The official MIPP Newsletter€¦ · Yes, I love concepts and, as an example and to illustrate my opinion, I mention works by Maltese photographer Alex Attard. His interpretation

2018MAY | JUNE

ISSUE 76The officialMIPP Newsletter

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2 | The official MIPP Newsletter

President’s Viewpoint

CLASSIC vs CONTEMPORARY

With all due respect to all ‘real’ conceptual and contemporary artists, I have had enough of most of these ‘contemporary conceptual’ projects disguised as high or fine art…

Yes, I love concepts and, as an example and to illustrate my opinion, I mention works by Maltese photographer Alex Attard. His interpretation of the Falzon petrol station (totally unlike the snapshots done by the celebrated Edward Rusha!) and Alex’s fantastic exhibition on the Renzo Piano project; when it was still a skeleton. Both these examples contained CONCEPT, AESTHETICS, STUDIED LIGHTING, COMPOSITIONAL SENSE, TECHNIQUE, DESIGN and PRESENTATION… and much more. In my opinion, that is what art is about and not what we are currently presented with in an ever increasing number of pitiful cases.

Let me throw another thread…. In a world so full of trouble, stress, problems and injustice, why is BEAUTIFUL visual art being given the cold shoulder by most of the academics and many ‘artists’… is it because they do not know how to produce it??? Is it because most armchair critics and academics cannot produce any valid art themselves and devaluate classical and realistic genres of art because they have a strong voice or a say in art circles? How much of today’s contemporary art gives you a fraction of the emotions and feelings that the Pre-Raphaelites, Caravaggio, Raffaello, Dali did? Or the like of photographers such as Helmut Newton, Christophe Gilbert, Herb Ritts, Cartier Bresson, Ansel Adams or Guy Bourdain? Not only that, but the work of such artists remains very valid and continues to provoke feelings, debate and emotions…

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If you want your photos featured on the newsletter’s front page just send the images to: [email protected] Your contributions are always welcome

Editor:Kevin Casha

Design:Sita Azzopardi

Articles:Various contributors

Proof Reading:Louisa Tonna

In our Academic institutions, one is often even looked down upon and discouraged if one has a tendency towards being a conventional artist who tries to combine the afore mentioned artistic values! It needs to be a brave person to go against the flow and attempt to counter this situation. Naturally, one cannot generalize – as all art is subjective and depends also on the conditioning of the viewer… and thankfully there are some beacons of hope such as the conceptual art of Ai Wei Wei and others.

Yet I fear that the way the word “art” is being abused of is not going to leave future generations with so much to admire and be inspired. I do hope we can have a resurgence of ‘Beautiful Art’. Kevin Casha

Kevin Casha

President MIPP

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Contents

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pg 28/29

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MIPP ANNUAL REPORT 2017

DUNCAN CAUCHI- New FMIPP Qualified Member

Photography vs Photoshop by TOM LEE

Collaboration with the Gozo Photography Group

CHARLES CALLEJA by Daniel Vassallo

The MIPP Still Image Award behind the scenes

Floriana Photowalk

DELICATA Winery visit

MIPP benefits of being a member

MIPP Calendar

Membership renewal and newcomers

MIPP Sponsors


MIPP ANNUAL REPORT 2017/201823 JANUARY 2018

The 21st year of the MIPP saw many changes finally coming to fruition which, for some time, had previously been in the pipeline.

The Qualifications structure was altered and now accepts LMIPP panels in digital format. This decision was resisted in the past however nowadays that we are living in a digital era and submitting most of our work digitally, the MIPP committee adapted to the changing situation. Furthermore, the Qualifications were also held twice this year, one in July, with 3 successful L panels and a successful A panel and another session in November, where we had a successful panel at each level.

Reciprocal Qualifications were also revised and now, instead of an automatic reciprocal qualification with the Societies alone, the committee decided to accept applications for reciprocal from the PSA, BIPP, MPA, RPS, QEP and the Societies. This has been implemented since the MIPP qualifications structure is based on similar criteria with the mentioned organisations and we have many times used qualified members from these organisations to judge our panels. As one can understand, we have a limited pool of judges and thus we hope this move will help.We have also approached the ideas of conducting photo walks which are proving to be successful. Each organised photo walk has been given a theme and is not just a shooting opportunity but an opportunity to learn. Themes in the pipeline include also astrophotography.

World Photography Day was held at Hilltop with a talk from Kevin Casha which was transmitted live on social media in collaboration with Avantech. This was a first for both organisations.

