So, without further ado, here are some photos from last night’s performance.

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P.S. See the photos published also on the Malta Jazz Festival official blog here and here.

We all know what reality is, or do we? In reality (no pun intended) it is very much not what we think it is. Or actually, it is what we think, not what it is. Reset for a moment. Let us think. In actual fact, we don’t know what is out there. We only know what we perceive as being out there. For all we know, the guy next to us might be perceiving something entirely different. The reality remains the same. The perception is subjective.

This is what makes everything so interesting – as a photographer, that is. While we are capturing the same reality, we know that what we see is not what others see, or at least, we don’t know what others see – we just know what we see (and even that is debatable). What results from this is an exciting barage of opportunity for interpretation. As artists using the medium of photography as an interpretative medium, it is our duty to ‘document’ reality as we see it, and present it to others to see, interpret and distort into whatever their own reality is. It very much feels like a machine which takes something, and through various stages of processing produces something totally different. We don’t know what will be produced, and since the last stage of processing is through the eyes of the viewer, the end result is always different. That is exciting.

So what do we make out of all this? What I personally think is that when viewed from this perspective, photography becomes a very powerful medium of interpretation. No wonder it was the medium of choice for many surrealists. If we look at the greatest artists, particularly from the last century, it is clear that they have all realised this, and spent their lifetime exploring the concept in their own way. The identification and development of this and other concepts is one of those things which I believe demarcate the distinction between a photographer and an artist.

By all means, this concept is nothing new. There just seem to be moments in a person’s life when certain things just become clear – those important moments of realisation, which help us evolve and better ourselves.

So that’s another tick on the list.

Thousands of images were received from 68 countries worldwide. The awards international Jury included captains of the industry from Magnum Photos, The Armory Show, Fratelli Alinari, Contrasto to Tate and Hamiltons in London who honored Spider Fellows with 84 coveted title awards in 28 categories. The judges reviewed the entries online for eight weeks before making their final nominations and Sergio’s “Just One Coin,” an exceptional image entered in the Photojournalism category, received a high percentage of votes overall.

“The Spider Awards celebrates photographers who operate at the highest levels of their craft,” said Basil O’Brien, the awards Creative Director. “Sergio’s work represents black and white photography at its finest, and we’re pleased to present him with the title of Nominee.”

You can view the 5th Annual Winners Gallery at http://bit.ly/aHUOUS

More black and white images may be viewed at http://bit.ly/cMTlGY

BLACK AND WHITE SPIDER AWARDS is the leading international award honouring excellence in black and white photography. This celebrated event shines a spotlight on the best professional and amateur photographers worldwide and honours the finest images with the highest achievements in black and white photography.

I brought with me a very famous book on photography (indeed aptly named ‘on photography’, written in the 1970’s by Susan Sontag). It is very well written and does have some truly inspiring words. It is clear that the writer had a passion for photography and spent long hours researching the content. As I read through it I find (rather disappointingly) that most of what she wrote is still very valid today, more than 30 years later. Has photography stagnated so much that we are still rummaging on the same ideas photographers created more than a quarter of a century ago? Many things have happened since then. Many photographers have come and gone, and left their mark. But is it a significant mark in the history of photography? Somehow I have my doubts. It is true, photography has changed, especially since the digital revolution, but I somehow don’t feel that photographers have changed too. Maybe I’m missing something but possibly the same fact that I’m missing it means it isn’t significant enough. I worry that maybe we’ve arrived to a stage where photography has come to the end of it’s development and it’s now about running around in circles effectively flogging a dead horse. Susan Sontag does mention it briefly in her book. Maybe she was right already 30 years ago.

I however refuse to believe this is entirely correct (although I’ve seen enough bad photography to believe this is not entirely incorrect either). I wouldn’t be doing what I do if I did. I might not be the key to the new generation of photography, but I guess every helping hand counts. I believe the key is in the way we perceive photography. Many perceive good photography as being equivalent to technically correct photography. While this may sometimes be a part of what good photography is, it is a very shallow view, and mostly a detrimental one. Again we have to take a step back and rethink in what context we are viewing photography in the first place. If we are looking at photography purely for photography’s sake – that is, just as a means of capturing something out there – then we are viewing photography as a craft, and in that sense, technique is certainly a pretty large part of the success of a photograph. If, however, we want to view photography as an art form, then the picture changes completely. First of all, the focus shifts away from photography per se, and moves onto the artist. This is a key element, and cannot be stressed enough. We need to start viewing photography as the means to an end rather than the end per se. It is an artistic medium which the artist chooses to make use of to achieve his or her goal, and not the goal itself. Secondly we need to shift our view away from the individual photograph and onto the bigger picture. The value of an artist’s work is the concept, and how it is presented. Judging an artist by looking at one piece of work is akin to judging a novel by reading one paragraph. While one piece of work can give an idea of the skill of the artists, and while some works tend to be remebered more, and may eventually become representative of the artist, it is the whole body of work of the artist that defines him or her. The body of work of artists is the translation of their values, thoughts and beliefs into something physical, and every part of that body needs to be viewed with the whole concept in mind. If we look at the greatest artists (including photographers) of the past century, it becomes clear that whatever they did was centred around a concept or passion they had, and which they represented through their life and through their work.

