The Official MIPP Newsletter
May 2015
FOCALPOINT
Issue No. 51
www.mipp-malta.com
EDITORIAL The best way to start a new month is with a public holiday!
And well here we are, a new month, starting with a public holiday and combined with a long weekend! What more do we want? Oh yes, some sunshine, and well, guess we will have plenty of that too!
If you want your photos featured on the newsletter’s front page just send the images to newsletter@mippmalta.com. Your contributions are always welcome!
Now that the winter months are over, you really have no excuses about going out and shooting. In my case, I just can’t wait to get my hands on my camera again.
Top Image: Editor Therese Debono Above: Assistant Editor Kerstin Arnemann
I hope you enjoy this newsletter where we featured creative Lorraine Abela.
Newsletter Team
Do not miss out on my talk this
Assistant Editor: Kerstin Arnemann
Tuesday 5th May about qualifications. Whether you are sitting for one or not, it doesn’t matter, you are all welcome! Meanwhile check out the ‘Out & About’ Section which we prepared for you! Have a good long weekend and a great month ahead!
Find us on: Therese & Kerstin!
Editor: Therese Debono
Design: Therese Debono Article Vetting: Vince DeBono Articles: Various contributors Editorial Advice: Kevin Casha Contact: newsletter@mippmalta.com
CONTENTS
MAY 2015 pg 2 pg 6 pg 12 pg 16 pg 18 pg 20
cover artist
President’s viewpoint Featured MIPP member Out & About MIPP Monthly Event MIPP Calendar Member’s Gallery
The Power of the Printed Photograph Lorraine Abela May Events Getting your Qualification Right! Mark your diaries! International Online Competition Standings
Ivan Consiglio Valletta, Malta, January 11th, 2009: tired out rescued illegal immigrants gladly clambering down from motor-tanker “Overseas Primar”, after having been rescued from 59 nautical miles away from Malta. The 162 illegal immigrants were in distress onboard a 10-metre boat. After a prevailing adverse sea state around the Maltese Islands prevented the illegal immigrants for three whole days from being landed safely, they were transferred in small groups onto two Armed Forces of Malta rescue-launches in the mid-channel of Grand Harbour. The illegal immigrants group was made up of 133 men, 28 women – one of who was pregnant, and one child
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The Power of the Printed Photograph Kevin Casha
Photography has been with us for nearly two hundred years . It has become a i
constant companion in our everyday lives - particularly since digital technology took over by storm from conventional film technology. Today’s civilized Society is ceaselessly using imagery, in some form or another, for multiple ends as far apart as forensic criminology and medical imaging, to Fine Art and 3D movies. Never in the history of mankind are images so ever present, and, at the same time, so seemingly effortless to produce. Photography as an artistic and creative medium is being constantly further explored and stretched to limits that in precedence were not considered possible. Yet, although the advancement of technology has made photography accessible to all as well as widened the horizons of its many uses, there is a slow yet rather steady rebirth of traditional darkroom processes. The sudden disappearance of most wet darkrooms, when digital technology first appeared, is now being nostalgically revived by people who have not had the opportunity of experiencing the magic of the darkroom: that of viewing a blank piece of chemically treated paper come to life, before their very eyes, in a chemical liquid under the iconic red safelight. This is just one of the main factors why there is currently a marked resurgence of Fine Art conventional printing, particularly within the artistic photographic community. Unfortunately, modern digital technology has also had what I consider a detrimental side effect - the wholesale suppression of printed photographs. Fewer and fewer photographic prints are being produced today as most users are content to just keep their images on hard drives, laptops and USB sticks. Many are not thinking of backing up their images with the often disastrous result that valuable files are being lost through the, as yet, lack of reliability of digital storage devices. One needs various double backups and regular monitoring in order to ensure that there is no loss of data. So what is likely to happen in the foreseeable future is that we will have a lot of important imagery being lost forever. When one considers, we should be very thankful for previous conventional technology were negatives could be printed, archived, treasured and proudly shown whenever the urge or the need arises. It is through these same hard copy photographs that most of our recent history can be traced back, researched, studied, immortalized, proved and enjoyed.
