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Photoblog - Marsaxlokk, Naturally Photogenic

3/10/2014

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There is no doubt Malta is a highly photogenic place, rendered more so by its plentiful sunlight, the profusion of limestone hues adorning most of its buildings plus a multitude of stunning locations. Little wonder then that Hollywood’s premier couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, commandeered the lovely inlet of Mgarr ix-Xini for a couple of months this summer, shooting what will presumably turn out to be a sensitive, low-key romantic movie.

While places like Mgarr ix-Xini have that immediate wow effect on visitors, I tend to think that other locations are equally, if not more so, authentically photogenic. I would place Marsaxlokk very high in this category.

Marsaxlokk is Malta’s primary fishing port and a no-nonsense fishing town at heart, characterised by a 500 metre waterfront where all the action seems to take place and where the town’s many facets are on show. Come here early in the morning on a weekday to get a taste of the authentic fishermen’s lives, the locals lovingly preparing their boats and mending their nets; the friendly banter of the old salts.

Marsaxlokk takes on a different mantle in the evenings, when the fishing related activity gives way to the dining scene, with a host of restaurants offering outdoor tables and – naturally - a wide selection of fish on their menus.

Marsaxlokk on Sundays is a different affair altogether – it’s the day its popular market sets up shop. The market takes up practically the entire waterfront with the fish stalls taking centre stage in the area in front of the town’s church while further out the offerings are more varied. Fresh fruit and other local produce, sweetmeats, clothing and household goods stalls; all do their best to jostle for attention and it’s difficult not to be tempted by some of the enticing aromas.

Ever present as a backdrop are the boats of course, the life and soul – and workhorses - of this village, and the one element that gives Marsaxlokk its unique ambience.  Most of them are lovingly hand-painted and the Eye of Osiris – a throwback possibly originating from Phoenician times – is present on all of them, traditionally a talisman to ward off danger at sea. Marsaxlokk does not try too hard to be beautiful – it hardly needs to. It’s a rough diamond - and this is probably what makes it so endearing. It’s also what makes it one of the top authentically photogenic places in Malta, a place where every level of photographer can get his wow shot with relative ease.

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Vibrant colours everywhere
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Fish market
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Fishing nets
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Old salt
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A lick of paint
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Reflections

The above article was originally published in the October 2014 newsletter of Chevron UK - Malta travel specialists since 1982. You may subscribe to Chevron's newsletter here
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Hamrun’s mid-summer Madness

2/8/2014

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A visit to Hamrun is hardly on anyone’s bucket list but once a year the Hamrunizi let their hair down and it’s quite an experience...


Hamrun is a largish and mostly nondescript working men’s town just a mile or so outside Valletta. By Maltese standards it is a relatively “new” town, its lavishly decorated if stylistically confused church only being completed in 1875 and the town itself only becoming a parish in 1881. Hamrun has a wide and fine shop-filled main road which is unfortunately also the main trunk road from Valletta to Rabat and Mdina and therefore choked with traffic at most times of the day. But for one day a year all the traffic disappears and Saint Joseph’s High Road becomes the largest pedestrian area in Malta as Hamrun celebrates the feast of its patron – the somewhat obscure Saint Cajetan. 
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The feast of Saint Cajetan is celebrated on the Sunday following the 7th of August (this year on the 10th). What the feast lacks in the fireworks department (there are hardly any open spaces around the town which allow for sizeable displays) it however makes up with its band marches.

The evening marches are spread out over a whole week but it’s the traditional Sunday morning march that is the real peak of merriment and boisterousness. The town’s two band clubs of St. Joseph (nicknamed Tal-Miskina) and St.Cajetan (Tat-Tamal) participate in this march and both attract a sizeable crowd of followers, loyally dressed in the clubs colours – blue and red respectively. Due to the immense rivalry between the clubs the band marches take a different route and do not meet. Both marches are also obliged to start and end at the same time – start time is normally around 11am and the marathon marches continue until 3pm, usually in blazing sunlight and temperatures hovering around the 30c mark. The clubs also have a signed agreement not to let things get out of hand and this is religiously adhered to – not least because there are hefty financial penalties relating to any departure from acceptable behaviour. 

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If this is starting to sound somewhat intimidating rest assured it isn’t. The rivalry is mostly good-natured and the opposing fans mingle, embrace and drink (and then drink some more) together. Rowdy and mischievous it does get though – the bands just love stopping in front of the rival club’s premises and playing to their heart’s content while the followers indulge in some bawdy and not too Christian chanting. Some of the clubs’ fans also wear themed fancy costumes and face-paint which add to the colour and the general carnival mood. Just don’t come in your Sunday best…

It’s truly a mad feast of colour, sweaty good fun, beer aplenty and one which every Hamruniz will tell you is unique to the islands. Trust me, I’m one. 

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This article was first published in the August 2014 issue of Il-Bizzilla - the Air Malta inflight magazine

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The Night Mqabba takes centre stage

1/8/2014

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The traditional village feasts in Malta are spread out over the summer months with rarely a week going by without a celebration somewhere or other. August sees the majority of the festi and the peak is reached on the 15th, with no less than seven towns and villages celebrating the feast of Santa Maria – the Assumption of Our Lady.