As regards to accredited courses, the MIPP has now two more approved Level 4 courses to complement the Still Image Award (level 3). These courses have been approved by the NCFHE. The Still Image Award continues to be held at least once every year whilst one of the Level 4 courses has also been launched.

The NCFHE is imposing an audit for all organisations running courses. The MIPP has started this process and an audit was held on the 17th November where tutors and students were interviewed by a panel from the NCFHE. We are still awaiting the outcome and suggestions from NCFHE; however we had very positive feedback from their panel. This audit is to be conducted every 5 years. Although we were at first asked to pay the audit fees (amounting to over €3000), after our appeals, this fee was waived.

The PTYA was again held this year and saw 14 contestants participate in this competition. Finally, we had 3 members who exceeded the minimum required points. The final result was indeed close.

China Photographers Association; Discussions and plans for an exhibition and exchange visit were completed however due to the elections in Malta, it was decided to hopefully plan these activities for 2018. The help of the MTA was requested to accommodate the Chinese delegation.


The international convention was not organised as in previous years. This year saw the introduction of several specified one-day workshops as replacement to the Convention. This seems to have been well received and plans are to continue with a similar structure for 2018.

Our 3 Sponsors, namely iLab, Intervisions and Avantech had all renewed their support to the MIPP. Hilltop Gardens and Continental Cars have also helped the MIPP in various ways.

The suggested 3-year membership fee was positively accepted with many members choosing to opt for this. This scheme helped us to supplement our accounts due to the expenses incurred with the new premises.

A new structured website is now up and running. This is being updated and maintained by a Committee member and a qualified external delegated person.

Le Meridien arrangements had to be revised and the hotel, which is now under new management, has increased prices and has removed some of our benefits. Thus meetings here have been scaled down. Through our President, we are however in good contact with Hilltop Gardens, where we can still make use of their facilities.

Of course, this brings up the issue of the new MIPP premises. Kevin Casha has been running after authorities for countless years, with promises of aid from the government in such respect never materialising and vanishing in thin air. Thus another avenue had to be pursued. The fact that over the past 20 years we had painstakingly gathered a substantial amount of money with the intention of purchasing our own humble premises, at last enabled this dream to materialise.

As one can understand, the premises took up a lot of energy and resources to be sourced out, negotiated on, permits issued and finalised as you now see it. As one can understand, purchasing this premises had many more implications than purchasing a domestic apartment, with MEPA applications and other legal problems we encountered. Many thanks goto all the helpers outside the committee with a special mention to Elton Barbara who did all the plumbing and electricity plus donated the materials for it, to Martin Agius, Sita Azzopardi and Keith Ellul for their constant presence and manual help during this process. However, I believe we owe this great step to the persistence and sheer hard work of our President who had believed and worked towards this end from day one of the MIPP’s inception.

As from January 2018, the MIPP premises will be open every Tuesday for members, where talks, films and informal meetings will be organised. Of course, the idea is to have members socialise, and coffee and water will be supplied for free. This will be kept up if we see that members are participating in these meetings.

Also, the premises is for all MIPP members and should one wish to hire the venue as a studio or conduct any lecture on a personal basis, one is to contact the committee where this may be arranged.

Looking forward to a successful 2018 with the MIPP.

Charles CallejaHon. Secretary General


PHOTOGRAPHY BY DUNCAN CAUCHI FMIPP - Panel

DUNCAN CAUCHI FMIPP

A recent addition to our Fellows is Duncan Cauchi. He recently gained his Fellowship with the Societies of Great Britain. The panel was named THE MALTESE ISLANDS IN LONG EXPOSURE and not only gained him this coveted Qualification, but also served as a pictorial promotion of our island’s coast. His panel was unanimously approved by 5 international judges during a recent international convention in London. Duncan’s panel was subsequently awarded the MIPP’s Reciprocal Qualification at the same level. Congratulations Duncan!

The following is Duncan’s statement of intent: “Throughout the course of my life I have always been enthralled with the beauty and vastness of nature as I always felt serene while in the presence of a beautiful landscape. In the process of photographing such locations I end up disconnected from the fast-moving, tech-driven lifestyle I normally lead.

The journey throughout this panel took me to various grand locations around the world but finally I arrived to the conclusion that it was a far greater challenge to produce a panel that depicts the Maltese Islands and in the process debunk the myth that it is not possible to shoot great seascapes or landscapes in Malta.

