An old street Photo

Photographer’s Note

The Republic of Malta is a small and densely populated island nation in southern Europe. It consists of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea directly south of Italy. Valletta, population 7048 (official estimate for 2000), is the capital of Malta. Valletta is a 16th century site, with many buildings from the time of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (the Knights Hospitaller, or Knights of Malta), the long-time rulers of the city and the island. It is named after the founder, Grandmaster Jean de la Vallette. In Maltese it is colloquially known as il-Belt, simply meaning "the city". The city was damaged by air raids in World War II, notably losing its majestic opera house constructed at the city entrance in the 19th century. The city contains various historic cafes, meeting places and restaurants. Valletta is built on a peninsula, which is fed by two natural harbours, Marsamxett and the Grand Harbour, Malta's major port. It was founded in March 1566, with the laying of the first stone of a church. The city contains several buildings of historic importance: the most noteworthy being St John's Co-Cathedral, formerly the Knights' church; the fortifications built by the Knights to protect the city from attack, the former Grand Master's Palace (now the Maltese Parliament), and the National Museum of Fine Arts. It is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The population of Valletta has steadily decreased over the years, and is now reduced to about a third of its peak. This process was heavily accelerated after World War II as new development in outlying suburbs marked a shift of the population away from the capital city, but it continues as the center of Malta's commercial activity.

karina, jmdaoudal, aloyho, rmorillo, AmiBe, andchew, MarekP, quantabeh, Gix, cessy, capthaddock, Fixfocus, elihesamian, joseelias, laluna, Reine, zig, fabio_ts, Paulo_Cohen, sebinho342 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bantonbuju (48334) 2005-05-07 4:24

ciao paolo, excellent exposure control - through the whole length of the steet the details are clearly visible, not quite sure about the right part of the frame, maybe i'd cropp it a bit, but i am not sure about it;
ver nice work, jerzy

devimeuxbe (55673) 2005-05-07 4:54

Hi Paolo !
This picture is fantastic. Great colors and light ! The architecture is incredible.
Thanks to show us such a picture !
Regards
Bertrand

naxius (16679) 2005-05-07 5:10

Bravo Paolo for this very difficult photogarph!
The high and low light is extermely well managed.
Bravo!
Alex

rbcy1974 (20742) 2005-05-07 5:19

Ciao Paolo,
Realle well composed immage. Great detailed architecture, nicely framed, I agree with Jerzy about cropping off a bit on the right.
Regards
Daniel

karina (1084) 2005-05-07 5:35

I really like how you've captured the sense of height of the buildings on the narrow street with your composition. I really like scenes like this, the sense of exploring little streets and alleys, you've captured the ambience well... I think the two people at the top of the street add to this.
Good management of difficult lighting too.

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-05-07 5:41

Hi paolo,
I love this Island I spend a shot time of two month in my life. At the time this was an Eglish Island tight to independence.
Your composition is exactly what was in my souvenirs from narrow streets and special colors.
Well done
Jean Michel

aloyho (6105) 2005-05-07 8:38

Hi Paolo,
A very impressive shot of the narrow street. I like the way you used the two figures here - keeping it low and emphasizing the towering buildings on both side of the street. Great lighting effect too. I love it!! Thanks for sharing. Regards.

rmorillo (261) 2005-05-07 9:34

Paolo:
One of your best! Good composition and DOF, great handling of the difficult contrasting lights and shadows and an interesting subject.
Way to go!

AmiBe (6042) 2005-05-07 10:35

Hi Paolo,
I like this narrow street, well captured with the sun.
I like the two people, two.
Very good exposure, not easy with the strong contrast.

Graal (57268) 2005-05-07 11:08

Very good composition, interesting place and note. I like the colours and the architecture. Well done.
Regards,
Aleksander

kinginexile (2440) 2005-05-07 13:18

there has been a few tries of such vertical narrow street scens lately on TE, but nothing as succesful as this. Not only did you reproduce and give a good idea of the architecture, but you also conveyed the bustling atmosphere of mediterranean life with all the windows, despite the presence of only 2 people (and a sitting figure, faintly), which in turn conveys... Siesta time in Malta!
Bravo, a real cool shot. I only wish to add, that having a LCD screen, i enjoyed it better by looking not too frontally, to minimize the strong daylight.

andchew (476) 2005-05-07 13:52

Hi Paolo, Great architecture and detailed of the building. Good to have people in the picture to be scale to measure the building. Thanks for sharing. regards, Andrew

MarekP (4744) 2005-05-07 19:28

Fantastic shot, Paolo. So many balconies in such a narow street look very interesting. I like the compostion, although I regret that many colors are probably surpressed by too strong light.

Thanks for sharing,

Marek

quantabeh (5203) 2005-05-08 0:34

hola Paolo.
a good photo with excellent composition of this historic city. Your notes are very useful and interesting. Except for a bit more sharpening, it is a great shot.
salute,

oochappan (22026) 2005-05-08 5:08

Excellent POV looking down this small street to see these men on the stairway and very well framed starting from a dark less important foreground to the enlightened facades with a soft pleasant warm coloring.
Realy a beauty capture Paolo
Very well done
Greetings
Henk

Fis2 (45194) 2005-05-08 11:24

Hi Paolo!
I like the composition.Good colours and perspective.Very impressive picture!
Regards
Krzysztof

goomer (0) 2005-05-08 22:25

Love this picture... so much to soak in. The architecture you've caught here is fantastic. Wonderful exposure and framing. Your picture is inviting us in to walk this charming walkway. Bravo!