Art has changed greatly throughout the past decades, and if we are to understand art in the way it deserves to be, we must first of all remove preconceptions about artistic media, and then start asking the right questions when viewing a work of art. It is certainly not about aesthetics, and whether this would look nice hanging in the room with the new persian rug, but about the connection which the work creates with the concept, and eventually, with the artist.

During the year, I became ever more involved in the local photography scene, and helped the MIPP, one of the local photography organisations, to get through a pretty tough year after some radical changes. It was hard work but greatly inspiring. I can now start giving back some of what I have received, helping those who love photography immerse themselves into the art.

Throughout this period I was working on a new set of architecture images which eventually were presented for the Associate qualification. I was greatly encouraged by the judges’ comments which I will treasure for a long time to come. This was a goal I needed to achieve, and it helped me gain more confidence in my abilities.

I am now ready to move to the next step – a step further into the direction of art. It is important for the artistic community to understand that photography is not about creating technically perfect images. Photography is just another medium for the expression of art. It is a very particular medium in itself. It is a tool which allows us to manipulate reality, and show only what we want to show, the way we want to show it. No wonder it was, and still is, a favourite medium for the surrealists. When looking at a photograph, viewers cannot help but associating what they see with what they know, and that is a very strong manipulative tool in the hands of the artist. It takes time to master this technique of distorting reality, but when we manage, the whole world flips upside down. It becomes a dream – rooted in reality, but free of reality’s constraints. I look forward with excitement to the moment I will manage to master that. This is the path I will be taking throughout the coming years.

This coming year, I also plan to participate in some exhibitions. It is time to expose myself once again to the world. I will be doing this through a few collaborative exhibitions – at least that is the plan. I will not reveal details as yet, since they are still on the drawing board, however I can say that there will be some experimentation involved.

The coming year promises to be a very exciting one ahead. I plan to make it so. I have been encouraged greatly throughout the past years, and it is thanks to this continuous encouragement and support that I am able to keep ploughing through. So I keep ploughing through – one day there will be a harvest to collect.

Finally, I wish you all a successful year ahead, full of joy, success and unrestrained creativity.

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.

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/media_collection/6/PGP%20232.1.jpg

The event was highly interesting, and also a challenge to photograph, due to the sheer speed of the show’s pace.

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The nominated image is one of my first works to be exhibited, and is entitled “Beach Shop”. The image portrays the common and generally unnoticed as glamorous and imposing, creating an impact through the realisation that whilst most of us have seen this or similar scenes before, we never really gave it such importance. Beauty is also in the simple things, and it is up to the photographer to realise this and portray it.

I must admit that for some time I did fall into the machine-gun trap, but eventually I realised that the more I fired away, the less the quality of the output. It is not easy to hold back your finger from the trigger and force a thought process before taking a photograph. It is even tougher when you are capturing things which exist only for a split second.

Alas, the bottom line is that all this is just an excuse – a comfortable scapegoat for those who do not want to admit that, in the end, the only ones to blame for the state in which photography is today, are the photographers themselves. Photography lost its art simply because ph0tographers stopped being artists. Let us be honest – photography has transformed itself into a craft – and sometimes, to my utter disgust, not even that. The result is that those few remaining artists out there who use photography as their medium get the cold shoulder.

It is a long, tough road ahead. There is still a great deal of talent which can emerge and hit the art scene like a ton of bricks, but the change must start from within. There needs to be a deep-rooted cultural change, and it must start from those photographers who have been practicing for years, and who are well established. Unfortunately, I am afraid that some of these have today become “unrecoverable”, however, some have the capability within to rise to the challenge.

Whether they are willing to make the effort, is a totally different story.