ProjectVISUAL » Malta

Construction In Malta

Stephen — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:00:14 +0000

I’ve been going through some old photos and am not sure whether I posted this before or not, but here it is anyway! This pretty shot is from Malta in the morning. I recommend everyone takes a visit to Malta in spring the weather is great and the swordfish is delicious!

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: europe, malta, holiday, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Hot Hot Sunrise On The Malta Horizon

Stephen — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 22:57:18 +0000

I thought it’d be nice to take a short break from the usual HDR photos so I’ve selected one from my Malta collection which has just had a quick vibrance enhancement in Photoshop.

On my last morning in Malta I got up before sunrise and headed down to the docks to catch the sun rise. Once it breaks the horizon you really only have a couple of minutes before it’s high in the sky; I was amazed at the speed it travels!

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: malta, gozo, sunrise, europe, sun, mediterranean, projectvisual, dark, shadows, sea, water, vibrant, vibrance

Parking At The Castle

Stephen — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:40:48 +0000

We’ve got some funny looking clouds in todays picture. Some of you might be wondering why? The answer, of course, is because the clouds have moved in between exposures and have been blended together in a sort of blur-motion way.

ISO Setting: 200
Shutter Speed: 1/500s, 1/1000s, 1/2000s, 1/4000s, 1/8000s
Aperture: f/4 @18mm
Lens Used: Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: gozo, malta, mediterranean, tone mapping, high dynamic range HDR, D300, nikon, tonemapped, projectvisual

The Great Wall Of Malta

Stephen — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:30:54 +0000

When I was in Malta I took a train load of photos, many of which I’ve never posted here. Seeing as my last few posts were of one area (Mt Snowdon), I thought it would be nice to revisit my Malta folder that was slowly deteriorating away on an external hard drive, go through all my captures and post any ones which I’m at least 90% sure I’ve never posted before!

The one below was taken on Gozo I think; a very touristy island right beside Malta Island, and is part of the Republic of Malta. If you do go there though don’t call the inhabitants Maltese, they’re Gozitans!

Those interested in getting their hands on a new HDR ebook by a top photographer should head over to CaptainKimo.com. Kimo was kind enough to send me a copy of his new ebook for review. I’ve skimmed through it, (I’ve only had it 20 minutes!) and so far I can say that it gives step by step examples of how to take your HDR shot from Photomatix to a much higher level of professionalism using Photoshop (about 3 of its 8 chapters are devoted to Photoshop alone). The gulp between “Photomatixed” and “Photomatixed + Photoshopped” scenes really is huge! Once I read through it I’ll post a full review but in the mean time you should head over and check it out for yourself .

ISO Setting: 200
Shutter Speed: 1/5000 s
Aperture: f/4 @31mm
Lens Used: Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: malta, gozo, wall, projectvisual, sunny, clouds

A Dry Heat in Malta

Stephen — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:22:55 +0000

I was looking through some of my old photos and came across this one from Malta which I rather like so I’d like to share it with you now .

In other news, I’ve begun looking at what the hell the point is of the Tone Compressor in Photomatix; expect a post on that in the near future. I’m off to Kinsale over the weekend for a wedding so I’m anticipating some cool photos from the area .

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: malta, mediterranean, sun, glare, direct, trees, desert, dry, yellow, stone, nikon, d300, europe, hdr, tonemapped, projectvisual, high dynamic range

The Slowly Rusting Docked Boat

Stephen — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:58:59 +0000

Here’s another of my many pictures from my time in Malta, specifically at the port in Gozo. Although I took five exposures of this I only realised when looking at them that the boat was bobbing up and down with the tide so they couldn’t really be aligned It still turned out alright from one exposure – the great thing about using one exposure in making HDRs is that you can take shots of moving objects like people, and boats!

I should have Part 3 of my HDR Tutorial up tomorrow, I spent all day in a snowball fight (I lost) so I’ll have to put in a super writing bout tomorrow

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: gozo, malta, mediterranean, boat, water, sea, dock, port, coast, rust, reflection, hdr, tone mapped, high dynamic range, nikon, d300, projectvisual, rope

The Empty Church of Gozo that echoed every sound

Stephen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:28:42 +0000

So it’s now 2010, we’re in the future, and I still don’t see any flying cars! Well maybe 2011 then. In the meantime here’s another photo from Gozo. I always find churches especially creepy, and this one was no exception – inside was totally lifeless and every footstep echoed all over the place; it was in the absolute middle of nowhere so I wasn’t really surprised though.

I’ve started Part 3 of my HDR Tutorial, but it won’t be online for a couple more days – college has begun again and some things just have to take priority

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: gozo, malta, mediterranean, tone mapping, high dynamic range HDR, D300, nikon, tonemapped, projectvisual

The Orange City

Stephen — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:28:48 +0000

I’m just back from a quick stroll around Glendalough in Co. Wicklow (Ireland), so expect the next few post to be suspiciously green, but first here’s another quick shot from Malta. It’s in the city (loose term) of Mdina, where the designers decided absolutely everything should be a shade of orange.

Technorati Tags: malta, gozo, mdina, orange, city, hdr, nikon, d300, projectvisual

The Shack of Gozo

Stephen — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:50:24 +0000

I really have no idea what the purpose of this building is but it makes a good foreground subject. This is my last post for a few days as I’m heading to Pisa and Florence today until Sunday, with any luck I’ll have a new batch of photos to sift through.