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viewpoint
Personally, I find little things as fascinating as perusing a vintage photograph. The fact that one is looking at a split second of ‘frozen’ history, which can never again be repeated, coupled with the ability to glean so much information from a single pic-
Above: An interesting studio football group photograph most probably taken by John Ciancio of the Royal Photo Studio - 1934
ture, is amazing. On one hand, a photograph is reincarnating something which has expired back into life, yet, at the same time, it is proving that something is ‘dead’. As philosopher Roland Barthes aptly said: “Is not the image therefore producing Death, while trying to preserve Life?” For sure, the value of printed photographs, particularly vintage ones, is their documentary and storytelling values. For example, would we really know what happened in the Nazi concentration camps if we did not have photographic proof?
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It is with this mindset that I had successfully campaigned for setting up a National Picture Archive on our island. In 1840, Photography fortuitously came to Malta at a very early stage of its appearance on the continent. The first recorded photograph taken in Malta was the Daguerreotype image of the Manoel de Vilhena statue, then residing at Lazzaretto, Manoel Island. The photograph was taken by Émile JeanHorace Vernet (1789-1863) and his assistant, Frédéric Auguste Antoine GoupilFesquet (1806-1893) II. Vernet, a famous artist for Napoleon, was crossing to Egypt and on a stop in Malta, was quarantined at Manoel Island. With good luck for us, he whiled away the time experimenting with his new Daguerreotype equipment, demonstrating the process to the then Governor of Malta, Sir Henry Bouverie. Due to this, there has always been a wealth of photographs, mostly undiscovered, that depict not only the life and society of our islands but also record some of the earliest attempts in the history of photography. It was with great satisfaction that, through the help of National Archivist and National Archive Director, Charles Farrugia, that together we managed to set up the Malta National Picture Archive in Santo Spirito, Rabat in 2003. This way, the process of digitizing and saving local photographs for research and posterity was initialized. A sizeable amount of mages have already been digitized and archived but there is still a long way to go, and much more effort is needed both by private individuals as well as governmental authorities in order to further consolidate and enrich this process - yet the first steps have thankfully been accomplished.
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The first successful photographs were made by a French inventor, Joseph Nicephore Niepce, about 1826. He succeeded in capturing an image that did not immediately fade when light struck it. Following this, Jacques Mande Daguerre in 1939, announced the first widely successful photographic process, the Daguerreotype. Concurrently, William Henry Fox Talbot invented the first practical process that produced a negative from which prints could be made.
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Portafoglio Maltese, 16th March, 1840, p.817, Malta Public Library
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MEET LORRAINE I love seeing new talent around, and when Kevin Casha suggested I contact his student Lorraine Abela I was more than intrigued with the innovative ideas she has...Read on and meet “Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.” Ansel Adams This explains what photography is to me. Photography for me reflects exactly what I would be feeling and experiencing at the moment, being negative or positive: my passions, my beliefs and above all, it’s a medium with which I can express my inner self. As a person, I am rather introverted and rarely express my inner thoughts but photography helps me as it’s an excellent medium of communication. I find abstract photography as my comfort zone, it’s the only genre in photography where I can share my personal experiences. As many other photographers, passion for photography has gripped me since of a very young age. I believe that when I used to practice with my mum’s Olympuscamera at the tender age of eleven years, it gave me a good grounding which has been beneficial and relevant when I took up photography more seriously. This love for photography has continued to grow and it was when I bought my first camera, the Nikon F65, back in 2000, that I really started experimenting. I had a lot of satisfactory photos but I was mostly into landscapes, nature details and practically recording subjects with good lighting. I stopped practicing almost completely when I had children but photography was always in my mind and soul. It was only three years ago that my youngest son started pre-school that the chance presented itself to do something for myself.
