2013 February MIPP newsletter

February 2013

The Official MIPP Newsletter

FOCALPOINT

in this issue featured REUBEN PISCOPO & MUCH MORE!

www.mipp-malta.com

Issue No. 26

W

ith January behind us we look at February with a fresh face and hopefully a good set of people for the new executive committee so we gear up for the upcoming MIPP 2013 calendar!

Being in a committee requires time and commitment which I am happy to give but also one has to stop thinking about him or herself and focus on the members and what they really want!

I am really happy with the content of this newsletter. It is jammed packed with features about other photographers for you to get inspired, features Kerstin Arnemann’s exhibition and also ‘Private Art’ exhibition currently running at St James Cavalier which was a totally fresh event.

I wish you all a great month. February may be a short one, but that means it will be jammed packed anyway with events, starting with the AGM and the MIPP Elections, then a photowalk and a lecture....what else could you wish for?!

See you all very soon!

Newsletter Team Editor: Therese Debono Design: Therese Debono Articles: Kevin Casha, Sergio Muscat & Therese Debono Editorial Advice: Kevin Casha Contact: newsletter@mippmalta.com

CONTENTS pg 3 pg 5 pg 9 pg 15 pg 19 pg 23 pg 29 pg 33 pg 37 pg 39 pg 41 pg 42 pg 43 pg 44

FEBRUARY 2013

president’s viewpoint sergio’s blog featured mipp member special feature mipp event featured panel featured foreign photographer featured artist mipp notices press release calendar archives upcoming photowalk upcoming monthly event

February Elections That dreaded “post-exhibition block” Reuben the Wizard Live The Fairytale Private Art Alan’s Lines Fine Keith Rupert Cefai MIPP Elections & AGM Maltese Photographer in UK Mark your diaries MIPP Events through the years Abstracting Architecture Studio Portrait Photography

ROSALIE SPITERI

cover artist ‘Red Hot Chilli Pepper’

My ‘Red Hot Chilli Pepper’ is one of my best images. I competed with this image in the PTYA’s Session themed ‘Fruit’. Being a Biology teacher by profession, I am quite familiar with a number of ‘unconventional’ fruits. The chilli pepper, is actually a fruit. I thought that, thinking outside the box would gather some points.

Due it its radiant red colour, a warning sign in biological terms, I decided to tickle the viewers’ attention by wrapping the pepper around smoke. Further implying, ‘watch out, this thing is hot!’

Shooting this image proved to be quite a challenge. I would never have done it if it weren’t for the support of my fellow photographer Duncan Cauchi! In shooting, the chilli pepper was suspended by two black silk threads against a black background.

Three strobe lights where fired when shooting; one at each side, and one from the back to create that 3D effect. A burning incense stick was placed under the pepper, to create the smoke. The threads were then removed in post-processing the image.

I loved shooting this image, so much so, it’s still hung in my study!

president’s viewpoint

February Elections!

Dear Members, 2013 here we go! No sooner has this year started that at the MIPP we are off to a really busy and varied programme.

The committee has been regularly meeting in order to review the past year and further fine tune our events so that they reflect the wishes and needs of our members.

The administration side will start with our Annual General Meeting on February 12th. For the past two years, we have not conducted an election as the nominations we had where the exact number we needed. This year, I am glad to say, there are more members willing to commit themselves and give a hand in the running of their Institute – so formal elections and voting will be held. I urge you to attend and do your duty and vote not for your friends but for those persons whom you think will benefit the MIPP, and the members, most. To me, all candidates are valid and I assure you, even those who do not make it into the Executive Committee, will be given sub-committees and work to do.

Whilst on this subject, I and the committee would like to thank our outgoing Treasurer, Trevor Sollars, who for the

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time being has decided not to contest this election due to personal reasons.

Trevor has given the MIPP an invaluable service during the past years and will be missed.

On another subject, the Committee this year decided to totally revamp the Photographer of the Year award. The new full rules and regulations have already been sent to all members. This move has been done to mainly stimulate more participation. We have merged the Monthly Online competition with the PTYA to create something which is totally new and interesting. This year’s PTYA will be completely digital, allowing more participants to submit their images as there will be no printing costs. There will be no variable themes, but rather five categories - Architecture, Portraits, Street Photography, Scenic and Open - which will run throughout the competition. Every month, participants will be allowed to submit up to five images. These images may be spread throughout one or more of the categories. At the end of the month, we will collect all submissions, and our judges will exclude images which they deem not to be competition-worthy.

