Spontaneous Work
Difficult Times
A photo taken sometime last year during one of the many storms that hit the islands this winter.
It is a long exposure shot taken over a tripod with some attention not to get soaked.
Extreme Storm in Malta
This weekend Malta was hit by some really extreme weather, high winds and heavy rain.
I visited some of the well known places to take some weather reportage and I must admit I had some real close encounters during the shoot.
I first headed to Ghargur where the visibility was clearly awful, the sky looked orange and I could barely notice the sea just ahead of me, so I decided to go down where the waves hit the shore. Down in Bahar ic-Caghaq I managed to get as close as a couple of meters from the rumbling waves, I was trying to keep my camera intact and my self safe too 
From here we headed to Sliema where the show was more interesting. The waves here reached probably 6 – 8 meters at times, and probably but the force at which they were hitting the shore was incredible.
We then went to Valletta to see what the situation was there and again the sea was as brutal as the other places. The break water just at the entrance of the grand harbour was practically covered and rendered useless.
The storm
The lightnings could be heard real well, they were close and Zeus was angry. I got the equipment ready and ran to the roof, ready to shoot some stuff, but it seemed the clouds were shy and the lightnings were hitting everywhere accept in my trajectory. The camera was shifted from one position to another so these shots are the real lucky ones I could get. Next time I’ll take a different standpoint.
Then It started raining, you can guess the rest.
The next day the skies were as clear as hell, as if the air was cleaned.
The Next Level
In a recent visit to Sicily, I could not ignore the reality of change. With that in mind I wanted to move along the trail and find a way to express it through a non conventional shot, only to realise I ended up into something bigger than I expected.
I am now looking into another dimension in photography which has dragged me through for 4 days of intense experimentation with subjects through movement. The result is an endless set of patterns warped and curved in way that is fully controlled whilst I am shooting a long exposure shot.
It is really like painting with the camera.
Caught between rough and calm waters
During a recent photographic convention organised by the MIPP I improvised this shot whilst looking out of the window. Something which I do very often.
I was watching the rough seas and realised the calm water just beforth me and I thought what a balancing act.
Incredible sunrise during a time-lapse session
During a time-lapse a two weeks ago I experienced the most astounding sunrise yet. I had set my camera, and the rest of the equipment including the coffee flask in place to be handy. Whilst sipping my coffee slowly I realised the sky was changing from a blur to a set of netted lines. So down went the coffee I fetched the EOS20D since the 5D was already shooting an array of 700 shots every ten seconds. got the 18/55 and wondered off keeping an eye on my equipment in solitude.
This is the result. An incredible sunrise I must say.
The Food Chain
Strolling through Marsaxlokk this morning I could not miss the whole process of the catch, the delivery, the cleaning then the selling, Maybe tonight I’ll get the eating . well what am I talking about is simply the whole process of catching the fish, delivering it, then displaying it and the rest of the cycle. Other than that the realities of life and the clear apparent arrival of the most sacred summer with all its niceties and prevalent complaints of the irresistible heat.
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- A process of shifting, turning and untangling the net, a long process to test your patience.
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- I strolled up and down the market looking for ideas and here I found this frame composed of all sorts of stuff, however giving that strong sensation of summer and protection from the sun.
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- After going through the market I could not miss to realize the process at which I was so exposed to, the catch, the nets, the boats, the washing then the cleaning and the selling process.
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- I was stopped from taking this shot, as if the fish had to have a model release form, or maybe due to the gruesome vision.
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- If my escape could on ly be so simple
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- I rest in the sun, scorching myself awaiting for the next day to come for today my job is done.
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- In the verge of a new service which we all hope to have as soon as possible I could not fail to mention that for every gain ther eis a loss and for this I could not miss the fact that the mass production and standardization of the new buses that all look the same and color we will miss those individual characters of the maltese buses that all look different and have their own character.
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- A fisherman gets the nets cleaned after the return from open waters in Marsaxlokk, Malta
Early sunrise
Awakened by the inability to sleep any further at 4:30 AM I headed towards my camera, the tripod and my Thermos. Still on auto pilot I headed towards Ta Xbiex in deserted roads. I arrived at the pre-designated location, dismounted the car and walked for while until my body understood its time to rock. Got some test shots and a sip of coffee and off to shoot. The sky was perfect, the sea could not have been better and most of all there was no one, yay. I enjoyed this sunrise because it was spontaneous, unplanned and successful for the sun rose without hindrance. The colors were just magnificent and the fortifications of Valletta, what a view.
When they all go to bed
The sun goes down, the moon takes its place, the streets calm down, the worker goes home to rest, everything else is abandoned to its destiny, there is where darkness light and shadows pop out with a profusion of aspects of everyday life. There is where reality hits hard the repetition of the system shows its drastic effect of time and adaptation to the normalities of the sequence.