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featured member
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I started off with two evening crash courses which put me on track with current trends in photography. This was the stimulation I needed to get back into the medium. The feeling that was long forgotten returned and I have never looked back since then. Those basic courses where enough for me to resume practicing again and, before I knew it, I was producing images once again. My next step was starting a Higher National Diploma in photography, at MCAST, two years ago, and this was a whole new sphere to explore. I must say that it was not easy to sit behind the school bench again, at the age of 31,yet my determination and immense passion for the subject has totally engulfed me. The biggest transition in my work was the way I started to discern and tackle various other fields of work. The absorption of different techniques and creative thinking were crucial in my development. With the help of different assignments that we had to tackle, my experience in numerous photographic techniques has been enhanced and now I feel that, although I still have my preferred areas, I am challenged by every type of photography. Saying this I have to admit that the least satisfaction I get is from shooting landscapes as it’s too much of a clichÊ for me. Throughout the courseI feel that I have transformed into a more conceptual photographer.
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One particular assignment that has really worked out was in ‘Fashion’. Personally, even though I like to follow fashion and observe photography in this sector, it is not one of my favorites. When I received the brief, I felt a bit incapable of completing the task but once I started researching I came across a photo - an advert for Trussardi by William Wegman - where a dog was wearing a jacket and sunglasses, and it dawned on me that I can actually use animals in my fashion assignment. William Wegman was of true inspiration for me. This hint of imagination was the contribution I needed to set the ball rolling. The imagination was immense and very soon I had planned and chosen the animals for the images, what to use as fashion items and the whole concept was established. With the help of some sketches, extensive preparation, hard work and the right props, I think I managed to impress a lot of people. When I say hard work I really mean hard work. If I have to mention some instances, for example when I did the hens’ photoshoot, I had a total disaster, with broken cocktail glasses and mud all over the place! In fact I had to do that shoot twice because the first one was not of much success. I always had helpers with me and still it was an immensely challenging task. Working with dogs was also stressful as both dogs used in the shoots were of a very short attention span so it made
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the result more complex to achieve. I think the most difficult one wasthe goat. I literally spent about an hour and a half running after her to get a scarf on her. It was so cunning that although I tried to trick her with food and moving fast, it wasn’t helping at all. For me this project was successful as inventor Thomas Edison once said “Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” This unit for me turned out to be as satisfactory as much as it was troublesome.I am pleased with my resultdue to its relative uniqueness and because I did something different: something which we are not used to see. Overall I believe that in depth research, seeing other artists’ work and experimentation are the key elements to idea generation, fruitful inspiration and strong and outstanding work. Artists’ works do not have to be solely photography but any kind of art. What one absorbs will infiltrate into our creativity and,in time, these concepts will, in some way or other, resurface in our photography. I would like to close with these few words from Ernst Haas: “There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.” Let us be creative, innovative and away from all that is the norm.
Article & Images by Lorraine Abela
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OUT AND ABOUT
May Events
Since art is not only about photography, Kerstin came up with the brilliant idea of selecting a few monthly events and pointing them out to our members so that you visit these interesting exhibitions/installations/ book launches and be inspired! Enjoy!
URBEX https://www.facebook.com/events/754886097959456/ Urbex (Urban Exploration) is the fact of visiting places created by human which are henceforth abandoned, forgotten and forbidden, or at least difficult to access. Urbex linked with photography captures one last time these places by the most beautiful way. Opening on the 14th May from 19.30 till late. (the vernissage is public)
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EARTH https://www.facebook.com/events/1030539436975288/ A solo exhibition is being held of Tonio’s recent paintings at the Art....E Gallery in Victoria, Gozo and will run from 25th April to 21st May 2015. The exhibition centers on paintings of local rock formations and assimilated man made structures mainly along costal areas. These are bleak and windswept places far and away from inhabited localities that depict our Mediterranean character. Opening hours of the exhibition are: Monday - Saturday 9.30 am to 12.15 pm Sunday - 10.00 am to 12.00 pm
Cotidie – The Magic of the Everyday – Photographs by Kitty Chou https://w w w.faceb o ok.com/ events/356903244501374/ A Photography Exhibition by Hong Kong international artist Kitty Chou From 23rd May - 7th June
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PUBLIC LECTURE BY SANDRO DEBONO Date: 14th May Time: 18:30hrs This lecture shall present Caravaggio’s response to seventeenth-century Malta understood as frontier territory on the edge of Catholic Europe. The arguments presented, and the evidence in support of these, shall underpin Malta’s role as an outpost of Catholic Europe and how this may have inspired, influence or guided Caravaggio’s response through his artworks. It shall also review Caravaggio’s two works within the Oratory of the Beheading on the basis of the political context of the Mediterranean frontier. Sandro Debono is Heritage Malta’s Senior Curator at the National Museum of Fine Arts. Sandro has held various management posts in Maltese cultural heritage agencies and institutions. He is a regular lecturer in Maltese and foreign institutions and has published extensively on art, culture heritage and museums related subjects. His exhibition projects include the, ‘Mattia Preti - Faith and Humanity’, President’s Palace, Valletta (May to July 2013), previously co-curated at Museo Civico di Taverna (February to April 2013). Seating is on a first come first served basis and subject to capacity. You are kindly requested to be seated by 18:15 Hrs.