The remaining images will be published

A take on the Annual General Meeting, the Executive Committee elections and the new PTYA rules! on the MIPP Official facebook page, and every other month, these images will be judged in a public session. The images will be scored by judges as Gold, Silver or Bronze, which awards will carry 5 points, 3 points and 1 point respectively. At the end of the 9 sessions (running from January to September) the person with the most points will be awarded the photographer of the year.

We believe that this system will enable more participation, and also make the PTYA more interesting and competitive. Hope to see your participation!

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sergio’s blog

That dreaded “post-exhibition block” I knew it would come… It came the After “Inheritance”, I was inevitably first time I had an exhibition, catching me very much off guard and throwing me off course for a while, and kept appearing like clockwork after each exhibition or project. I thought I could avoid it this time around, but there it was, like the flu – you know it’s going to hit, and you think you’re going to avoid it this time around, or at least be prepared for it, but it still kicks hard, and every time it seems to be even worse than the last (actually, I got the flu too, so it hasn’t been very happy times as of late!)

Coming to think about it, it’s quite a natural thing. The effort that goes into preparing for a project or exhibition, when done well, is totally draining. It takes away all your physical and mental energy. To top it off, there’s that constant nagging feeling of incompletion which I am sure most artists out there will be familiar with. Then the day arrives, it’s a success (hopefully)… and suddenly it’s all over. Instead, there’s void. It’s quite a nasty feeling – not knowing where to go next, not really wanting to do anything for a while, and above all, no idea when it will be over. Then there’s also the knowledge that next time around you’ll have to do better than this, which in itself is quite intimidating.

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dragged into it once again. The project took up a lot of time and energy, and together with some other things, was a total energy-drainer. There is little which can be done apart from just riding through it, trying to “enjoy” that moment of mental quietness. It is also probably quite healthy, since I am pretty sure that force would most likely result in mediocrity. Eventually the ideas and enthusiasm start flowing back.

Since a short while now I have been thinking of new projects to work on, and have homed onto one or two interesting things. My process tends to take a while, with a few projects sprouting out and eventually converging or focussing onto one. I have some work I’ve been wanting to work on and I think that it is now mature enough to form a collection in itself, and I’m quite enjoying it.

Of course, I speak this way because I have the advantage that I am not relying on art as my main source of income.

I can imagine it’s much tougher for the professional artist who needs to create a steady stream of work. I have gone through periods whereby I’ve yearned to do this as a full time job but now I realise that for the moment this is the

Fluff best place to be. Having the freedom to work on something or stay put for a while is quite stress-relieving, although I can also think of a few disadvantages to that, including slower evolution and longer “recovery time�. In any case, art for me is an escape, and it can only be an escape if you want to go there rather than have to go there. That’s how I would like it to remain for now.

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The Beach Featured images in this article by Sergio Muscat(FMIPP FSWPP) Follow Sergio here: www.sergiomuscat.com

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reuben the wizard I have known Reuben for quite a while

now. We took a liking to one another mainly because we like shooting the same stuff and we also share the same philosophy about photography. He is also a fun guy and his diverse knowledge in various subjects makes him interesting to converse with, thus during conventions we always sit next to one another.

Reuben’s interest in photography led him to be chosen as one of the DOI’s (Department of Information) official photographers. He has been with DOI for the past three years and his work in photojournalism has taken him to London, Brussels, Ireland, Libya, Romania as well as Australia, strenghtening his photojournalistic portfolio beyond our shores.

However I did not want to tackle photojournalism during our interview. Even though I know his work in photojournalism is impeccable, I was more drawn to his instagram images which he loves to share the minute he takes them!

Instagram nowadays has become a really good and fast way of putting up images on show for the public and also sharing it on Facebook and Twitter, so that is how I first saw Reuben’s work. I was captivated by his cloud shots. Being

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an avid cloud lover myself, I became hooked to Reuben’s instagrams of clouds. One has got to love a subject to shoot it and just by seeing these shots you realise that Reuben is a cloudlover too.

