Valletta
I'm not liking the black and white here though. I think they are crying out to burst into colour, and I'm not convinced that what contrast there is can sustain them, even if you stretched it out to extremes with your blacks. This almost works with the boat and the bins, but what you've really got there is a mono colour pop, with no colour!
The best one, given your treatment, is No7, because of the lovely gradations of tones, shadow play and the revealing of textures.... Qualities that are lacking in all the others.
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I like the b+w just as much though, and thought it best to keep the set consistent. The thing is, colour just doesn't do much for me (in my own photography, that is). When I do feel an image will work in colour, it's almost always after the fact, and more often than not a happy accident, and I think of the processing as a 'colour conversion' from the b+w that was originally in my mind... I would need to work on that, as I see plenty of coloured beauties (many of which on these very forums), but I haven't the time nor the want to develop that new set of skills...
Particularly like the more High-Key shots (1,3, 2)
the distracting blue of the rails
Yes, I would definitely have toned that down had I decided to go for colour!
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
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Best
Sorry to be negative, I usually love your work.
ps if you had posted the first on its own in a large size I would have been all over it
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Because of the predominantly light tones [...] particularly like the more High-Key shots
I find the choice of fairly high key black and white a perfect fit for the subject matter.
the high key b&w gives the set a very “clean” feel [...] very light and bright
For me, the midday sun shines strongly, almost blindingly, in all of these
I'm happy I managed to convey the harsh Maltese light - that was definitely part of what I was after (midday Malta doesn't offer much of an alternative anyways ). As for the geometric aspect, the first shot got me in the mindset, which developed from there - ending with the particularly angular last shot (the type of shot that is just there, asking for you to capture it).
Sorry to be negative
Please don't be sorry, you are expressing a perfectly valid and argumented personal view
I usually love your work.
Another perfectly valid personal view!
Thanks all for commenting, much appreciated.
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1124 posts
6 years
I did manage to find a few moments of peace, and even quiet (one always does, given the time), provided by a small collection of fishing/summer shacks at the very tip of the Valletta peninsula. Two elderly gents taking their lunchtime swim were the only humans present in this haven, maybe 200 metres away from the madding crowds uptown... Hopefully I managed to capture a bit of what felt like (melancholy) positivity in the midday sun!
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