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FRAGMENTS https://w w w.faceb o ok.com/ events/261034524066867/ Location: St James Cavalier Terrace Hall Opening: Friday 22nd May 2015 Runs till: Monday 15th June 2015 The exhibition presents the work of three Art undergraduate students: Brendan Buttigieg, Julia Grech and Matthew Schembri, in their final year at the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta. The chosen theme – Frammenti / Fragments – reflects the differences between the artists themselves and their artistic work. If we observe ourselves and our surroundings, we soon realise that everything could be interpreted as made of many fragments which are combined together. Our emotional frameworks, personal and physical identities, our urban and natural surroundings, our social behaviour and relationship with contemporary technologies and networks: all of these fragments make up our complex lives in the twenty-first century. Individuals distinguish between one fragment and another and give priority to some of them. This theme has been dealt with throughout the history of art, literature and philosophy, and the three young artists have carried out research about these diverse fields that led each one of them to produce their own personal work, making use of a variety of media and technical processes.
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Getting your Qualification Right! Therese Debono Therese Debono got her Associateship Qualification in 2011 but not after a few struggles. Join her for this informative and inspiring talk about the preparation of qualifitions! (Talk is open for everyone not only those interested in sitting for the qualifications).
She promises to keep it fun! 5th May - Le Meridien - 19:30hrs
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CALENDAR 5th May Member’s Image Assessment 19:30hrs, Le Meridien
12th May International Online Comp Judging 19:30hrs, Le Meridien
19th May Marketing Fine Art Photography by Joseph Simon Gauci. 19:30hrs, SO Gallerie
25th May Walkthrough with Artist Kitty Chou 19:30hrs, Natural History Museum
4th June Doing it Underwater 19:30hrs, Atlam Sub Aqua Club
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STUDIO FLASH UNITS AVAILABLE FOR RENTING This set of electronic studio flash units has been kindly donated to the MIPP by PHOTOIMAGES (photoimages@maltanet.net ) of Laurent Ropa Street, Birkirkara, who are now under the management of Matthew Briffa. Photoimages are the distributors of Interfit lighting and a host of other accessories useful for both the hobbyist and the professional photographer. To further increase the service we give to MIPP members, we are happy to announce that the MIPP is now in possession of an INTERFIT EX150 MK.3 KIT. The MIPP intends to rent out these lights to members at a very nominal fee, thus members who could hitherto not afford to practice studio photography, because of lack of studio lighting equipment, will now have an opportunity to do so. This adds another tangible benefit to our members, and I would also like to remind members that there is also the possibility of being loaned picture frames from the MIPP for exhibition purposes. Those who are interested to rent out the lights are to contact Sergio Morana on sergio.morana@gmail.com.
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MEMBERS’ GALLERY
Above: Moving Ab M i Ballerina B ll i bby JJohann h D Debono b
Above: b Dance by b George Abdilla bd ll
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Photographer of the Year Award 2nd Round
Above: b Fire by b Romana Wyllie ll
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