There are alot of things which inspire Reuben however music is a big part of his life and it is what inspires him to

featured MIPP Member

Image by Karl Camenzuli for the “Portrait a Day’ Project

shoot. “Music is a big part of my life, and I love raggae since it keeps the soul happy, but I love my rock too!” In fact that is Reuben in a nutshell, a mix of happy soul and a quiet thinker all rolled into one. He plays the didgeridoo, djembes and guitar as well as listening to his favourite tunes.

So no wonder Reuben is inspired by life because he is surrounded by good friends, music and nature, all three things which he can’t do without. Music gets him and his friends together, so what’s left is to snap away and keep the memories alive through his images. And this is where instagram came in handy to our photographer friend. “I love my slr and won’t part from it for nothing, however instagram

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gives me that possibility of sharing there and then what I am going through”, says Reuben enthusiastically. After this we indulged in our guilty pleasure of discussing how awesome instagram’s filters are and how great it is to be able to give feeling to photographs instantaneously. He says that mobiles are handy because you can be in your own photography bubble all the time, knowing that you have the means to shoot with.

However having an slr only can limit to how long or when you are in this so called bubble. “Since instagram, now I am on the lookout for a photo 24 hours, 7 days a week....I am not limited, whereas without it (the phone) I feel limited”.

Whilst laughing and giggling like two kids Reuben and me parted ways, he passed on his images to me, and I really found it hard to choose which ones to feature....however here are my favourites. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed them!

You can follow Reuben on Instagram, look out for him if something national is going on, or simply at a summer music concert where you are sure to find him there! Peace! www.reubenpiscopo.com www.instagram.com/diwizard

Going back to the slr though, Reuben is still adamant that nothing will take place of his slr. “You see, the phone is an instant ‘fix’, whereas the slr is the real thing!”, so when Reuben wants to take the ‘shots’ then his hands are on his slr, and whilst shooting he already knows how the final image is going to look like, and that for me is clever shooting.

Diwizard is Reuben’s nickname on instagram, and I think it really suits him.

This guy has outstanding images shot by slr and equally great images shot by his iphone. A photographer remains a photographer regardless of the equipment at hand. If the eye and talent are there then the equipment is just there to serve a purpose, that of giving light to what you are seeing, imaging, creating....

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Above: “This LP was given to me by my father who from a very young age exposed me to some great music which he used to play on his Marantz sound system which he still owns till this very day.

Songs by Pink Floyd, Bob Seger, Nazareth, Dire Straits, Led Zeppelin and many others still echo in my ears till this very day...”

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Right: “This was shot during a an unexpected heavy rain shower. I was waiting for my friend whilst he was buying stuff, and I just saw this splash of reflected colours...I had to shoot this!”

Above Left: “I was visiting a friend who was working near Gianpula fields and this amazing view just caught my eye, the pretty clouds drifting by....”

Above Right: “Shot at Ahrax tal-Mellieha while enjoying a nice weekend camping over there”.

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Left: “The moth was taken during a fenkata at a friend’s place when suddenly this moth landed on the cooker.

Luckily I had all my camera kit in the car including lighting stuff and triggers. I just ran quickly to my car, did a quick setup and here it is”.

Left: “Last winter the boys and myself had fun shooting lightening. It was great going round in our cars, stopping to anticipate lightening. It is very time consuming but very rewarding once you start getting the right shots. Exposure settings can get very tricky since lighting intensity blending with the surroundings vary all the time”.

Left: “This was shot during Republic Day at work for DOI. As I was waiting on the side I noticed the soldier was going to faint and as he did, and was falling to the ground an army first aider came running out from the backside and caught him in mid-air”.

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LIVE THE FAIRYTALE A lovely visit to Kerstin Arnemann’s first exhibition in Mater Dei earlier in January, proved to be sweet as pie....read on...

Words by Therese Debono Main Image: Princess & the frog by Kerstin Arnemann

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special feature

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It felt strange parking in the hospital parking knowing that I was going for an ex-

hibition. None of us like hospitals I suppose, so somehow it was sweet that Kerstin chose Mater Dei as venue for her first exhibition, since she ultimately was going to donate these images to Mater Dei to bring a little cheer to patients.

