All these images are very close to my heart. They have in some way or another defined my photography, and my view on life. I am glad someone beyond our shores appreciates them – it gives me a certain pride – more like a parental feeling than anything else.

Position: Nominee Category: Architectural Photographer: Sergio Muscat Country: Malta Title: Dance of the Shadows Caption: Valencia, Spain

Position: Nominee Category: People Photographer: Sergio Muscat Country: Malta Title: Homage to Size

Position: Nominee Category: People Photographer: Sergio Muscat Country: Malta Title: Aliens

Position: Nominee Category: Photojournalism Photographer: Sergio Muscat Country: Malta Title: Crime Scene

Here are the photos from Day 3.

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Here are the photos from day 2 of the Malta Jazz Festival

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Here are the photos from day 1

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When I took up this project, it scared me initially. With projects such as these, it is very easy to fall into cliches and create mediocre work, and I was very much conscious of this. With photography, this is even more valid, due to the obvious restrictions and the practical aspect.

My intention from the onset was to create a sense of movement and energy. The concept eventually evolved throughout the various sessions, however in its essence, it remained the same. The four images which I exhibited represent in a way the evolution in time, moving from a more physical presence to something which is more abstract. At the editing stage, I wanted to add a classic, painterly look to the images, in order to create a contrast between the energy and movement, and the sensuality of Tango. I am quite happy with the results, and I will certainly keep working on further images to add to the collection, as well as the concept and technique itself.

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As a thank you thought, I am putting up the prints which have been used for the panel up for sale as artist’s proofs at a very reduced price of €50, which is practically at cost. These prints have been produced by myself on high-gloss photographic paper with archival quality inkjet technology, which should last over 100 years in the right conditions. The prints will be sold “as-is”, and might include some signs of handling. If you would like a newly produced print either on photographic paper or on high quality art paper, they are also available in editions of 10 prints at €120.

Something about this collection. The images in this collection have been selected from work which spans the last three years. I have chosen these works because they offer a different glimpse into what are mostly commonly known places around the world. When I shoot architecture, I find it crucial to be able to look beyond the building itself, and understand the thoughts of its creator. Mostly, the interest is in the details, or in specific angles which create that sense of grandeur most famous buildings tend to portray. I look for sense of scale, detail and design. Most of the times, I do not have the opportunity to visit a place twice, so I have to make do with the light that is available. This obviously does condition strongly the final image.

I hope you enjoy this collection. As always, feedback and comments are welcome and appreciated.

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Architecture is a strange beast, though. Some might think that it is one of the easiest things to photograph because it is static and just sits there waiting to be captured, but the truth is far from that. My experience with architecture is that it can be quite frustrating, and this for various reasons. It is true, buildings sit there and beg to be photographed (some of them, at least!), but that also means that lots of people will have succumbed to that plea and most good buildings will have been shot from every possible angle, so the first challenge is to do it differently, and that in itself is already a bug nut to crack. To add to that, however, the photographer is faced with a “soul” to capture. I know this might sound strange, but some architecture can exude such energies that it feels alive. The challenge when photographing it is to capture not only its soul, but also that of its creators. It is important to spend some time to get to know a building before photographing it. Try to understand what went though the architect’s mind when it was being designed. If the architects were to photograph their own buildings, how would they do it? What would be the highlights they would want to immortalise?

Towards the end of last year, I was very lucky to be involved in a project with the Chamber of Architects aimed at raising awareness of modernist and post-modernist building on the island. The project was quite large and involved five top photographers who were each assigned some buildings to document. I got five buildings, each with different and unique characteristics. The first thing I did was read up on the modernist movement (luckily my wife is an architect and could give me some lectures and reading material). This exercise helped me understand the general mentality behind the movement. All I had to do now is understand each individual building and capture its essence. The whole exercise took months, but it did come together, and I am quite happy with the results. Modernist buildings, unfortunately, are not always the most aesthetically pleasing due to their simple forms and straight lines, which is even more of a challenge, since I need to feel a connection with the building before I can photograph it, which is why it was so important to understand the concepts behind them before photographing them.

This is true with every architectural shoot. Travel photography is even more challenging, because you usually only have a few moments with a building, and that means that the essence must be captured quickly and in only a few shots. When these photographs work, however, they can be incredibly powerful, which is why my set will be mostly based on travel photographs of architecture. The first stage is complete. It is now a matter of refining, which I will cover in a subsequent converstation. For now, here are the modernist photographs.

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Moving just a few positions down the list, we find possibly one of the most famous female American photographers, who made her mark photographing people at the edge of society. Diane Arbus’s popularity may have been boosted through the recent cinematic interpretation by Nicole Kidman of the eccentric photographer, however, one still needs to recognise that she has certainly given a valid contribution to the world the documentation of an aspect of society which was at the time an unexplored taboo.