An abundance of feasts and a possible dilemma for the visitor; with such a wealth of fireworks displays to choose from one is quite spoilt for choice. But really, and especially for the first time visitor or the fireworks enthusiast, there is only one place to be on the eve of Santa Maria.

The small village of Mqabba hardly features on the tourist trail at all. Most of its buildings are sadly modern and nondescript and its surroundings are quite scarred, consisting mostly of huge stone quarries where some of Malta’s best building stone is cut and dressed. The locals like to boast they built most of Malta itself – not entirely an inaccurate claim either.

At its centre Mqabba does have the redeeming features of a traditional village; the church, some picturesque alleys, a few lovely chapels …. and ahem… two rival band clubs with their associated fireworks factories, whose main focus of competition has evolved in the creation of some of the Island’s best fireworks displays. Over recent years the rivalry has resulted in some notable feats. The Lily Fireworks Factory holds the Guinness World Record for the largest Catherine Wheel ever made, while the St. Mary Fireworks Factory has fared equally impressively, going on to win the prestigious Caput Lucis international fireworks competition in Rome in 2007.

On the 14th of August it’s the turn of the St. Mary Fireworks Factory (associated with the King George V Band Club) to put on its unique pyrotechnic display. This takes place around a so-called tower of light at the edge of the village. The tower, a steel structure some 45 metres high is literally packed with over 1,400 petards and these are let off using a computerised system which synchronises the display to music.  

It is one awesome display with the tower and the surrounding fields being put to full use to create an hour-long spectacle of non-stop colour, lights and wonderful shapes forming in the sky. Each year the society excels in innovative creations… the shapes of dolphins, stars or even smiling faces are created in colour petards, Maltese crosses suddenly appear in the sky or the words Viva Santa Maria are formed in fire.

This is absolutely one of the greatest free shows in Malta this month. The people of Mqabba will tell you that nothing compares to this in pyrotechnic displays and enthusiasts from other villages will likely grudgingly admit to this too…


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The above article was originally published in the August 2014 newsletter of Chevron UK - Malta travel specialists since 1982. You may subscribe to Chevron's newsletter here

(Photos courtesy of Jonathan Mifsud) 

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Photo Blog - Early Morning Light

5/9/2013

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I love long country walks but the summer puts me almost totally in aestivation mode as far as this activity is concerned. But on the rare days when I get up early it's off on a bus up to Rabat or Dingli and then making my way home on foot through the dry summer landscape. Granted - the dry drab Maltese landscape can be somewhat dull in the summer but the early morning still has its magic as these pictures testify.
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Wied il-Qlejgha (aka Chadwick Lakes) captured in a selective color mode. 
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Lone farmhouse in Wied il-Qlejgha with rising mists
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Dwejra Lines - early morning mist over the valley below. 
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Dwejra Lines road 
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Lonesome pine - Dwejra Lines
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Verdala Palace floating in the mist
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Magical misty tour...
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Girgenti valley looking crisp and lush after the first rainfall
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And it's off to work for this early rising farmer...
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Drawing again...stroke by stroke

10/3/2013

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Starting out on a new drawing. Trying my best to keep things simple. Do not feel like tackling complicated stuff. Have no idea how this will end up and have not yet thought what the background will be. Playing it by ear...
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And this is what it's looking like some two weeks later....two weeks in which I was busy doing other work but also dedicating a couple of hours two to three days a week working up the cross-hatching. Up to now using only one pen - the Faber Castell TGIS 0.13. Will have to start thinking of colors soon....
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A digital camera and Photoshop come in handy to try out a couple of color schemes and I rather like this one - so freeze here and let's start the drawing proper...which might turn out somewhat different as I go along...
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A couple of days later and the color scheme is slowly being put into place...stroke by stroke.
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A detail of the man's face as the drawing progresses...
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A more marked yellow to the background and now it's about done... I used just colored inks this time with a variety of nib sizes and I did not feel the need to enhance and enrich tones by colored pencils.  Started sketching this early in March and managed to complete it in about 20 days in between other deadline-dependent work.


                         I humbly present.. Cecilia and Herbert

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Photo Blog - Maltese Boats

27/12/2012

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I am fascinated by the bright colors and the unique sleek design of Maltese boats - in particular the traditional fishing Luzzu, found mostly in Marsaxlokk. Sometimes I am sorry I am not inclined to use these bold colors  - but then I have always thought of color in my work as a secondary consideration - and something to be dealt with lightly and cautiously. But I still love the loud statement these boats make and photographing them is a joy. Here's a small selection of colorful craft shot at Marsaxlokk, Marsaskala and Mellieha. 
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The eye of Osiris (a portent of good luck) is omnipresent on Maltese fishing boats - we may be a religious lot but superstition lies just beneath the surface...
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Sometimes the eyes get a more garish treatment, possibly bloodshot from the sea spray.
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Occasionally they also get the Disney treatment!
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No fooling around - classic colors on this one.
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Less colors on a luzzu from Mellieha.
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A more humble craft which has seen better days.
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Raw, simple colors.
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A few minor repairs required...
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Don't like abstract art?  You might want to think again after looking at the above photo.
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You lookin' at me?
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