I walked hurriedly towards the back of reception where Kerstin’s prints were hung and I was fascinated by her work....in fact 6 prints were not enough for me, I wanted to see more, however when one looks at the detail of work guess 6 prints were enough for Kerstin!

I was one of the first there, and slowly one by one more people started to flock around and I was noticing resemblences......of course most of the people were portrayed in her photographs! What a great idea to get the help of her friends to make these images happen. I could tell that they were people Kerstin knew well and it felt good being surrounded by these ‘characters’ who were human after all. I mean nothing wrong by the term ‘human after all’, it’s just that fairytales are not real right, but they brought along many soothing nights when we were kids, having a fairy tale read out loud before bedtime. As Kerstin herself states : Below: Red Riding Hood by Kerstin Arnemann

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”In an era of so rapid electronic progress, I hope to bring back the old good times of reading fairy tales …. Nowadays, fairy tales seems to be an exhausted art form. It’s not only because times and audiences have changed in the past years. It seems that fairy tales themselves have lost resonance. In my opinion we can understand reality only through a mythic lens and fairy tales once provided that lens. Now the view seems to be narrower. Mythology is the way we survive, the way we make sense of our world….”

And I do really think that through her work she will indeed bring some respite to the patients who will see her work of art hung on walls. She recalls her own mother telling her these stories when she was still a kid, and what better way to reinterpret these stories through photography, which is a medium so close to Kerstin’s heart.

The minister of health himself Joe Cassar “I hope to motivate inaugurated this exhibiton and he shared a young and old people few thoughts which I think fitted in perfectwith the subject Kerstin chose. He himself to remember the magic lybeing a psychiatrist pointed out that in his moments fairy tales can sessions, during therapy with patients, he give us… and keep them uses fairytales alot as analogies. He pointed that primarily fairytales were not directed alive.” to children but for adults. He futher mentioned that fairytales were of great help during therapy since they represent the anatomy of the psyche.

After the minister’s thoughts, Kerstin thanked everyone especially her partner and the models/friends who sat for her, and Konrad Agius for helping her with the images.

Left: L-R: Kerstin Arnemann, The health minister Joe Cassar & Prof. Joseph Caruana, CEO Mater Dei (photo by Leanne Attard)

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special feature

SOCIETY IN

Malicia Dabrowicz has become quite an active presence as of late during MIPP Events.....I like her inquisitive nature and her blog most of all....

Read on to find out what PRIVATE ART was all about....

Y

ou know, this is going to sound pretty hilarious, but did you realize that photography is ancient? In the literary sense of the word. Primitive cameras (camera obscura) have been around since V century BC, components of traditional printing (silver chloride and silver nitrate) were discovered in the middle ages (XIIXIV century), and the term photography was coined in 1834 by Hercules Florence.

Since Victorian times, whole generations were raised carrying smaller or larger

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N THE MIRROR (with a lens)

photography and photojournalism. But since documentary is dead serious and hysterical at times and photojournalism is wild and follows news exclusively, street photography had to find middle ground. She carved herself a niche by being observant, candid and true to historical aspect, but also by being ironic and focusing on less important issues of our daily lives.

Street photography is extremely user friendly and gets along with both professionals and amateurs. She doesn’t really care if you use a high tech mobile, digital SLR, an outdated Leica or a Holga that has holes in its body to make a picture.

If you want to get outdoors and immerse yourself in the fabric of life, she will take you on a journey, even if you walk around the block. All she requires is an open mind and a patient eye.

gears, and scaring passers–by in the streets.

Yes, you are reading it right. Going places with a camera and getting shots of strangers has a long and established history. It is actually having its own art form within the photographic universe: street photography.

Street photography is closely related to her two younger sisters: documentary

If street photography was a real person and she would enter St James Cavalier Center for Creativity in Valletta last weekend (26–27 January 2013), she would have been proud. And flattered. Because, for the first time (in a really long while), we had a proper event dedicated to this form of photographic art. There was a two–day `live in` exercise that included a photographic walk (Saturday morning) and printing session (Sunday morning), a discussion (Saturday evening) and a month long display of images, both vintage and modern (running until Febru-

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ary 25, 2013). Something for everyone.

