket is a whopping 5 bucks. Now that's what im talking about. A town after my own heart.

4. Barnes and Nobles / Starbucks

5. It's OK to eat ice cream

CONS:
1. Sacrifice lovelife and social life (best if you want to become a nun/ priest this will increase your chances of getting laid)

2. Low stress levels and possibly low self-esteem

3. Sacrifice access to things containing "style"

4. Complete utter boredom

5. Barnes and Nobles / Starbucks

6. It's NOT ok to eat ice cream

I always tend to be stuck in the fork.



lots of ice cream everywhere


Ice Cream Eaters...

"I'm Sensing Your Cat Is Not Happy"

Sonya Fitzpatrick, A.K.A. THE PET PSYCHIC.
Live from SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO studios.

Admit It. You've Been This Desperate.

it's 3am. you just drove into a small town anywhere, usa...and you're starving and there's nothing, i mean nothing open...except maybe...mcdonalds. don't lie. you've done it.

Today

click to enlarge photos
a big life in sales...

Engagement or Engagment? That is the question.

MMMMMMORE From Midtown

"people who need people...are the unluckiest people in the wooooooorld"

Homeless in NYC

New York City...

i've decided that there's never anything to do in nyc. along with the puerto rican parade on sunday, there was a wedding on the steps of a public library in bryant park, a band shooting their video during an impromptu set in union square park and a live theater group doing an anti-war play...NYC CAN BE SO BORING!


Man From Earth, trying to play a few songs before being told to scoot. They shot a portion of their video here...


Briggs, live anti-war theater at it's finest...it's not like there's a war going on or anything..

Puerto Rican Parade of Chicas and Chicos..and one Pig!

you can practically hear these girls getting whistled at in this photo...chickitas in effect.

the whistlers...

Photos by Perry Hagopian

i mean...

Punks Not Dead!

midday cowboy

More from midtown...because...

i'm stuck in midtown 5 days a week.

Midday in Midtown v.2

jerry springer hanging in midtown..


the mafia hanging in midtown...

Midday in Midtown v.1

Slow Children Crossing

The Future of Modelling, Maybe....

From Atlantis with Love

while walking around the bowery, i saw this gentleman and his very unique food cart. i asked him if i could photograph him and he politely declined. i was so visibly disappointed by this that i think he felt bad because seconds later he changed his mind and let me take the photograph. he's sparkling.

What Did You Do This Weekend??? Did You Have Fun?

U.S. Military: 14 U.S. Soldiers Killed Over Weekend:
read story

Chef Jacques Pepin

Last week I had the pleasure of shooting Jacques cooking his "country omelette" recipe live from the SIRIUS Satellite Radio studios for Martha Stewart. yum!



Chez Jacques Pepin with Lucinda Scala Quinn, vice president and editorial director of food and entertaining for Martha Stewart Living magazine.

A Lesson In Brand Marketing

You have successfully branded your product and are probably a millionaire if anyone can name your company when your product is face down on the ground.

a long winded weekend

so yeah. had no real plans this passing memorial weekend but somehow ended up spending the entire day and night with kate hudson. go figure. my only wish was that i had a photograph to capture one of the moments of that day. honestly, i think she's had her fill of paparazzi..not that my portraits are paparazzi in any way..i always ask permission, but you have to put yourself in her place for a second. i could feel the tension as we left her apartment to go have lunch. im told up to 8 photographers wait outside to shoot her...they hide in bushes and follow her in cars...etc..it's extreme and freaky.

but what a fun fun day we had hanging with her. she's truly amazing. genuine, open, full of light. i left feeling inspired by her coolness. i'll never forget her dancing to Elvis, singing showtunes and her playing DJ all night in her kitchen.


what else...more building photos. i can't help myself. i have a number of fixations and architecture (good or bad) is one of them. a study in color i think.
i once took a painting class in college. the professor said i was monochromatic and my paintings were flat. i dropped the class after he told me this. i did however, get introduced to the beautiful music of Henri Gorecki. (later featured in the movie, Fearless) the professor used to put on public radio and one day i heard gorecki's 3rd symphony for the first time as i painted my monochromatic, flat lifeless rendition of the wine bottle with flowers.




i know this is crazy, but reagan actually seems like a saint compared to the greedy, incompetent, idiot we have in office currently. "weeeell....my fellow americans...what are you going to do about it?" i heard cindy sheehan, the only visible anti-war activist out there these days, is surrendering her fight. she announced yesterday that she is stepping down as spokesperson for the anti-war movement. read full story now what? who else is there to take her place? to be an outspoken voice to get people to act.

I think society is...

1. working too many hours for not enough money and therefore do not have enough time to think about anything else but sustenance.
2. not even in reality as far as the war goes..have you seen a coffin come off a plane from Iraq?? it's kept out of the media.
3. seduced into being a consumer not a producer
4. too busy to care
5. on myspace
6. getting drunk/ drugged and blowing their paycheck
7. watching american idol or any reality show that takes them away from their reality
8. already in the army and is currently serving in iraq.
9. playing playstation.
10. shopping
reaganomics has prevailed!

9:30AM 9TH AVE & 40TH

a little shooting before my dentist appointment. is it weird that i like going to the dentist? i went in for a root canal and at the end, i told the stonefaced, pursed lipped dentist what i thought of my root canal experience...i said "wow, that was amazing...you're like an artist or something" and low and behold, that petulant mouth of his gently cracked into a warm smile. i almost fell over when i saw it. what can i say, the man has a special way with novacaine. anyway, some "shots" from 9th avenue.


"um, hello, stop damn it." catching cabs is an artform.
breakfast of champions
add jackhammer sound here
i want a cookie that large


you can be friendly with the meter maids but as you can see, you still get a $65 parking ticket.