Meet Your Biscayne Neighbours Photography Exhibit

Potugues Man-o-War

Paul Marcellini

News Release Date: May 15, 2013

Contact: Gary Bremen, 305-230-1144, x007

Paul Marcellini's Meet Your Biscayne Neighbours, a stunning exhibition of photographs of Biscayne National Park wildlife, opens to the public on June 7 in the park's Dante Fascell Visitor Center Gallery. Marcellini's work features intimate portraits of wild animals and plants photographed against a pure white background in a portable field studio that minimizes stress to the animal, many of which were saved from the by-catch of commercial fishing operations. The resulting images allow the focus to shift to each organism as an individual, highlighting all their details and intricacies. A "Meet the Artist" Reception - featuring refreshments, and a demonstration of the techniques used - will be held from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 9, at the Gallery located at 9700 SW 328 Street, 9 miles east of Homestead, Florida. The show is open daily from 9:00 to 4:30 through September 2, 2013. Admission is free.

The show is part of the larger global Meet Your Neighbours (www.MeetYourNeighbours.net) photographic initiative that was cofounded in 2009 by Scottish photographer and writer Niall Benvie and American photographer Clay Bolt. "The project is dedicated to reconnecting people with the wildlife on their own doorsteps - and enriching their lives in the process," said Marcellini. "These creatures and plants are vital to people: they represent the first, and for some, the only contact with wild nature we have. Yet too often they are overlooked, undervalued."

Paul Marcellini was born and raised in South Florida. Using the outdoors as an escape, he eventually went on to become a professional naturalist. Now a full time photographer, he specializes in landscapes and wildlife of Florida. Still pursuing a way to educate the public, he joined the Meet Your Neighbours photographic initiative. When not working on this project, you can find Paul selling his landscapes at the local art shows.

Meet Your Biscayne Neighbours is part of the park's Community Artists Program, started in 1997 as an outlet for the works of both established and emerging artists who are inspired by the beauty of Biscayne National Park. The program is made possible by the South Florida National Parks Trust through the generosity of Sedano's Supermarkets and the Miami-Dade County Division of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

For more details about the exhibit, contact park ranger Gary Bremen at 305-230-1144, x007. For regular updates from the park, "like" us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/BiscayneNPS , or follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/BiscayneNPS