I went back to work last Monday as planned and had some better days, and some worse. The heat hasn’t been helping at all – upon coming home I usually find the nearest horizontal area and collapse in a steaming heap, with nothing further from my mind than blogging about the photography course!
Well, a week ago today we met up late afternoon for a change, and the photo shoot took place at sunset. At first I was a bit miffed when I’d read about the chosen location – Dwejra. I’ve been down there so many times that I should be made a honorary something of Dwejra!! But I hadn’t known that it would be a sunset shoot much different to the ones I’d undertaken before. I loved it – except for the mosquitoes that attacked us like kamikaze bombers…
Model: Francesca Caruana
Our tutor, Kevin Casha, took photos with lighting… While I’m happy with my silhouettes, his pics make me green with envy!!
Posted on July 16, 2010 - 8:24 pm. Add a comment
I’m not kidding when I say that this chronic headache of mine just barely lets me get through a day of work. The first half isn’t all too bad, but afternoons are a killer. And only because I feel reasonable at the time I leave home for work, did I load my photo gear into the car boot. I didn’t really expect to use it, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt. So when I was done for the day and steered the car out of the hotel grounds, I had about 150 metres to consider whether to turn right – home – or left – towards Dwejra. Dwejra won…
Exposure times were between 6 and 8 seconds. Not at all what I wanted, but it was simply too early in the day. Although my photo addiction won initially, I did not manage to stay longer than about half an hour before the pain got so bad that I had to pack up and leave. The strong wind didn’t really help it either!
I wonder if this is how life will continue for me. It’s freaking me out! Today I made a private appointment with a physiotherapist – and the earliest available slot was next Tuesday evening. Makes me want to cry, but this week will also pass, like all the others before…
Posted on June 1, 2010 - 8:02 pm. Add a comment
When we went to Malta a couple of weeks ago, I took these photos upon leaving Gozo. I didn’t want to add them to the post with my Malta pics; then I forgot about them and in the end things happened that reduced my computer time drastically.
So this is Mgarr Harbour, the place you’ll see first when you come to Gozo – and last, when leaving the island…
Posted on May 23, 2010 - 4:16 pm. 1 comment
Ever so slowly I’m wading through hundreds of photos I took in the past few days. The power-cut on Monday afternoon, that blacked out the entire country, certainly didn’t help matters!! Here’s a small handful of pics I took in Xlendi, when a group of jet-ski enthusiasts took advantage of the wonderful spring day. I was especially grateful for the luzzu entering the little harbour just in time to get its photo snapped. This is the favourite view of my favourite bay, by the way, when the sun reflects in millions of sparkling stars… It’s just plain beautiful!
Posted on March 24, 2010 - 6:58 pm. Add a comment
So I have one of the most expensive consumer DSLR’s money can buy. If you’re a professional Canonist, don’t read on… you might cringe. To my delight I found out that my wide-angle lens, a Tokina 12-20mm, which is considered cheap stuff, delivers really great pictures with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. It isn’t even made for a full-frame camera but specifically for a 1.6 crop sensor. The downside is that at anything less than 20mm, you get a funny porthole view like in the one on the right (which was shot at 15mm). But it’s nothing a little post-processing can’t handle. In any case, until I’ll be able to afford better glass (I will, one day!!), I’m quite happy with what I’ve got!
All photos in this post were taken on Monday in Dahlet Qorrot, a small beach and fishing spot just outside Nadur. I used no filters and, except for lens aberration correction, no other photoshop enhancements – and I’m quite pleased with the outcome! Hope you’ll like them too.
Posted on March 23, 2010 - 7:54 pm. 2 comments
(Translation: Diamond in the middle of the Mediterranean.) Taken from The Tramps’ popular song “Inti Djamant” (you are a diamond), which dates back to the seventies I think. It was a declaration of love to Gozo and is occasionally still used today in descriptions of the island…
Citadel in Victoria, Gozo
Last Wednesday I spent an hour around sunset/dusk in Victoria, trying to get a couple of nice pictures of the citadel, with the aim of illustrating one of Gozo’s medieval heritage gems for a work-related project. It was the third or forth time I went there purposely for taking photos – I really love strolling between those ancient walls! On the website of the Ministry for Gozo the citadel is described as being “… endowed by such a photogenic grace and splendour, that makes its sight unequalled not just on the Maltese Islands, but also practically anywhere.” *snickersnort* (Kathy, that’s just one of the best words ever LOL!)
Deserted alley within the walls of the Citadel in Victoria, Gozo
Apart from the fact that I couldn’t have chosen a much worse day weather-wise (very windy, and the hazy air seemed saturated with desert sand), the whole place is in such a pitiful state that I was wondering whether I should turn my venture into a photo-shoot of the bad and the ugly and send the results to the local press. That’s what I would have done a few years ago when I still erroneously believed that awareness would bring change. Well, I resisted the temptation, mainly because I badly needed that “nice photo”, and tried to concentrate on making do with what there was. Taking great care to shoot around the sorrier sights, I still didn’t succeed in taking the one shot with a “wow” effect that I was after. However, I did get a few nice pics out of it, which I’m showing in this post.
