Frankfurt 2009

To be honest this was a business trip but what can a photography-addict guy like me do? Keep his camera at home? Even though I had just one day of free time I had to take photos.

Click on the photos for full view. They will open in a new window. Comments appreciated as always. Enjoy

Tower in the mist

Girls, girls, girls
Frankfurt’s red light district, during the day

Please wait
Traffic lights + wide angle lens… always an interesting combination

Graffiti and the railway (I)

Graffiti and the railway (II)

Stand behind the line

Halt!

Waiting
Probably my favourite shot of the bunch

Crossing the river (I)

Crossing the river (II)

Aim high

In clouds (I)

In clouds (II)

Standing tall

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I know it’s been a long time since I posted something, but what can I do? I’m a busy man =]

Bari

So, it’s been a VERY long time since I updated this blog but I’ve been caught up in a couple of things unfortunately. Also, I haven’t been taking photos all that much except for the last two holidays I’ve had – Bari (photos below) and Frankfurt (photos in the next post).

Bari was awesome. A very-much-needed holiday I literally did nothing while there. I just needed a couple of days off and where better to do nothing but in Italy! The place is a port-town, kind of quite – without the hustle of a busy city like London. I also had a good opportunity for photos as the place is beautiful – a sweet mix of old and new.

Click on the photos for full view. They will open in a new window. Comments appreciated as always. Enjoy

Lights in the Night

Haunted?

Little Light

Vespa
EVERYBODY in Italy has a Vespa

Lit Tree

I -heart- Focus
I actually <3 "out-of-focus"

A Little Piece of Malta
… wherever I go

Straight to the Point

Walk with Me (1)

Walk with Me (2)

Walk with Me (3)

Walk with Me (4)

A Tree
How simpler can it get? I’m running out of titles……

Dangling
At least it’s not “A Tree (2)”

Art
There was a sculpture and painting gallery with the topic being “food”

The American Culture
One of the pieces on display at the gallery

Look Kid…

Train Station

Room
I told you I’m running out of titles lol

True Love
Italians are crazy for graffiti…

City Life
It was Monday morning, everybody was rushing to work, and this guy just sat there and read the newspaper.

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Sorry for the lack of original titles. I’ll try harder next time

Trip to Baystreet

I needed a new SD Card today (after I lost my old one) so Krissie and I headed over to Baystreet to buy one. I took my camera bag with me too for two reasons: 1. to try out the SD Card there and then, and 2. so I can grab some shots before summer ends.

The Maltese Way

Hanging

Old School

Grid

Parked

Gotta love all the bikes parked on the Baystreet entrance

Bowling

Me and a couple of friends from the office went bowling yesterday (Monday, 7th Sep). It was great, we had some real fun. As always, I was more excited about taking bowling photos than about actually playing bowling… and that’s the pleasure of photography to me. Being behind the lens, and capturing the moments.

Note: Remember, you can click on the images to view full size

Reflections

Red Ball

Diptych

Damian

Vanessa

Bobby

Throw

Standing By

Spare

Bounce

Yes I played some bowling… I’m not that lazy ;P

Summer Time

I had a day off today so I decided to go out and grab some people shots as they struggle against the severe heat of summer in Malta. Remember… you can click on the images for a full view

And yes… it was bloody hot outside!
Contact me on info@amantereale.com

Malta Rock Festival 2009

**UPDATE Aug 11 2009**

Honestly, I’m sorry for missing out on the photos of FIRE. I somehow forgot to publish the photos and it slipped my mind. For those that asked, 6 new photos just before the ReBorn section!

INTRO

This was most probably the GREATEST show I ever went to. First of all, there was KISS Forever. Seriously, it’s like watching KISS play, it was AWESOME. Second of all, I managed to take better shots than at the Beer Fest (since this was my second live shoot and I knew what I was expecting).

We went there early (they started letting people in @ 19:30, we were there at 19:00). When we went in, people were sitting on the stairs and chairs so we booked up a place as close as possible to the stage so I would have better access once the bands start playing. Once the bands did start playing, I had a “front-line view” with no heads in front of me to maneuver my camera around. Finally, I was equipped with the 55-200mm lens for close up shots, flash was barely used, and when I did use it I bounced it away from the bands (instead of directly at them like I did in the beer fest). Settings were also preset from notes I had taken from the beer fest. All these resulted in some good photos which (hopefully for you) capture the mood at the show as best as possible.

All-in-all it was a fun shoot, and an awesome show. I had a great time. Hope you enjoy the photos,

Until next time…

ROCK N ROLL ALL NIGHT AND PARTY EVERYDAY!

FEEDING US ROCK

While waiting between band performances I had the chance to take some interesting shots of the equipment. I call this set “Feeding Us Rock” because, well, that’s what all the amps, wires, etc are built for.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3
Whoops, a bit of a sneak peek here

Part 4

RED LABELS

With a modern sound which evokes the remnants of 1970’s raw rock and roll, combined with a return to grass roots and a sense of pure energy and determination, The Red labels have been described as energetic, raw and one of Irelands most exciting live acts.

- maltarockfestival.com

The first band to hit the stage. Sounds like an Indie/Punk combo. But they were great, good music, fun performance. Enjoyed it.

