The Way of the Light

The Cloisters, New York City

"There are two kinds of light - the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures. " James Thurber

It has been some time since I went to The Cloisters now but I can still remember it vividly as if I went yesterday. Now that doesn't happen often to me. The place has to be truly exceptional for me to remember something in such detail.

This room we see in the photography was superb, not only in matters of decoration but also the texture of the stone and the way the light was hitting everything. The room was somewhat dark but a lot of light was entering through the two windows in the photograph. It was creating dramatic shadows and contrasts. 

There was something else that caught my eye, or rather my ear but unfortunately you can't see it in the photograph. The acoustics were exceptional. Even if you whisper you could be heard.

The Cloisters is a place that a lot of tourists miss when visiting New York City and I want to be honest if I wasn't with a local I would have never found it. It's fascinating that even though it's in New York City once you get there you'd feel like you are in some enchanted forest.

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

Tempestous Sea

Kalkara, Malta

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

This is probably one of the nicest beaches in Malta, but at the same time it feels wrong calling it a beach. Even the midst of a summer heatwave, if you go to this beach you will find it empty. So why do people avoid crystal clear waters?

This particular water area, which is found in Kalkara, Malta in an area called "Wied Ghammieq" claimed more lives than any other beach. The under water currents are too strong and even if you are the best swimmer you will still find difficulty to swim to the shore.

But as they say one man's trash is another man's treasure. In this case, the happy men are fishermen. It's the perfect spot to fish. No people scaring the fish away. They say that fishing is relaxing and I am sure that fishing in this spot, where you'd feel like you are a hundred miles away from humanity is relaxing to even the most hectic people I know.

This photograph was shot today. We have been having storms for a few days now so once the sky started to clear  I went down to the beach and snapped some photographs. Shortly after I was done, the sky turned dark again and it started raining. 

The photograph was shot using my cheap compact camera. Color processing was done using Adobe PS CS4.

Lonely Road

Zabbar, Malta

"Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose." Tom Krause

I am glad I took a photograph of this road when I did. Recently they have started major road works on it and I have a feeling that it's not going to look  the same again.

Since I was a child I have always loved passing through here. My father always complained that the road is so bad that it breaks the car. Now that I am older and I am driving I totally understand what he meant. There are potholes of unimaginable sizes. But I have always felt that it was bursting with character. Even though it was not really in the middle of nowhere, you always felt like you are on unbound territory.

I am happy that finally we can drive through this quarter of a mile without worrying about potholes but I am also disappointed that the way they are reconstructing the street it will not longer pack any character.

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 Inga 1969/Lucifer IV

Smoke in the City

New York City

"As a remedy to life in society I would suggest the big city. Nowadays, it is the only desert within our means." Albert Camus

This photograph was shot somewhere in downtown Manhattan on the East Side. I can't really remember exactly where.

When I first saw those smoke emitting devices in Manhattan I could not understand why and how they work. I still don't know nowadays but deep in the abyss of my mind they are more acceptable than they were before. 

In real life it might not look pretty, but it sure does bring out more character in a photograph. Apart from that, we can also see some pedestrians, probably on their way to work. 

What's nice about this photograph is that even though it was shot in Manhattan (which is synonymous with busyness) it looks very serene and quiet. 

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

Elements

Valletta, Malta

"Blue, green, grey, white, or black; smooth, ruffled, or mountainous; that ocean is not silent." H.P. Lovecraft

A few days ago I posted a photograph entitled Past and Present which was shot at the Valletta Waterfront. The photograph today is also shot at the Valletta Waterfront but this time it's from the other side. 

The white tents are all tents for outdoor eating at various different restaurants. You could say you are basically eating on top of the ocean. I believe this is as close as you can get to eating by the ocean.

A few steps down, you can find the main harbor, where cruise ships come in. There was one when I took this photograph but since I was not carrying my DSLR I couldn't really bring it in the photography too (not much control) so I had to settled to two different pictures...one of this and one of the ship. 

The ocean you see here is part of the Mediterranean Ocean and the architecture has been there for several hundred years. I like the idea of mixing old with new and this project turned out to be excellent. It's one of my favorite places to visit while in Malta.

This photograph was shot using my iPhone. No app was used, just the iPhone's normal camera.

Melancholy

A Hallway, Malta

"A commencement is a time of joy. It is also a time of melancholy. But then again, so is life." Peter Tsongas

Everytime I look at this picture I can't help but feel a certain degree of sadness. The empty wall at the back, the three empty chairs, the off-center table and the fake plastic flowers vase all contribute to create a rather melancholic environment.

It's like someone has been waiting for someone and they never showed up. The room is always kept top notch in case that someone, someday decides to show up but for now they are still waiting. Even the room is not empty it still gives me the much dreaded feeling of the void.

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

Ascending

Fireworks Display, New York City

"Celebrate what you want to see more of." Thomas J.Peters

Today I am posting another picture in color and the second one in the Fireworks series. This picture, like the other picture was shot at Central Park for the New Year's Eve celebration.

I was just photographing fireworks as they come up and was not paying much attention to how they were turning out. When later, at home, I was looking at the pictures on my computer I realized that this one was my favorite fireworks picture.

It's very gradual - big to small, and brightest to darkest. I love abstract art and personally I think that fireworks on a perfect black night can be a pretty good example. All that bright color against the black canvas (the sky.)

As I said on the other fireworks picture, no you don't need to carry professional DSLRs to take perfect fireworks pictures. A semi-decent compact camera will do the job just fine.

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!