The Maltese archipelago consists of 122square miles, 40% of which is covered with buildings and architecture and its population is of 440,000 people. All this makes it more difficult to find remote or overlooked places, in which one can photograph an interesting seascape in a unique way.

My main challenge in this project was how I could capture what I visualised in my mind without producing an ordinary tourist image. It took me more than five years to develop and improve this long exposure technique, where I managed to succeed in taking exposures which range from two to fifteen minutes depending on the weather and cloud conditions. This ultimately contributed to the dreamscape and artistic feel of the image which when combined with the monochrome processing and soft cotton printing, it really brought out what I envisioned for this panel.

This proved to be a very interesting challenge but rewarding nonetheless. I would like to invite the viewers to enjoy and appreciate my take on the Maltese seascapes in long exposure.”


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Joseph Lungaro (centre) being presented with the MIPP Photographer of the Year trophy and the Ilab sponsorship by Stefan Aquilina.


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Photography vs Photoshop

I didn’t understand! Can you remember the joy of learning how to use your camera? You didn’t rely on someone else to change the settings, look through the viewfinder to compose and finally press the shutter, did you? You learned how to do it for yourself, understood what you were doing and were able to replicate the result time after time. Post production should be thought of in a similar fashion. Don’t let someone else do it for you, learn how to use Photoshop, Lightroom or other applications from the ground up. All these fancy plug-ins are just costing you money. Whilst they may save you some time they will take your soul.

How many of you wedding photographers are finding it hard to get work these days? Plug-ins, software, instant apps and one click effects are for the masses and not the artist. The public can no longer discern the difference between what they can do on their phone and what some professionals are providing. Become Michelangelo not Homer Simpson.

Plan your work, it doesn’t always work out the way you wanted, but it’s a voyage of creative discovery. Make sketches (lots of them) to pre-visualise. You will learn from mistakes - not your successes, and certainly not from a plug-in that does everything for you!

The images created for my ‘Illusions of Reality’ exhibition, are first and foremost, photographs. Effects and layering was done entirely in Photoshop

from the ground up – not a third party filter in sight. Printing is being done by an artisan of print reproduction using 16bit image files to maintain quality. Come and see for yourself at Continental Cars on Princess Margaret Street, Malta between 28th April and 25th May.

Tom Lee

There seems to be a current trend in photography circles, to hunt out the latest plug-in or wonder-fix for Photoshop. There are a plethora of one click fixes available, many being shoved down our throats via Facebook - (other social media feeds are available!).

The advertisers would have you believe that their product is something you can’t do without, is better than anything else out there, or a ‘game changer’…… and it will only cost you £$£$ - or the entire collection for just $$$ (formerly $$$$$$$). It’s a con that everybody seems to be playing.

As a group of artistic individuals we seem to have lost sight of the fact that photography is something you do creatively with a camera either in a studio or on location, not on a computer! This is the realm of post-production and if you need to rely on someone else’s ‘paid for wonder fix’, to make acceptable images from your creations, then I’m afraid there’s not much hope for you.

Don’t get me wrong, plug-ins have their place and can be pretty useful (I have been known to use them myself), but I wouldn’t dream of using something

by Tom Lee



Collaboration with the Gozo Photography Group

In continuation with the MIPP’s collaboration with the Gozo Photography Group, MIPP President Kevin Casha recently conducted a workshop on fashion and model photography at Gozo. The workshop consisted of an entire morning of hands-on tips and practice with models Francesca Camilleri and Morena Farrugia in attendance.


Charles Calleja start gaining experience. At that time, photography was less accessible to people as the margin of error was much less and only those who were skilled enough could take on such jobs.

At that time, colour photography was still in its infancy and Charles was one of the first few people who started developing colour films on the island. His uncle had excellent business traits and Charles learnt a lot from him even though he admits that, personally, he is not business oriented. Yet, along the years, he learnt to sell himself rather than a product. Clients must feel confident that the photographer is reliable and will deliver. He is very proud to have had several repeat customers and second generation weddings. After all, satisfied customers are the best advertising.When Charles was 18, he left his uncle and went to work with Vince Bellizzi. With Vince, Charles focused more on weddings. In his first year with the Bellizzi Photo Studio, Charles did over 180 weddings! On occasions he had 2 weddings in a day and 4 to 5 weddings per week. He used to carry 4 films of 36 photos each. The fourth film was the spare film; it remained unused most of the time. The success rate

When Charles was still a teenager in the early seventies, his father, a carpenter, would have liked him to take up the same profession. Charles’ uncle, John Perks, a well known commercial photographer at the time had other plans. Under the guidance of his uncle, Charles gained experience in many areas: accounting, inventory control, store keeping and most importantly photography and dark room work. He eventually became his uncle’s assistant at weddings as well as during studio sessions.