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- The features on this wall, the little door, the shutters almost closed but not, the position of the lamp post and the way it was shedding the light on the subject.
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- The Balcony kept in place by the seven strengths.
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- They creep when darkness falls, they climb from the roots beneath the ground, damn shadows.
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- The elements of life and their drastic effect of whats around us.
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- The sun goes down, the moon rises, the streets are silent, where are they now.
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- The clear and evident marks of use and misuse of this door attracted me to amplify the effects of repetitve use of onjects in the material world.
Winds of Change in Valletta
Valletta at the moment looks like a war zone, and just before anyone makes too many permanent changes I visit the capital city of Malta more than a few times always focusing on different aspects and architectural specialities of this living museum. I focused this time on current changes including the transportation system and the walls that surround the city.
Playing with light
As a nocturnal being I tend to play a lot with different sources of light when its absent. This being my next experiment which i really loved a lot so you will see lots of this stuff. No its not an aura or some sort but simply a long exposure shot at night with some moon lighting and a torch. Nothing else but the effect is out of this world.
The Timelapse Experiment
Whilst driving around after midnight I stationed at each intersection I found and took some video for my time-lapse experiment. I could not miss out on some long exposures at these points and this is the result. It was the beginning of the weekend so most of the roads were quite busy, and that kept me happy.
The streets of Paris
Another set of captures in the streets of Paris and the whereabouts. Most of these are the work of spontaneous however I was looking specifically for the essence of Paris, the every day life as no Parisian have seen it. I wanted to focus on the people and their doings but also on their surroundings that probably get ignored and taken fore granted.
Where Are you now ?
I came back here to see you after all this time, only to find the sand you may have played upon and nothing more than the infinity of the sea beforth me. With a handful of excuses in my pocket I remain silent, for nowhere to be seen is your soft skinned face, your smile, that I have never seen.
My second pocket holding another handful of plans and wishes that now fly away like the sand I rest upon.
Questions that roll through my mind like these waves upon the beach, unable to bring with them reasons why your presence today is not here. I cry softly even though I know that I can lay a thousand rivers, your presence will not be seen. So I rest alone on this sandy beach, wondering how you would have been if you would have made it to this world.
Searching for Inspiration
I ran through the island of Gozo like a mad man changing gear, position and vision of subject in order to get some stimulating inspiration, where finally I got it, unable then to stop. Everything started to vibrate, everything became a subject then.
Dancing Fire
Whilst observing the erratic movements of fire, I thought about the destructive effect of fire but at the same time the amount of energy exerted both physical and inspirational. After all it was just burning wood but the aura was incredibly inspiring.
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- Fire always creates interesting shapes wchi leaves us to use our imagination to see the unreal. In this image I realised there is a sort of dragon rising from the flames
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- with every wind blow, with every piece of wood, the effect of spurting fire flies
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- I wanted to experiment a little bit with black and white on flames since the color of a flame is almost enough to involve the viewer. I wnated to see without tha aid of color what happens.
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- I noticed the features on this piece of wood just before it was engulfed in flames leaving nothing more than a fine carpet of ashes
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- Playing with fire and its destructive effects. whilst feeding it with, the flames looked as if there were dancing with joy.
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- Playing with fire and its destructive effects. whilst feeding it with, the flames looked as if there were dancing with joy.
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- peeking through an opening in the metal container one could almost see the aura of the flames. now this is what I call chi. just watching the flames was enough to make one feel energized.
Oddly Shaped Objects
From time to time I fall in a mood of pure abstract. It happens very rarely and when it does I am very irrational. I feel the need to be just myself and in this moments time flies as if it had no significance. This is just some work that I am currently working on and adding from “time to time”.
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- We are usually lost in what is in our dimention, that is usuall an optical viewpoint of approx 45 degress. anything beyond that point goes off our comfort zone so I felt i should break that and look beyond. So this image is simply a portrait off the 45 degree angle.
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- This image attracted me because to me it shows the society we live in, put together. we all look the same but we are not. Everyone is an individual, unique with all the features.
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- time represented by the weathering effects on the beams and the step is the top part which goes down the further you look in the image. I wanted this 3D illusion to portray the passage of time.
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- I noticed these columns from far and had encountered others like them along the path. I see a representation of time and strenght in them.
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- A metal Beam that looked strong and endles today looks beaten, lost. Again the effect of time, age, the movement of energy here from one medium to another.
Arachnids
I was happily doing some photographic work at home and suddenly this spider appeared dangling from the roof. I rarely have seen such a spider and decided to make some spontaneous shots of it.