Despite stormy weather, morning activities gathered a group of fifteen enthusiasts who delivered a powerful panel of works from the day. Images from the walk were incorporated into the exhibition and adorn one of the walls at the Lower Galleries of St James. If you had missed the exercise itself (like me), you can still see the outcome of it.

Evening discussion (dubbed “The Round Table”) gathered photographers, lawyers, journalists and government officials to debate privacy concerns, the rights of the photographers and pros and cons of digital era where everybody is snapping away like there is no tomorrow. Below, you can find a small clip of the talk posted on YouTube. (http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=GQIjWE3buNs&feature=share) Again, the weather scared away many people but still, discussion was heated.

I mean it’s really hard to find a common ground between the right to privacy of people in the open space and the right of photographers to practice their hobby. Photographers were standing by their “shoot first, deal with the rest later” rule while lawyers and government officers were doing their best to counter–attack with paragraphs and clauses. At some point the discussion got a bit on the negative side when one

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person from the audience stated that in the digital era everybody was under surveillance. I argued back that heavy use of social media and phones doesn’t mean impending doom – rather it offers a chance to build a collective conscience and a common understanding.

I must have channeled James Nachtwey in that moment, but really, I can’t stomach conspiracy theories.

On Sunday evening, the official opening of the exhibition took place. Entitled “Private Art – Exploring the relationship between art and privacy”, it features ten photographers. Each of them takes on a separate topic with a series of 5 prints. There is also a small section of eight vintage prints from National Archives – showing Malta from the turn of the XX century to the wild 60s. The exposition is curated by Vince Briffa, Joe Zammit Lucia, Sergio Muscat and Kevin Casha. All except for Vince have also contributed to the exhibit.

Kevin Casha concentrated on the outskirts of the society and people who have been outside of the mainstream of life (“The Emarginated”), Joe Zammit Lucia embarked on a search for the identity of the inhabitants of the EU (“The Europeans”) while Sergio Muscat took a rather personal approach to the theme of loneliness in “7 000 000 000 : 1”. Other participants include: David “dp” Attard (with his take on

“Clash of Civilisation” by Samuel P Huntington), Martin Agius (“Religious Processions” – quite a photojournalistic record), Alan Falzon (documenting life in one spot in his series “The Green Window”) and Armand Sciberras (dynamic study of living fast in “Rush 24”).

Ladies make a strong presence to the exhibition with Therese Debono exploring her “City Life” after a trip to New York, Kerstin Arnemann portraying “Street performers” busking around and Tomoko Goto documenting “Café Servers in Valletta”.

All together, the exhibition, often toned down to monochrome, is a wonderful collection of human emotions, short lived moments frozen on print and a general soul searching for what really means to be a human being in today’s society.

I have forgotten who said that the camera was nothing more than a mirror with a lens in which human beings could see their true faces. It may seem like a tool designed to steal people’s privacy but for those who look at the world through a viewfinder it is much more than that. Camera gives a photographer a rare chance to enter people’s lives; it offers a chance to see them at their weakest, most intimate, sometimes in their darkest hour. It puts a duty on a photographer to be

at the service of the people, to portray them with dignity and compassion.

You record and bear witness, observe and save moments from being lost. It may be just a small thing, a gesture, an occurrence that lasts for only a second. But once captured, it becomes a part of our collective consciousness, of what we are. If you are curious how society is seen by a group of talented local photographers some of whom are my colleagues and friends, you will be most welcome to visit St James Cavalier in Valletta.

I can vouch you won’t be disappointed.

Malicia Dabrowicz Ps. However, you may be disappointed to hear that the food at the opening was delicious, so if you don’t want to miss out next time around at least in this department, keep future MIPP events in your diary.

Follow Malicia’s Blog here: http://cocamidemea.wordpress.com/

Above: Images taken during the Saturday Livein exercise

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alan’s lines

featured panel

In 2011 Alan Falzon got his Licentiate, and just a year later in October 2012 Alan got his Associateship in Architecture. A man of few words and an old school type of photographer here Alan says a few words about himself: “My first memories of life are of my father taking my photos, then giving me a Regula for school outings. Life is too fast for me. Photography takes me into my own very slow world. Listening to music, leaving me to peacefully walk around, observing people and their environment. An old school approach of taking my time, using a simple camera to find and capture ignored bits and pieces of every day life.”