The first cameras Charles used were completely mechanical. Some of them lacked the built-in light meter. He commenced his photographic journey with a Beirette which cost him sixteen Maltese lira. The Yashica twin lens reflex was his second camera with which he captured his first wedding. It was his aunt’s wedding and it was a great opportunity for Charles to

by Daniel Vassallo


had to be very high as out of 108 exposures he used to sell from 80 to 100 images. There was a period of two weeks during which he had 14! It was a very busy period as in the past weddings were more frequent in Malta and there were less photographers available compared to now. From around 6,000 weddings per year in the seventies, the numbers went down to 2,000 weddings per year. Nowadays there is also a new element to consider. Traditional weddings are far less in percentage compared to a few decades ago. Early weddings are Charles’ favourites as the couple is less stressed, has more energy and, from his experience, they enjoy the wedding much more compared to evening weddings when the couple spends the whole day getting prepared, building up anxiety and rushing through the ceremony.

According to Charles, a photographer must understand the client’s needs which vary not only from one person to another but from one occasion to another. Communication with the client is of paramount importance as


it helps both the photographer and the client to set the standards, expectations and achieving the goals of the event.

In the film era, Charles used to sell the negatives to his clients and then they would develop them according to their needs. He carried this way of working also in the digital era. He prefers giving raw files to customers rather than editing the photos himself. Some clients prefer to edit the photos themselves and the raw file allows them to start from scratch. He doesn’t have to spend time editing the photos thus having more time to take more jobs. For a paid job he will try to spend the least amount of time on post-production and sometimes avoid it. For his own photos he will gladly spend more time editing the images.

In 1997, Charles flew to the UK at the British institute for Professional Photography where he got his qualification. He had a panel of 20 photos of himself and also another panel of 20 photos from Kevin Casha who could not attend. This was prior to the formation of the Malta Institute for Professional Photography

– MIPP. Charles is one of the founding members of the MIPP.

The Malta Institute of Professional Photography’s purpose is to raise the quality and the education in photography to a professional level. He urges everyone to try and obtain the various qualifications offered by the MIPP. That being said, one can only learn as much as he is willing to. Thus, by joining the Institute it does not mean that one has become a professional photographer. Charles has a deep respect for the MIPP President and acknowledges that if it was not for Kevin, the MIPP would not exist.

In 1998, although Charles was still young, the constant commercial work exhausted him. After working for other people in various areas, he decided to focus his efforts on his personal business. Within one month, the business had become profitable and Charles was earning his living from it.

In 2004 Charles made the move and switched to digital photography. He still kept his film cameras


and he loves going out and using conventional photography from time to time. He firmly believes that film photography is the best way to start learning photography as it provides upcoming photographers not only with the basic skills but, most importantly, the discipline and the eye for detail that nowadays is so scarce and difficult to find.

Being a commercial photographer, Charles’ main intent is to make money out of photography. However he appreciates the social aspect of photography and cherishes the moments spent with his friends on Sunday mornings when they meet to shoot together. For this purpose he also created a closed group on facebook called f/22 where participants are free to post photos and comment on them with only one rule: be open for critique. One of his future projects is to start his own film photography club in which he can host some fellow photographers and develop images together in the traditional way. “There is always a part of me in every picture. You do not just snap a photo, you have to get involved in it and become part of it.”

Even though commercial photography is hardly ever artistic, Charles is adamant that the photographer

should still be proud of himself as he is creating something out of nothing.

In 2011, Charles decided to amalgamate with another firm to consolidate business. The new arrangement allowed Charles to get rid of the hassle of marketing and administration.

In 2012 MCAST introduced a Higher National Diploma in photography and Charles undertook this course. Following the Diploma, Charles decided to further his studies and gained his BA Hons. Nowadays

Charles still teaches photography at MCAST at basic and intermediate levels. He also teaches Digital Editing for photographers. Post processing nowadays is essential in digital photography.

One of Charles’ future targets is to travel more and, perhaps with time, add other genres of photography to his list of favourites.