Indie-Rock Combo

Red Labels – Conor McGivern

ESTRELLA

Based in Scotland, Estrella are a 5-piece Classic Rock band with on-stage impact! Under management for 3 years, Estrella have recently been signed to independent music company SJS. With work on their debut album (due to be released in Summer ’09) and with regular radio, TV and media coverage, this band is one to watch!

- maltarockfestival.com

Apart from the fact that the Summer is almost over (get your facts right MaltaRockFestival.com) this description says it all. Not to mention the great music, the on-stage performance was amazing. These guys knew what they were doing and they knew how to show it.

Mr. Gunn

In The Limelight

Can’t Go Wrong With The Classic Looks And Poses

FIRE

Malta’s no frills rock band! Fire has been consistently active in the music scene since 1998. Releasing their well-received debut album “Ignite” in 2006, they gigged with the well-known rock band Krokus. In 2006 they placed 1st at Oktoberfest Battle of the Bands and performed in the UK during 2007. They will be releasing their second album “Thrill Me” this summer.

- maltarockfestival.com

I forgot to upload these guys’ photos for some reason or another! I’m sorry guys (to all those that sent me requests for these photos)! So here, 6 photos for your enjoyment

REBORN

The winners of the LIDEA Band Challenge 2008 Malta, REBORN will be playing during The Malta Rock Festival and showcase their new songs for their upcoming debut album after gigging in Holland.

- maltarockfestival.com

Thank you for the very in depth look at ReBorn. We appreciate it >_> These guys were a bit too much for my taste but who am I to judge? Sound was good, performance was excellent. And they had a hot chick stand on a metal box and look pretty while baring some flesh. What more could I want?

Crucifixion

ReBorn

Sing With Me Now

Just Stand There And Look Pretty

KISS FOREVER

Finally, KISS played at Midnight (a set of 1hr 45min). There’s not much I can say here. The performance was simply impressive. If I hadn’t known these were a tribute band, I would have thought the real KISS were back! The sound, performance and looks were indistinguishable from the original band.

Here are the best shots.

Ace

Simmons + Frehley

Gene

This Is How We Roll

Criss (drummer) Sings “Beth”

Because We Can Sing AND Play
All KISS members could sing – and so can these guys… something rarely seen in a band.

Bloody Business
One of the things that tagged KISS with the “satanists” tag.

Rocking The Fuck Out
… and enjoying it.

Encore

Boot From Hell

THE BEST FOR LAST

I left my best photo of KISS for last. This is probably my greatest achievement so far. The composition is on the spot, and the timing is precise. This lasted less than a second, I didn’t even have time to “burst” shoot. Fortunately I was ready and my countless years of shooting stuff on game consoles paid off

Heaven’s On Fire

Thanks for reading so far Comments and Critiques VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! See ya!
Contact me on info@amantereale.com

Cards at the Office

Hey guys,

Wow, double post today… We were playing cards over a couple of pints at the office after work today and I had my camera with me so I decided to take some shots of my work mates. They were playing Hearts at the moment. My favorite ones are “Shuffle” (that’s Bob) and “I’m Gonna Lose This” (that’s Stefan, and yes, he lost the hand). Good game.

I left the noise high on purpose, to re-create that classic feel of reportage. Black and White conversion was applied for the same reason. Enjoy

Ps: Don’t forget you can click on the images for full view!

Damian and Chris

Clubs (Damian)

Damian

Cards (Stefan)

Cards and Beer (Damian)

I’m gonna lose this (Stefan)

Stefan

Thinking (as always … Chris)

Bobby

Shuffle (Go Bobby!)

Ps: I realized the more you aim your camera at people the more comfortable they become in front of it
Contact me on info@amantereale.com

A Trip in Bokeh Garden

bokeh: Bokeh describes the rendition of out-of-focus points of light; subjective aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas of an image projected by a camera lens;

Went early to work again today with my camera to take some photos of the garden across the road. Because I couldn’t find a good shot ANYWHERE I decided to play with focus and my new 50mm f/1.8 lens. I love places in a photo which are out of focus so I decided to capture the large difference between the close leaves and the distant tree. Because I was using a wide-open aperture of f/1.8 and because this lens has one of the best bokeh around the apparent distance was increased. Converting to black and white further emphasizes the abstract properties of the photos.

A Trip in Bokeh Garden – Part 1

A Trip in Bokeh Garden – Part 2

(Bokeh is subjective. You might not like it…)

Shadow in the Office

I’m working to create a set of prints, depicting shadows, all in the same style and colors.

This is the first set – Shadow in the Office

Here, have some water

Take a seat, sir

Shadow of Myself

Death by Eating

Today I was watching Ice Age 3 and Sid finds three dinosaur eggs which he decides to make his own. He then goes on to draw faces on each egg If you haven’t seen it, do!

Anyway, it gave me an idea to paint faces on eggs and take photos of them. But, my mind being as twisted as it is, I decided to kill one of them and have others watch in terror at the futile death of one of their friends. This is the result.

Might I also add that beating the egg repeatedly with a spoon (after taking light and compositional measurements) was extremely satisfying