This page: One of my favorite. The contrast between black and white.

Again leading lines which lead to a perspective.

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This page: Just plain leading lines from the bottom leading to a change in rhythm at the top to create some perspective.

Opposite Below: An older image from a couple years ago.

Just like most of my shots, its plain leading lines with contrast between black and white.

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Above left: The 1st set of stones on the new parliament. Similar to the over all design of Valletta, blocks of buildings separated by straight narrow roads, but they also resemble tomb stones.

A disappointed elderly resident had told me ‘these modern buildings are the death of the real Valletta.’ Is he right? Just like all around Malta, is Valletta also being modernised with disregard to our heritage?

Above right: Being a short person has its advantages! Looking up while walking under a building in construction i noticed this design created by the bottom wall and the ceiling.

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This page: A shot of another abandoned newly built flat in Mellieha. I shot it this way because the whole image is mostly made up of rectangles, one next to each another, a sort of collage.

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featured foreign photographer

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FINE KEITH Fine art photography has become a popu-

lar genre amongst the photographers’ pool, especially those photographers who tend towards the artistic side rather than the technical. I am not saying that fine art photography lacks technique. Far from it! For sure fine art photography is by all means technically exhausting and perfect plus it requires patience, however more than anything else, it’s art first and foremost which comes to mind with this subject.

I came across Keith Aggett’s work through Facebook, and was not only mesmerized by his long exposure shots, but also by the title of the genre - Fine Art Landscapes. I think there is no better way of describing Keith’s work since his images makes one stand in awe and keep on looking at the images.

Born and raised in Devon, a few of Keith’s early passions were fishing, sunrises and the hovering mist over the lake. He is lucky to live next to such a beautiful coastline. It’s these inspirational moments which sparked a desire to capture these moments in time, thus he got into the world of photography little knowing what awaited him.

The fact that he loves early mornings and travelling to different locations, helped him further to capture beautiful imagery. It’s the visualisation of the finished product which drives Keith to pursue more images.

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“I knew that was my path and still to this date is really the only photography I really enjoy viewing�

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He is self taught in photography and image editing and his favourite genre continues to be macro and landscape photography especially long exposures using assorted filters. After buying his first dslr he immediately wanted to learn the proper techniques rather than using camera settings like auto, so he solely shoots in manual mode and this has helped him alot since most of his work now is with long exposure and now he has become so confident that more often than not, just by looking at the surrounding conditions he can achieve a good exposure on the first attempt.

Black and white long exposure photography is pretty much what Keith does now and he got inspired to keep at this when about 4 years ago he read an article about someone using 10 stop glass to create amazing surreal looking art. “I knew that was my path and still to this date is really the only photography I really enjoy viewing”.

Keith describes fine art as “the ability of having vision and the creative touch to bring alive your imagination”.

All featured images by Keith Aggett http://www.keithaggettphotography.com/

Images: Page27: Chain gang Page 29: Solid Page 30 Into the void

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RUPERT CEFAI Last year we had an event in our calendar

called ‘Artists’ Night’. It was a very interesting night where our members submitted some of their work for critique, and this time the critique was done by artists rather than photographers. So photographers are not artists you might ask?! By astists I mean painters in this case and this time we had a few words with Rupert Cefai who was one of the artists on the panel. You might recognise Rupert also from 2011 October Convention where he also sat on the panel when we had the Forum ‘Fine Art Photography’ conducted by Joe Zammit Lucia.

Rupert Cefai is a professional artist, his preferred artistic medium being painting, mixing a number of media. An Interior Designer by profession, Rupert had his formal training in art under the tutelage of Harry Alden and Alfred Chicop. From 2005 onwards, after spending 14 years as a freelance Interior Designer, Rupert has shifted his focus from design to painting and is now dedicating his time solely to producing art. As an Interior Designer, the artist worked both locally and abroad with works ranging from private residences to commercial outlets, from medium sized restaurants such as Del Borgo in Birgu and L’Agape in Rabat to large scale housing estates in Cork, Ireland.

