Matthew Rakola 9/30/21 Matthew Rakola 9/30/21

Water Rescue

This past weekend I headed up to Dutch Springs in Bethlehem, PA to completed my open water SCUBA diving certification. This has been on my bucket list since I was ten years old and I’m very happy to be part of the underwater club.

After my last dive I hung out a bit, floating around topside (trying to keep my camera out of the water) and captured some images of the rescue class that was underway. It’s a difficult, fun and ultimately rewarding class that I hope to take in the next year or so. Huge thanks to One Ocean Scuba in Silver Spring, Maryland for teaching me the ropes and keeping us all safe. If you live in Maryland and you’re interested in learning to scuba dive, or if you’re just looking for a great local dive shop, you should definitely check them out.

Matthew Rakola 4/28/20 Matthew Rakola 4/28/20

The Designated Drinker

In the fall of 2019 my friend, Louise Salas (aka “THE Louise Salas”) approached me about joining her start-up. The hustle, Missing Link, is a podcast media company that leverages the 50+ years of advertising and production experience that she and co-founder, Hal Schild, bring to the table. (This is truly amazing because Louise is like, maybe 22 years old.)

I’ve been doing quite a bit of shooting for one of the shows, the Designated Drinker Show, a podcast that Lou co-hosts with local DC bartending legend, Gina Chersevani. (Aka “THAT Gina Chersevani”.) I never been much of a day drinker and am more lager than liquor***, but when the first cocktail is shaken at 10 am and the lights are set, duty calls.

Most of these images made at Gina’s bar, The Last Call, in Washington, D.C. Because of the packed shooting days, I usually have less than 10 minutes with the talent, be it liquid or human. Luckily, being tasked to photograph beautiful drinks and drinkers make the job easy and enjoyable.

Check out the podcast and I promise you’ll never want to settle for a rum and Coke again.