Gix (3559) 2005-05-09 2:51

ciao Paolo,
per scelta non invio e non commento mai foto di persone, a meno che non diano 'funzionali' alla foto stessa come in questo caso!
Bellissimo posto (sento il calore del sole anche dalla foto) che mi piacerebbe poter visitare! Mi piace molto l'inquadratura dall'alto e proprio i due turisti danno il senso dell'avanzare della via.
Mi viene proprio voglia di una passeggiatina al sole...
Ottimo lavoro e nota... di lusso!
ciao, Giorgio

cessy (13647) 2005-05-09 4:40

oh this one really excellent, Paolo
great angle and composition
very nice capture the two men there, and excellent control of light

Luan (15935) 2005-05-09 8:07

C'est tres joli ca Paolo, j'aime bien ces ruelles ombragees. C'est un super point de vu, les murs semblent tres hauts.
Belle compostion.
Luan

capthaddock (28640) 2005-05-09 12:25

Hi Paolo - very good capture of the streets of Valetta, I walked these streets just a few weeks ago. I also agree about cropping the right part

maphoto (8076) 2005-05-09 23:36

I like this view Paolo, it is very special, particularly with the two boys walking away. The vertical presentation of this narrow street is excellent, well done.

jinju (14265) 2005-05-10 23:38

I like the verticality of this shot. The view on the city is actually very narrow, squeezed into a narrow opening bwtween two walls, adding a feeling of height to the houses and balconies.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2005-05-11 10:52

interesting shot of the buildings here on one side, very good work indeed, I like the perspective, well done

Fixfocus (9377) 2005-05-11 20:24

Hello Paolo!
Excellent compo!The people are a good detail.I like the light mood very much that you captured here.
Well done!

photopatrick (8) 2005-05-12 12:29

Troppo bella questa foto... Mi piacciono un casino tutti i piccoli terrazzi che spuntano dalle case collegate l'una all'altra... Le due persone mettono ancora più in risalto le grandi dimensioni degli edifici... Top! Molto bella anche la luce!

elihesamian (26091) 2005-05-13 12:46

Great POV and great informative shot,Thanks for posting it,Paolo!
You had a difficult situation with light and shadows but very well controlled it and a great result you reached here,Also I like the way you managed the street in vertical/portrait format,with a great composition.
the poeple add a nice touch to the lane,very well worked,nice one.

Regards
M

bazal (7898) 2005-05-17 4:46

Interesting and original composition. The presence of the people in the lower part of the picture gives a good idea of the scale. Nice light and colors. Thanks for sharing !

overcome (1109) 2005-05-19 9:53

an excellent shot from you. Very good compositon. It gives dangerous and excitment feeling when you walk down the stairs.

ken

joseelias (367) 2005-06-06 9:08

Very nice view of these streets. The detail of the boys is great and add the notion of size to the scene. Excellent control of the exposure which in these conditions is certainly not easy. Still, I would reduce the highlights to get an even better balance and add some more sharpness.

paolino (1024) 2005-06-07 12:59

Ciao Paolo
mi piace molto questa tua foto, la prospettiva e l'idea di grande confusione urbanistica che essa trasmette e che effettivamente e' una delle caratteristiche ( e del fascino) di Malta. L'unico piccolo rilievo che farei e' l'eccessiva luminosita' delle case sotto il sole: un problema che credo potresti correggere facilmente con Photoshop e che comunque, guardando le cose da un altro punto di vista, da' un senso di solarita' che non guasta.
Ottimo lavoro comunque, Paolo

lollie (0) 2005-09-02 11:23

Exellent shoot. Good exposure. very well framed. I feel like goig to walk down that street.

zig (2450) 2005-09-20 10:15

Woa...Beautiful beuildings. AND what a slope! If I go down the street, I will never come back again! I see electric lines on the wall, and a drain from airconditioner?? Anyway, great handling with the lights. The shot bring us the best view to see through the street between the beautiful white buildings.

fabio_ts (13672) 2005-11-22 11:33

Questa l'ho vista nella home page di TE, ..spettacolare POV e bellissime luci, mi dispiace di non averla notata prima, è veramente splendida e di grande effetto, complimenti e buona serata,
Fabio.

Paulo_Cohen (354) 2005-11-22 11:59

Hello Paolo
Very nice picture and good perspective.

regards

Paulo

sebinho342 (18726) 2006-06-07 7:32

Hi Paolo, today i clicked on "malta" in your gallery and i was suddunly attracted by this one ... and i was true to click on it cause this old maltasian street is awesome ! I can easily understand that this zone is in UNESCO world heritage ! You captured it well and i would like perhaps a little bit enhance sharpness
But it's an excellent shot don't worry ;)