As an artist Rupert has been exhibiting regularly since 2005 taking part in a number of solo and collective exhibitions. His work reflects his own enjoyment of all subjects ranging from the human figure through to abstracts and landscapes, showing his fascination with that blend and balance in art that stands on the line between the real and the abstract. He looks for inspiration in different aspects of life such as everyday human experiences (Effigy, 2005), the built environment (C, 2007), dance (Tektika Tango, 2010) literature (Ġmiel il-Ħrafa, 2011) and music (Spirtupront, 2011). In 2008 he had his first solo exhibition abroad, at the Chiesa Degli Artisti in Piazza Del Popolo, Roma which earned him an invitation to participate in the Biennale D’Arte Internazzionale di Roma 2012, to be held at the Sala del Bramante.

Also in 2012, Rupert will be holding a solo exhibition in at the Artefact Art Gallery in London.

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featured artist

Is photography an art? How do artists see photography?

We caught up with professional artist Rupert Cefai to hear about his take on photography.

His works are found in private collections in Malta, England, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, France, USA, Argentina, United Arab Erimates and Australia, and is represented locally by Gallery Pi. For a complete exhibition list and art portfolio please visit www.rupertcefai.com Below: Ridi paliaccio

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Why did you choose painting as a medium of expression?

It was not really a choice, it was more of a mixture of being lead into it by my teachers and the training I received and a natural inclination towards the medium.

Do you really paint to express yourself or is it a means of income?

It is both and more. It is also a means to explore life, to study and analyse things and concepts. So the experience is both ways, I absorb information and I express ideas. And I make a living out of it.

What inspires you?

Everything can be a source of inspiration. What I like best is combining things, like personal knowledge and everyday experiences, ideas and concepts with an image, feelings with a view etc.

As regards photography, do you think it is another medium of expression?

Any medium can be used to express yourself. You can create art with anything.

Art is not a medium and any medium is not art, yet all media can be used to create something. And that’s a step closer to calling something art. So yes photography is another medium of expression.

Do you use photography to help you in your work? If yes state how.

I use photography in two ways. First as a means to record things, visual mementos of maybe a particular view, a person, a pose etc., which I can then go back to when need arises. But also I tend to use pieces of digitally manipulated images in my paintings.

Judging a painting, judging a photograph, are they similar or different? State why in both cases.

If we’re talking about artistic photography, yes, in my opinion they are similar. The end justifies the means. Irrespective of technique, or lack of it, technology used, materials, rules about composition etc. if it works, it works.

A note to photographers and artists.

Always work in series based on one idea or concept. It will give you the opportunity to explore things in more depth. Spend time looking at things you like and try to understand why you like them. Try to understand why some things you don’t like. Create collaborative projects with artists in the same field and others from different fields, like musicians, dancers, actors etc. But more than anything, create projects you really enjoy working upon.

All featured painting by Rupert Cefai Rupert’s Portrait by Sergio Muscat http://www.rupertcefai.com

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MIPP Notices

NOMINATIONS FOR MEMBERS INTERESTED IN STANDING FOR MIPP ELECTION TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: We would like to bring to the attention of those members wishing to stand for election to the MIPP committee that nominations are now open. Closing date for nominations is the 19th of January, 2010.

Nomination forms can be obtained from MIPP CEO Charles Calleja and are to be delivered by hand to the CEO. Pertaining Clauses in the current statute are: Clause 2 (d) A member standing for election to the Executive Committee must be proposed and seconded by any two fully paid members.

Nomination forms, signed by all three, shall be submitted by no later than two weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting (being held on Feb 2nd), MIPP official sponsors and/or their official representatives cannot apply to stand for election to the Executive Committee but may be opted in as Consultants by a majority vote from the Executive Committee.

Clause 2(e) Members may also opt to contest one particular post in the Committee. In this case, the applicant must have been a full member of the MIPP for the last two years prior to that particular AGM. This option must be declared when submitting the nomination form.

AMENDMENTS &/OR ADDITIONS TO MIPP STATUTE: Any Amendments or additions to the current MIPP statute are to be submitted in writing to MIPP CEO Charles Calleja by not later than 2nd January, 2010.

Pertaining Clauses in the current statute are: Clause 8 Alterations to this statue shall be subject to a two-thirds majority of the Eligible members present at the Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting. Fully paid members only may submit Statute amendments to the Executive Committee at least four weeks prior to such meetings.

