“Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again,” says Henri Cartier-Bresson.

That’s exactly what photographers Stephen Buhagiar and Roderick Vella are doing with their Facebook page ‘The People of Malta’.

Inspired by the iconic ‘People of New York’, the photographers’ page shows people from all walks of life who are permanently featured, showcasing their personality and habits for future generations.

The album is an artistic work where one can share emotions, stories, personalities, moods and contrasts depicted in pictures and citations.

“Searching for such individuals will give you an in-depth feeling of humanity and artistic sensation,” they say.

Pawlu tar-Rabat. Right: Fredu ta’ Ġulinu.

Besides the artistic perspective, the project is also an anthropological analysis.

Alongside each portrait the authors have included quotes and short stories by the photographed people.

“It is incredibly fascinating the way people interact with you and the amount of information one can get out of them,” they say.

“Some people move away when they see a camera, others are shy or sceptic and refuse to collaborate, while there are those people who are approachable and responsive.

The People of Malta is an innovative source of information that by time will evolve in an online social networking encyclopaedia of the Maltese people and their way of living.

www.facebook.com/thepeopleofmalta