Cindy Sherman, at 50th place, has certainly got a unique style of photography. Since she was young, she has turned the camera onto herself, making her by far the main theme of her work. However, she definitely is not into self portraits. Her work is an elaborately made up scene, with one of her characters usually being the subject of the image. To create these, she uses high tech tools such as make-up, prosthetics, and digital scenography.  “Sherman uses herself as a vehicle for commentary on a variety of issues of the modern world: the role of the woman, the role of the artist and many more” (ref).

After a considerable gap, we find one of America’s “witnesses of change”. Alfred Stieglitz was there when America changed – when New York transformed itself into an economic giant booming with skyscrapers. His documentation of this change as it was happening is a priceless treasure to humanity. His fellow photographer, Edward Steichen described his work as “like none ever made by any other photographer.” His work also included a number of portraits, most famous are the ones of Georgia O’Keeffe, who was both his wife and a great artist in her own right – in fact she can be found in this same list at the 40th position. Stieglitz was one of the most passionate photographers of the beginning of the century, and he is recognised not only for his photography, but also for the extensive work he has done towards bringing photography to the forefront of the artistic community.

At position 114, we find the most expensive photographer of the moment – Andreas Gursky. He is best known for his enormous prints, sometimes in the form of collages and usually with a very wide point of view. He mainly treats cityscapes and landscapes, although his work is certainly very distinguishing from the work we are accustomed to in these fields. His use of repetitive patterns, combined with the sheer size of his prints, tend to create a sense of dwarfing in the viewer, and thus the complimentary sense of awe towards the images themselves. Andreas Gursky holds the record for the highest selling single print at auction – his print 99 cent II sold for $3,346,456, in February 2007 at a Sotheby’s Auction!

One might be surprised to see a photojournalist in a list of well known artists. However, coming to think of it, photojournalism is in itself a form of art, when the photojournalist treats it as such – and Weegee certainly did. It is the ability to make a statement and portray reality with impact that distinguishes the artist from the photjournalist who simply conveys what everyone else sees. It is also one of the most difficult and challenging of all photographic fields, so by all means, this is art. And Weegee was damn good at it. His work did not only centre around photojournalism. He created a series of portraits using lens distortions, which he called caricatures. “While Weegee’s intent was simply to photograph ‘the soul of the city I knew and loved,’ his unflinching eye set the trend for young, edgy photographers in the 1960s, most notably Diane Arbus who was a great admirer.” (ref)

Finally, we arrive to one of photography’s greatest contributors in terms of written technical knowledge. Ansel Adams remains an inspiration to this day, although in the digital world, things have changed a little. He was also an avid conservationist and a protector of nature – his greatest passion and the subject of the majority of his work. His prints are a total joy to view, and are still very difficultly rivaled by today’s photographers, even though things are arguably much easier with today’s technology. He was a master of the technique, and a pioneer who laid the ground for most of us who followed.

But what is it that makes these photographers stand out amongst the crowd? What is it that makes them artists? These are questions which have got many answers (or none at all). Every one of us will have a personal opinion and definition of art. I certainly subscribe to the philosophy that ”not all artists are artists”, although a comprehensive description of art is somehow difficult to come by, possibly due to its very subjective nature. The best description I have come across is very simple, yet powerful and meaningful. “Art has something to say,” puts all these names, together with the others in the list, into a new perspective. One can easily understand that these artists had something new to offer to the world, whether it be a political statement, the exploration of a new technique, or a recurring emotion. They are all artists who in some way or another left their mark in the world and the artistic community. They all inspired successive generations of artists, and some of them inspired also their contemporaries.

Many people look at photography as a craft – something to use for mainly commercial purposes. However, it is clear that these people have used photography as their chosen means to express their art. Cindy Sherman, for example, started studying painting, but turned to photography because she found it a better and more effective medium to convey what she wanted to express. Turning full circle, however, we end up back at the photographer – it is the photographer who needs to consider him or herself an artist before anyone else will. As photographers, we must decide what we have to say, and then use photography to say it. This is obviously easier said than done. I, for one, struggle often to find a direction, and I am starting to think that I never will really stop looking for one. Then again, that is how artists evolve, isn’t it? All I know is that I need to keep looking. Although it can sometimes feel like an impossible task, it helps to read about these great artists, and how difficult their struggle often was. It puts things into perspective.

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The idea for this work came while I was watching the sea embrace the rocky shore. Although the process is repetitive, it is different every time. It is the nature of earth itself. As time progresses, we enter various cycles, some lasting fractions of a second, others lasting thousands of years. Every time, the cycle repeats itself, but the nature of time and earth are such that the experience is always different, because everything else changes – people, environment, technology, etc…