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MALTA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY

AGM

corinthia san gorg

19:30hrs

12th february

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

ELECTIONS www.mipp-malta.com

Maltese Photographer exhibits at the London Hilton

Professional Photographer Kevin Casha recently exhibited successfully his photographic exhibition entitled “The Likeness Project” at the London Hilton, in the United Kingdom.

“The Likeness Project” is a collection of experimental photographic works which have been purposely created to encourage, explore and stimulate debate as to whether the portrait, as we know it, has been communicating the wrong impression of a person’s countenance and character.

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Press Release The work in this collection consists of images which all have the human element as their subject. The Photographs are basically unaltered and require and intrigue the viewer to look more deeply at the subtle nuances of a portrait by comparing silhouettes, facial negatives and portraits- portraits which are simply captured with natural north light entering from a window – just as vintage studio portraiture was originally conducted in the early days of the medium.

The least intervention from the photographer has been attempted in order that, perhaps, the subjects can give a deeper insight into a person’s character than fictitious, unnatural, posed portraits.

The exhibition was held during the Societies (UK) major photographic convention, which was visited by 12,000 visitors. The exhibition images where printed by ILAB Malta. During the convention Casha also held a 4 hour workshop on fashion photography.

Casha is a Lecturer for the Higher National Diploma course in Photography at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology. Casha, who is also the President of the Malta Institute of Professional Photography, is an international photographic judge and regularly lectures on photography and conducts regular workshops both in Malta as well as internationally.

Opposite Page: one of the images in the exhibition. Below: The likeness project exhibition in UK

CALENDAR Kindly note that the Course “Intro to Photography Techniques” is for those members who already booked.

12th February AGM & Committeee Elections Corinthia San Gorg; 19:30hrs

16th February Abstracting Architecture - Anthony Cilia

Corinthia San Gorg; 19:30hrs

26th February Studio Portrait Lighting - Sean Azzopardi

Corinthia San Gorg; 19:30hrs

6th March Course - Intro to Photography Techniques Corinthia San Gorg; 19:00hrs

12th March PTYA Session 1 Judging Corinthia San Gorg; 19:30hrs

13th & 20 March Course - Intro to Photography Techniques Corinthia San Gorg; 19:00hrs

23rd & 24th March SWPP March Seminar Corinthia San Gorg; time tba

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ARCHIVES Left: An emotional John Ambrogio on winning the 2009 PTYA

Left: Qualification judging in 2009

Left: Egyptian photographer Ayman Lotfy during the October 2009 seminar

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UPCOMING MONTHLY PHOTOWALK THE MALTA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY

shooting architecture in a different way!

ABSTRACTING ARCHITECTURE

with ANTHONY CILIA

16 february 9am, Cafe Royale, Valletta (next to Burger King)

www.mipp-malta.com

Abstracting Architecture

Here we are again! The start of a new year and so the start of our photowalks.

If you are keen to snap away with guidance about a subject you are interested in, such as architecture, why not join Anthony Cilia on the 16th February for a morning session about Abstracting Architecture.

Anthony will be of good guidance in this particular subject since he got his Associateship in October 2012 in Architecture. See you there!

Join Anthony for this photowalk on 16th February, at 9am, at Cafe Royale, Valletta (next to Burger King).

Shooting Architecture in a different way!

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UPCOMING MONTHLY LECTURE Studio Portrait Photography

W

e start our 2013 monthly lectures with Sean Azzopardi’s lecture about Studio ‘Portrait Lighting’. You all know that Sean was the winner of the Photographer of the Year Award for 2011 which has given him a big push towards improving his photography.

Apart from this Sean is also a popular Wedding and portrait photographer and for quite a while now he has also set up his own studio and has become very creative with his shots.

In this lecture Sean will give a brief overview of different studio lighting equipment and their use, show the difference between low key and high key, show the difference and advantages of broad vs short lighting as well as an explanation of different lighting styles, using a 1 light setup with live demo, which will include: Loop lighting, Rembrant lighting, Butterfly lighting, Split Lighting & Glamour Lighting.

Join us for this lecture on 26th February, at 7:30pm, at Corinthia San Gorg.

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