Daniel Vassallo



2016

The MIPP Still Image Award

Some behind the scenes images during one of the workshops held recently for the students in the MIPP Still Image Award Level 3 award. These workshops are an integral part of the learning process throughout this Award and give the participants the perfect opportunity to put in practice what they learn in theory. This particular workshop was held in Vittoriosa.

behind the Scenes


FLORIANAPHOTO WALK WITH RENEÉ ATTARD:

A recent photowalk with René Attard in Floriana proved to be an eye-opener for participants. René’s knowledge of our village core areas perfectly supplemented and inspired the search for subjects by the attending members.


http://mipp-malta.com/conventions/events/mipp-events/


DELICATAWINERY VISIT

A recent workshop/cultural session was recently held at Emmanuel Delicata Winemaker in Marsa. Guided by Jonathan Falzon, the participants had time to both sample some of the best wine produced by Delicata as well as take photographs around the plant.


Continental Cars Ltd.


www.mipp-malta.com


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May JuneCALENDAR

MIPP MEMBERS’ INFORMAL MEETING:

FILM FORUM:PBS AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY 2

WHERE BLACK & WHITE FILM IS MADE - ILFORD PHOTO FACTORY

Tuesday 5th June | 19:30 MIPP, Britannia Street, Paola

ONE DAY WORKSHOP GETTING TO GRIPS WITH

LIGHTROOMby MARTIN AGIUS

by booking on [email protected]

Coffee/tea/light snack included - 50 eur for members 80 for non members

Saturday 5th May | 9:30am - 16:00pm MIPP, Britannia Street, Paola

May /2018

MIPP MEMBERS’ MEETING:

JUDGING of MIPP QUALIFICATIONS

Tuesday 26th June 19:30 MIPP, Britannia Street, Paola

MIPP MEMBERS’MEETING:

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MY WAY

by THERESE DEBONO


June /2018


FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY MY WAY

by KEITH DARMANIN

Tuesday 8th May | 19:30 MIPP, Britannia Street, Paola

May /2018


PTYA ASSESSMENTS – SESSIONS 1 & 2


May /2018

June /2018

June /2018

May /2018

Closing Date for MIPP Qualification

applications


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WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY

THE MIPP STILL IMAGE AWARD BY TONIO POLIDANO

DRINKS/FINGER FOOD TO FOLLOW DETAILS Details TBA Bookings by 16th August on

[email protected]

Tuesday 16th August | 19:30 MIPP, Britannia Street, Paola

August /2018

MIPP MEMBERS’ INFORMAL MEETING:

FILM FORUM:DISCOVER WHERE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY

CAN TAKE YOU - ABSTRACTSPHOTOGRAPHY & SCIENCE

ARTIST SERIES - WILLIAM WEGMAN


Check MIPP Facebook Pagehttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mippwall/

or visit our websitehttp://mipp-malta.com/conventions/events/mipp-events/

For more updates and schedules.

July AugustCALENDAR

MIPP MEMBERS’MEETING:

THE ROLE OF A MEDIA SPORTS PHOTO-REPORTER

BY DOMENIC AQUILINA

Tuesday 3rd July | 19:30 MIPP, Britannia Street, Paola

July /2018

July /2018

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Non-Profit organizations like the Malta Institute of Professional Photography are constantly in need of funds in order to be able to function in a modern and professional environment. That is why it is important to have various sponsors interested in networking with the MIPP and at the same time involving them in important

issues concerning the photographic trade.

The MIPP feels it is vital to stimulate joint events and initiatives together with our sponsors. This policy helps our members to be constantly aware of products and services that our sponsors market thus not only encouraging an increase in business but also benefitting our members through special occasional offers and

deals.

This co-operation and belief by our sponsors, most of who have been with us since the MIPP’s inception, has helped in no small way in making the Institute what it is today. It is one of the MIPP’s main objectives to help

keep this co-operation improving. We urge our members to truly support our sponsors by making use of their services and products whenever possible.

The main sponsors of MIPP are AVANTECH (CANON); ILAB Photo and INTERVISIONS (PHOTO INK).

Our sponsors show faith in the MIPP so it is only fair that our members should reciprocate. Give your custom to the companies and entities who help us.

THE MIPP SPONSORS


CONTACTS

2018 MAY/ JUNE

Web:www.mipp-malta.com

Email:[email protected]

Address:27, Moonlight, Giovanni Papaffy Street,Ta’ Paris, Birkirkara,BKR 4021,Malta

Address:MIPP, 76 Britannia Street, Paola

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Documents

The official MIPP Newsletter€¦ · Yes, I love concepts and, as an example and to illustrate my opinion, I mention works by Maltese photographer Alex Attard. His interpretation