The Orient Express

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Vivienne Vermuth speaks about Stephanie's breast cancer

Vivienne Vermuth © 2011, Matt Vanecek


Broads and Panties presents The Orient Express! Showing at The Bone in Deep Ellum (Dallas), TX on September 22, 2011. The profits from this show will benefit A to Zed Photography, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Thanks to the wonderful United States healthcare system, she is unable to afford treatment. So, the community has rallied around her. In addition to the excellent services provided by The Bridge Breast Network, Stephanie’s circles rallied to collect funding to help her cover additional costs. I’m sure this help will continue until Stephanie is able to beat this scourge.


Bang Bang Lulu provides a rousing, energetic set of performances. Her enthusiasm and flare was fun to watch. It was hard to continue taking pictures instead of just watching her performance, honestly.

Bang Bang Lulu Poses on a Chair

Bang Bang Lulu © 2011, Matthew Vanecek


Zamra Dollskin Eats Fire

Zamra Dollskin © 2011, Matthew Vanecek

Zamra Dollskin of Dollskin Designs gets hot on stage. Probably because of all that fire she’s playing with! Of course, when one gets hot, clothes may come off! Also a purveyor of latex clothing, Zamra is a woman of many talents. :)


Pixie O'Kneel teases

Pixie O'Kneel © 2011, Matthew Vanecek


Pixie O’Kneel is always a popular performer. She shows a more serious side in this performance, but as always, ends with a flare!


Miss Red provides an amusing look at how the body seems to have a mind of its own. Through shimmies, belly rolls, and chest shimmies, her body does its own thing.

Miss Red

Miss Red © 2011, Matthew Vanecek


Please visit the gallery and see the rest of my pictures from this show. Feel free to leave comments or ratings. Also, please consider donating to The Bridge, and to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Heavy Metal

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Modern burlesque is an eclectic mix of tease, humor, and innovation. Sometimes it reaches back to the glory days of vaudeville, perhaps adding a modern cultural spin. Sometimes, it reaches back, but not quite that far. Sometimes, burlesque gets stuck in the head-banging 80s. A time when a sweet child may be caught smoking in the boys’ room. A time when the thorn on a rose might leave a bit of poison on a white snake. A time when hair was long and metal was heavy. This is burlesque, baby, Heavy Metal Unchained-style!

Blaze Does-Burlesque

© 2011, Matt Vanecek

Blaze lit the stage on fire with her energy and beautiful blazing red mane.


Trees hosted this epic show produced by Vivienne Vermuth. I was lucky enough to be able to take pictures of the event from a handy vantage point in a balcony overlooking the stage. It was a very exciting show that brought back teenage memories.

Lady Liquor Channels KISS

© 2011, Matt Vanecek

Lady Liquor brought a bit of KISS to the stage with her ever-unpredictable antics.


The luscious Angela Ryan steams up the air as she glides like a White Snake that goes again.

Angela Ryan performs to White Snake's "Here I Go Again"

© 2011, Matt Vanecek



Heavy Metal Unchained was a fun show, and I heard music I hadn’t heard in years, or even a couple of decades. I loved the performances! The show did, however, remind me why I need to carry earplugs in my camera bag. Heavy metal music is LOUD! :)

Please be sure to check out my entire gallery of Heavy Metal Unchained!

Sirens at Sunrise in June

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Sirens at Sunrise

© 2011, Matt Vanecek

Every once in a while, a few photographers will gather at an agreed-upon location. There may be found some women (and the occasional man) who are willing to get up while Ra yet journeys through the underwold, apply makeup and lashes, and dress up in costumes (or not, as the case may be). On a hot, sticky, humid, partly-cloudy morning in June a group of us held such an outing. My wife, our dear friend Michelle, and the lovely Lisha (who is also a good friend, but that doesn’t sounds as good as “lovely Lisha!” :) ), consented to be our models for the morning.

I do like some good close-ups! My lovely bride doesn’t have any Steampunk accoutrement, which was the optional theme for today’s shoot. But she does clean up pretty nice, as you can see here. This was taken at the Irving Convention Center shortly after Ra got his chariot moving. There was also a nice cloud cover that softened up the light very nicely.


Sirens at Sunrise 0032 by Matt Vanecek (mevanecek) on 500px.com

© 2011, Matt Vanecek

The lovely Lisha sported some pretty nifty costuming. You can find her out at Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie when it’s in season. I love taking pictures of her, because she is so expressive. It doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty, either. But the most beautiful person in the world without an expression is just a mannequin. About all you can do with a mannequin is hang clothes on it. So when I get an opportunity to shoot somebody like Lisha, I am quite ecstatic. I know I’ll get some good shots!


Sirens at Sunrise 0257 by Matt Vanecek (mevanecek) on 500px.com

© 2011, Matt Vanecek

Michelle is a bellydance and Romani dance instructor. She also makes hats and hair accessories. Because of her dance and the hair accessories, she does have a nice assortment of costuming. I’ve done a few shoots with Michelle, and those have always been fun. This was no exception. We needed to get some photographs of Michelle in her latest dance costume, which she wore in the annual dance recital for the dance studio she teaches at. I think there are a couple she’ll like!


The ones I think are the best from this shoot are over at 500px.com. The full set of processed images is in my Irving Convention Center set on Flickr. Go take a look, and then leave me a comment here about which ones are your favorites!