Joe Smith

If you had to choose a favourite photo from your portfolio, which would it be?

I have a good number of favourite images, but somehow I keep returning to this one I took of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai. I love shooting architecture for its dynamic lines, grace and the opportunities it provides for abstraction.

Was it a planned photo?

It wasn’t really planned like this. While on a trip to Dubai with a group of photographers, our hosts took us to see the Burj Al Arab. We had all seen photos of this masterpiece, but being so close to it is a totally different experience.

How did you control all the elements in the photo to achieve the desired result?

The clouds in the blue sky were a bonus and I could immediately pre-visualise this image in monochrome. The soft late afternoon light was also an important element in the final rendition of the image as it picked out the details nicely.

What made you push the shutter release?

The Burj Al Arab is one of the most photographed landmarks in Dubai and all the photos I have seen of it show the building in its entirety.

I thrive on the challenge of being different and this was no exception. After all, the reason why I’m a photographer is because the medium challenges me to see differently.

As I looked up at the building and fixed my gaze on the very top of the antenna, I immediately saw the picture. The top of the antenna scraping against the background of the dark blue sky and wispy clouds was telling me something.

Why is it your favourite photo?

I believe that this photo says a lot about what photography should be all about: the economy of design, the process of selection, saying more with less, and combining the relevant elements into an aesthetic whole. The monochrome treatment further adds to this stripping down of the image to its bare essentials.

If you had to add a caption to it, what would it say?

The caption would read Heavenly Sketches.

---

Therese Debono

If you had to choose a favourite photo from your portfolio, which would it be?

I have quite a few favourites. More often than not, my last photo is always a favourite – however looking through my portfolio confirmed that my favourite photo at the moment is of a newsstand vendor which I shot on a recent trip to New York.

Was it a planned photo?

I love street photography. It puts me in a world of my own – it’s about observing people around you and being able to frame and snap a situation happening right in front of you without the luxury of a retake.

This particular photo was not planned. I was with a friend buying something and I was just waiting for her a few steps back.

As soon as my friend paid and walked off to join the others, I saw the scene happening. So I put my camera in front of me and when I did so, the vendor simply smiled and I shot the photo. I did not lock eyes with him prior the shot – it just happened and I was there to shoot it.

How did you control all the elements in the photo to achieve the desired result?

New York is a busy streetscape – people walk in front of you and you can’t exactly tell them to stop because you want to take a photo.

But sometimes the world stands still and you get a split second with no cars or people passing by. This was one of those moments, but I had to be quick. I’m comfortable with my camera and had no settings issue – I just composed, framed and shot.

What made you push the shutter release?

I liked the whole composition of it, with all the vendor’s stuff neatly ordered. Despite the variety of products, he had nothing out of place. When I saw the vendor smile while I was framing through the viewfinder, I wanted to immortalise the scene.

Why is it your favourite photo?

I’m not a technical photographer, so I go with feelings. This photo in particular gave me a feeling even before I shot it. It’s the fact that I saw it and that I wanted it to be a photo that makes it a favourite.

If you had to add a caption to it, what would it say?

This photo was one of five images I exhibited at St James Cavalier, Valletta, in an exhibition called Private Art.

For this exhibition, 10 photographers exhibited their work on their interpretation of street photography.

This exhibition explored the borderline between privacy and public. My set of images was called City Life.

---

Kris Micallef

If you had to choose a favourite photo from your portfolio, which would it be?

Black and white photography is one of my favourite ways of expressing my ideas. I also love underwater photography. This photo of male model Macram (SO Management) diving into a pool combines the two and is one of my personal favourites so far.

Was it a planned photo?

The idea was planned but the outcome was not. I was surprised that I had managed to capture something that we cannot see with the human eye.

How did you control all the elements in the photo to achieve the desired result?

The environment was ideal. The water was very clear and visibility was perfect. Macram is also an excellent model, even underwater, so there weren’t any elements acting negatively on this shoot.

On the other hand, there was a lot of planning to do beforehand, such as choosing the desired location, models, time of day and other factors that helped in the making of this photograph.

I could have done this in open water – however there would have been several other considerations to take into account such as visibility, water currents and weather which are far more difficult to control. A pool offers a more confined and controlled environment.

What made you push the shutter release?

My idea was to capture something which we cannot really see. The camera is capable of freezing a moment – I pressed the shutter release at the planned moment so that the image could explain and showcase the movement created underwater when a person dives into a pool of water.

Why is it your favourite photo?

What makes this one of my favourite photos is that I have this unique moment frozen in time for everyone to appreciate.

If you had to add a caption to it, what would it say?

This photo is all about freezing an action into one frame – I would caption it Freeze Frame.