Technorati Tags: gozo, house, shack, sky, clouds, summer, yellow, hdr, nikon, d300, projectvisual

Mdina From Mdina

Stephen — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:28:36 +0000

College has been getting busier and busier now so I’ll probably only be posting now when I find the extra time – maybe every two or three days. I have already posting this photo on my Flickr page so if you’ve already seen it well here it is again!

Technorati Tags: mdina, malta, medeterranean, nikon, d300, projectvisual

Jetting About In Style

Stephen — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:53:35 +0000

I had been waiting for the sun to rise in Malta on my last morning there and all of a sudden I glimpse a plane streaking throught the sky! This was really the only reason this picture even exists – in fairness I do like the boat bobbing about in the foreground but without the plane the scene wouldn’t have captured my eye.

Technorati Tags: sky, water, plane, sunrise, bay, boat, dock, haze, nikon, streak, jet, malta, hdr, d300, projectvisual, photography, photos, photo

Another Perspective of Valetta Bay

Stephen — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:17:47 +0000

Following a treacherous trek up a winding road with no footpath, I finally made it to a high point near Valetta. I set my D300 on a ledge to steady it giving a blurring foreground effect.

I’m suddenly heading away again, this time to Pisa and then Florence in about 2 weeks. So far it’s been a good year for travelling – January was Paris, March was Malta, April = Barcelona, and now Pisa / Florence in May – I had aimed to go somewhere for every month of the year but February slipped by; that’s a short month anyway!

Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Malta, Valetta, Shore

Ginormous Freighter Doing Feck All

Stephen — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:34:50 +0000

I had to walk by this ship and resist the urge to hold up my group to assemble my tripod and camera so I had to run back the next morning and grab it then! – It was pretty fortunate though since there were no clouds the day before

Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Gozo, Malta, dock, ship, freighter, clouds, hdr

Palm Trees Under A Rather Direct Sun

Stephen — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:21:53 +0000

I knew as I walked alongside these palm trees, with the sun on my back, that this shot was about to materialise – one of the few time I actually predicted a scene before it happened! I don’t recall whether I had a tripod for this shot or not – I definitely was lying on the ground or in some otherwise awkard position. I can still imagine the breeze blowing through the palm trees!

Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Gozo, Malta, Palm Trees, Sunlight, Sun

Peering Through Azure Window

Stephen — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:40:49 +0000

Azure Window is one of those strange rock formations that you wish was hear your home, but in actual fact is no big deal once you see it. Standing on top of it and looking out towards Sicily, you wouldn’t even know this huge gaping hole even existed!

Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Gozo, Malta, Azure Window

Crashing On The Shores Of Xwieni Bay

Stephen — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:37:36 +0000

This is one of the most northern arts of Gozo, 60 miles north lies Sicily. The photograph really doesn’t capture the magnificence of the place unfortunately; I distinctly remember my WOW-meter going off the scale when I was actually there. Just to the left of this scene are the salt pans where seawater is evaporated leaving huge deposits of salts to be later collected. I was more than impressed by the ingenuity of it all!

In other news that probably I only care about, I had planned to go to Kerry this Easter weekend to visit some friends there, only to find that a train ticket there would set me back €78! From Dublin to Kerry is under 300km as the crow flies – it’s actually cheaper to fly there!! I’m sure there would have been plenty of time to get the D300 out for some landscape photos but €78 just proved to much for my wallet

Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Gozo, Malta, Rabat

Looking Over Into Rabat

Stephen — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:28:11 +0000

Here’s a rather nice scenic view of Rabat, a town in Gozo that I did not manage to visit. We were on a rather tight schedule with out bus driver – “OK so you have one hour here. Get out, look around but be back in one hour. Then we’ll go to the cliffs, you’ll have 30 minutes there, no more, then we’ll go somewhere else and I’ll rush you about some more!”

Taking a bus around Gozo though was well worth the expense – we had planned to hire out a couple of bicycles and go where we pleased, but from the bus window we soon found out after zooming around un-signed roads and windy cobbled streets that we would have been utterly lost on a pair of bikes!

Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Gozo, Malta, Rabat

7000 Year Old Ruins At Ggantija

Stephen — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:45:47 +0000

When I heard that I be going to see some 7000 year old temple ruins I, for some reason, envisioned grand walls, golden gates and all sorts of wonderful architecture. The 7000 year timescale didn’t seem to register in my head that maybe mankind hadn’t reached that level of sophistication just yet. The pile of stones I found there didn’t exactly impress me from an archaeological perspective, but the stone textures do allow from some interesting reflections.

Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Gozo, Malta, Temple, Ruins, Ggantija

Waiting For The Ferry That Never Arrived

Stephen — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:30:26 +0000

Upon finishing up our day long bus tour around the dusty roads of Gozo we headed back to the docks to find that our ferry had already left! What followed was over an hour of staring blankedly into the sea, watching a fisherman with the longest rod I’d ever seen until the next ferry finally arrived.

It was a pretty nice view though, the sea sounds being all swishy and calming.

Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Gozo, Malta, Ferry, Water, Dock

The Green Green Grass Of… Malta?

Stephen — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:00:30 +0000

REALLY?? Don’t you imagine Malta as being yellow? (em, isn’t that racist?). This was undoubtedly the greenest part of Malta, I believe it was near Mdina if my memory serves me.

Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Malta, Green, Fields