“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water” – Bruce Lee
To create my images, I use the long exposure technique to express my artistic self, the effect does not only satisfy my creative urges or just produce visually appealing images, but the experience itself becomes a meditative session. When the stars align and the conditions are perfect, everything starts coming together nicely, my mind automatically sets in motion a positive vibe, and the shooting session starts gaining momentum where everything else starts to flow on a subconscious level. Thoughts and worries are absent, it is just me and my ‘subject’.
As a photographer, I like to shoot alone; while I am on the location, I become aware and rediscover myself, and that same world that molds me and influences me every day becomes a respite for my mind to stand still. I believe that creating art is all about the human conscious, which empowers whatever we decide to focus on, and every image we create, in some way becomes a reflection of ourselves. We become spectators of a spiritual world which only exists in our minds, with our skill we can capture a glimpse of it so ultimately, we present it to our viewer, who is the final consumer of our vision. Part of the capturing process is waiting for the right light and the right conditions and this waiting becomes part of that same experience, we focus on our subject waiting for the magic to happen. The times of the day and the season of the year offer different quality of lights and it is true that good light makes any mundane subject seen in an entirely different way. Good light infuses our subject with its beauty and as artists, we use this light as an expressive element and a symbolic force to dignify our subject. Creating just the pretty pictures was never my goal. In fact, I am often told that my earlier work is much nicer than what I am producing recently, but I believe that we as artists must move forward and evolve, I am no longer interested in shooting the beautiful skies filled with colors, I want the viewer to look beyond the ‘subject’ and try to get a glimpse of what’s really going on in my head. In recent years I started to collaborate with the Malta Institute of Professional Photography (MIPP) by conducting an annual three day Long Exposure Masterclass, during the introduction session with the participants, I emphasize that photography is not just for creating eye candy, but we use our skills and tools to create meaningful work. Very often I take the participants to a location in the South East of the Island (Malta), it’s called It-Taqtiegha ta Delimara; this is a large piece of rock coming out of the sea’s surface; with the right conditions, the waves crash into the rock’s highest peak and with the proper settings and good light it transforms into a giant piece of rock in the middle of this wispy ocean. One of my most successful images shot in this location is my image ‘Finding Zen’ – when you look closely at the foreground of the image, you can see faint foam trails coming from a passing fishing boat. The gap between the shore and this rock is quite trafficked with small boats finding safe shelter from the heavy seas. I think about this image as a metaphor, the giant rock resembles someone sitting silently in meditation, letting all their thoughts just pass by without judgment while the central position of this rock gives the image a bullseye effect where the viewer is set in the center of solitude. With everything which is going on right now in the world, it is my photography that helps me to find my balance, being centered at my core and mentally with my soul, being at peace with the world, and find my Zen.
Finding Zen