Past and Present

Valletta Waterfront, Malta

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing" Helen Keller

A few years ago this place was out of bounds for pedestrians. It was neglected and a dangerous place. None of us bothered to go and we had no reason to either.

Today it's one of the most beautiful places in Malta. The buildings you see used to be stores during the Knights of St.John period. They are restored to high quality and turned into restaurants and bars. What once used to be the most deserted area in Malta is now the most frequented place for lunches and dinners. 

Looking on the other side, the view is impeccable (will post a picture soon) and you can see the ocean and the Three Cities. Sometimes, since Valletta has the main harbor, you will spot a gigantic cruise ship coming in and you would be thinking 'wow this ship is as big as this street.' That is true, this street is small but it packs a lot of heart and character. If you are a foodist, this is the place to be at to try different things.

This black and white photograph was captured on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app. Some minor editing was done in PS CS4. Settings for Hipstamatic were BlacKeys B&W/Lucifer IV

Porte des Bombes

Porte des Bombes, Floriana, Malta

"A distant enemy is always preferable to one at the gate." Emile M.Cioran

This gate, which is situated right in the center of a main street is one of the main landmarks in Malta. Porte des Bombes (which literally means door to bombs) is nowadays an ornamental gate, but in the past it formed part of the outer defensive walls of Valletta. 

It was constructed in Baroque style between 1697 and 1720 during the reign of Fra Ramon Perellos who was the 64th Grandmaster of the Knights of Malta. During the 19th century, the British government dramatically altered the original design of the gate by adding a second archway to accommodate increasingly heavy traffic in the Grand Harbor area. A marble plaque was affixed to the newer arch, with the following inscription: "Ad majorem popoli accomodatum".

I originally wanted to stand right in the center but it's too dangerous as there is only a very narrow central strip that you can stand on. So I had to settle for a side picture which actually brought out the texture of the gate even more.

This black and white photograph was captured on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app. Some minor editing was done in PS CS4. Settings for Hipstamatic were BlacKeys B&W/Lucifer IV

Mind Explosion

Fireworks Display

"I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks, but for the ledger of our daily work." Neil Armstrong

Wow a picture in color today! Some of my followers asked me to post something in color and here I am hearing them. I have a series of fireworks photos that were shot in New York City for New Year's Eve last year.

It was the first time I went to Central Park to view the fireworks display and I was amazed, not only because the show was perfect but also because we found a perfect spot by the lake that wasn't full of crazy, idiotic drunk people! The fireworks display lasted for about 25 minutes and the weather was perfect. No wind at all!

I love the colors in this one and the fact that it looks like a lot of strings were tied together and thrown into the air. Fireworks can really teach you have to appreciate beauty, the kind of beauty that comes and goes very fast so you have to be prepared to gather as much of it as possible.

This picture was not shot using my iPhone. It was shot using a very cheap compact camera that did a terrific job! Yeah you don't need to carry endless equipment with you to take picture of fireworks!

Let's Play Music

FOA Schwarz, New York City

"All I need is a big surfboard and a piano." Dennis Wilson

Do you remember the 1988 movie starring Tom Hanks called Big? If you do remember it, do you remember the scene where Tom Hanks stepped on a huge piano and starting running on it to play it?

This piano I have in the picture is that very same piano. It is now in a special room at FOA Schwarz in New York City. FOA is an enormous toy store and it's every child's dream come true. The first time I went to this shop and came across the piano I just had to ask whether it was the real thing or not. I instantly remembered the scene from Big. 

A couple years ago FOA Schwarz also started selling replicas of the piano for those die-hard fans of the movie or for those who have money to burn and decorate their house with one them.

While taking a picture of the piano is not difficult at all, taking pictures with children running on it is. As soon as a child steps on it they go berserk especially the very young ones who can't make the connection between walking, and while walking they are also making noise.

Here I managed to get a picture the way I wanted it. Something that shows movement but yet is static. You can see two kids walking and a parent supervising them in the background.

This black and white photograph was captured on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app. Some minor editing was done in PS CS4. Settings for Hipstamatic were BlacKeys B&W/Lucifer IV

Simplicity

Valletta, Malta

"The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave." Thomas Jefferson

Today I am uploading a picture with nothing much to say about. I am keeping things simple for today. 

Basically what we are seeing here is a partial view of the capital city of Malta, Valletta. I took the picture from Senglea at the Gardjola Garden. Senglea is right opposite of Valletta and the views are impeccable. 

It had just stopped raining and the clouds were clearing up but I got the picture right on time before they all disappeared into nothingness. 

That opening between the edge of the city and the picture frame is where the cruise liners come in. We only have one main harbor in Malta and it's in Valletta.

This black and white photograph was captured on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app. Some minor editing was done in PS CS4. Settings for Hipstamatic were BlacKeys B&W/Lucifer IV

Falling Up

Senglea, Malta

"The most dangerous untruths are truths slightly distorted." Georg C. Lichtenberg

Today I am posting a picture that is similar to one I posted previously - Higher - with the difference being that this time we have the town of Senglea in perspective.

Senglea, like Vittoriosa is one of the Three Cities which are found in the southern part of Malta. It's a very small town with only four long major streets. But while it's a fairly small town, the town church is decently sized.

In this church, one could find a very famous statue of Jesus the Redeemer. There are several myths surrounding this statue and a lot of people believe that miracles come true when you pray in front of it. To show their devotion, literally half of Malta goes to Senglea once a year to march behind this statue. You can find people walking barefoot, others walking on their knees and some even walking in small sized shoes as a way to sacrifice themselves for a miracle that happened to them.

Anyway back to the dome. This one is more complex and in my opinion more beautiful that the one in Vittoriosa. It can look a little chaotic but when you closely you can see that everything is in its right place and everything leads to something else. For example take the columns between the windows, follow the way up and they lead you to those lines and the lines lead you towards the inner circle.

Something that always mystified me is the inner circle. When you look at it you can see a triangle that strangely enough looks like the Illuminati triangle.

This black and white photograph was captured on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app. Some minor editing was done in PS CS4. Settings for Hipstamatic were BlacKeys B&W/Lucifer IV

Entities

Paola, Malta

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." Plato

Am I the only one that thinks that this picture is most appropriate for Halloween? No it's not a haunted house. It's a church, the biggest church in Malta. It can be found in the town called Paola which is in the southern part of Malta.

What I love about this church is that if you look at it from a distance it looks like a space center. There is a series of smaller silver domes that make it interesting and worth looking at. Another thing that I have always wondered about is how many children can be fed even a structure like this was sold?

Anyway the interior of the church is pretty simple...it's somewhat modern and the interior doesn't compliment the exterior at all. 

The two rows of buildings that are visible in the picture are residential houses. Can you imagine living that close to a church with those huge bells jingling every hour even during the night?

This black and white photograph was captured on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app. Some minor editing was done in PS CS4. Settings for Hipstamatic were BlacKeys B&W/Lucifer IV