Citadel bastion in Victoria, Gozo - parked cars were bluntly photoshopped away 
The first thing you’re greeted with upon arriving are haphazardly parked vehicles that mar each and every angle that you would want to shoot. Just plain awful. As you enter Cathedral Square, the four-wheeled mess gets worse (even at that hour of the day!) and is complemented by the wind and weather-torn scaffolding that has been adorning the Cathedral for… um I don’t really know, but it’s been a long, long time. The following photo was taken on 14th March 2009:
Cathedral in Victoria, Gozo, with scaffolding in March 2009
And this one is from almost a whole year later:
Cathedral in Victoria, Gozo, with scaffolding in February 2010
The above mentioned article on www.gozo.gov.mt does say that “restoration is constantly underway especially through the help of UNESCO.” I guess ‘constantly’ is supposed to be taken literally, and the help of UNESCO will probably have to last a lifetime by the looks of it.
The Cathedral's bell tower
It’s the same at every corner you turn. Scaffoldings, rubble and construction paraphernalia, accentuated by cables and wiring criss-crossing alleyways, not to forget the huge antennas gracing the highest spots. Ah, and a special mention goes to that hideous wooden structure that provides shelter to patrons at various functions throughout the year. It’s been there for longer than the Cathedral’s shabby dress and looks a bit like John Wayne might arrive in a moment to tie his horse to it. How on earth did the permit for this thing materialise?? I just about avoided that structure intruding into this shot:
Canons on the citadel in Victoria, Gozo
People have accused me in the past for being too critical. But this is the kind of stuff that just makes me mad, I just can’t help it. Such a little island – a beautiful one at that… And yet it seems mission impossible to get it up to scratch. It’s really sad! Diamond? Ma nafx jien. Well, maybe a rough one, lacking lots of polishing…
Sentry (I think?) on the citadel in Victoria, Gozo
Posted on February 20, 2010 - 6:43 pm. 3 comments
…and what have I done? It’s tough to swallow that it’s come and gone already! Work didn’t leave me with much energy in the run-up to Christmas, to decorate our home, get presents, or to organize a get-together with the whole family. I don’t know how we managed to put up the tree last Sunday! But we did, and sitting by the lights of the tree and numerous candles, things did seem to take on calmer, brighter hues… that, and probably the fact that my vacation leave finally started last Wednesday!
Our Christmas tree, finally in place!
So many weeks, months – the whole bloody year! – passed by so quickly, it’s frightening. It’s been a very intense year, with so much going on that at times I’m wondering whether it really all happened in one year! Probably it would have been more appropriate to title this post “So this was 2009…” Continue Reading…
Posted on December 26, 2009 - 7:13 pm. Add a comment
It seems my blog is becoming a “satellite” to Discover Gozo… The destination blog of the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz is fast becoming my raison d’être on the weekends! The beauty of it is that it gives me an excuse for revelling in my favourite pastime, photography – so I’m not grumbling!
I wasn’t really grumbling either when my alarm went off at 5 am yesterday. After all, I had the opportunity to get photos that can’t be taken every day at the drop of a hat! The idea was to introduce horseback riding to the readers of Discover Gozo, and thanks to Victor Muscat – Stephanie calls him the horse whisperer of Gozo – we had an unforgettable Saturday morning! Even the weather was amazing, especially for a late November day!
It took me many hours afterwards to sort out and edit some 150 photos (mind you, many of them turned out blurred – bummer!!). And at the end of it all I put together this video. Hope you like it…
And now the weekend is over already… and what’s worse, it escaped me that today is/was the 1st Advent. Christmas is just around the corner!!
Posted on November 29, 2009 - 9:07 pm. 2 comments
I really love it when I get to be in the right place, at the right time! Just as planned, hubby and I went to Ramla Bay today, as we were both off from work. (The weather at the moment is truly fabulous!) Of course I had my camera with me, even though it was a drag on the motorbike, with backpack and camera bag. But I don’t even want to imagine how dismayed I’d have been, had I left the camera behind!! Because just as we settled on the beach, this splendid yacht entered the bay and stayed there for quite a while!
And this is my favourite shot:
Upon returning home in the afternoon I googled the yachts name, Dilbar, and found out that it is, in fact, one of the largest motor yachts in the world! Here is a link with quite a lot of detailed information about the Dilbar.
Posted on November 16, 2009 - 9:05 pm. 1 comment
So it’s over a week ago that I said “tomorrow is another day”. That’s how it goes, my life seems to be one big merry-go-round, though it isn’t exactly merry, most of the time. It just zooms by in a hurry…
Yesterday I was MOD (or ‘manager on duty’, for the non-hoteliers among you); I’ll never lie and say I enjoy these 14 hours shifts. Thankfully they come around only once every 4 to 6 weeks, so it’s safe to say I can live with them. On these days I usually lug my camera with me – you never know that opportunities might come along! After a long drawn-out day I was rewarded when the time came for the sun to set.
View from Cafe & Lounge at the Kempinski Hotel...
...and from the roof top!
A friend of mine (who also saw yesterday's sunset) said it looked almost unnatural - it did!
The church of San Lawrenz, standing guard over the village
A last peek before descending the stairs!
Getting such shots done, make it all worthwhile for me! 
Posted on - 7:37 pm. 2 comments
