Photos, Drawings, Thoughts and Tantrums

So finally I got down to start drawing again.  Yes my first instinct was to go digital and embarked on a journey of learning Procreate on iPad . I must say that it is a fascinating software and it does give you a sense of reality in the feel of different media - yet, obviously, being stuck with the same apple pencil sometimes tend to still feel 'fake'. I did install a Paperlike screen cover and it does help with the feel of the pencil, but I wanted a bit more and thus now I went back to trying the real thing.  My love of black & white influences me even in drawing and thus I gravitate towards charcoal and chalk in both my digital art and my 'real' art.  below are some of the sketches and drawings I did so far - yes again my tendency is to go towards erotic art, but I hope you find these in good taste and hopefully I will have more to share in the near future.     

I am really not the type to flaunt my achievements, but this was a big moment for me, winning the Silver Medal Award at the Malta Photographic Society's National Exhibition 2021 in the Monochrome Projected images category.  This was really important to me, since I proved to myself that I can pre-envisage a photograph. I say this since the original idea of this photo, came around on the very instance I had met the model herself, Eliza, a fantastic & unique Maltese model and hairstylist. In brief, I had shared my wish to photograph her since day one, which was about 6 months prior actually getting down to doing the shoot and submitting the photo for the National Exhibition! The title was kept simple - I wanted to portray Eliza (of IZA) as she is so I thought the best title for this photograph was "SHE"  I hope you like this photograph and you are welcome to comment and or share your thoughts. Visit www.wilcam.net to view more of my photography. 'SHE' by Wil Ca...

Started off the month of September 2021 with a bang!  A sunset bikini photoshoot with the fabulous Isabelle Borg, contestant for the 2021 edition of Miss World Malta . For this shoot we chose the iconic Riviera Martinique or Qarrba beach , which in my opinion is one of the most amazing beaches in the Maltese islands.  I split the shoot in three segments, using different dresses and accessories for the first part of the shoot, then focusing on the bikini segment when we had lower light and the sun was just setting.  You can view some of the photos below or on my Flickr stream .  For photoshoot bookings and enquiries you can contact me via www.wilcam.net Bikini beach shoot - Model : Isabelle Borg | Photography : Wil Camilleri Bikini beach shoot - Model : Isabelle Borg | Photography : Wil Camilleri Bikini beach shoot - Model : Isabelle Borg | Photography : Wil Camilleri Bikini beach shoot - Model : Isabelle Borg | Photography : Wil Camilleri

Last month had the opportunity to work with Lilithia Rose, a Maltese Burlesque performer and model.  The idea of the shoot was a simple 'get to know each other', after the difficulties of doing shoots during partial lockdown. So the approach was to simply go for classic style portraits and a bit of Pin-up style.  Here is a selection of the shoot - looking forward to your comments!    

 I just realised that I have never shared the actual full panel of my MIPP Award in photography qualification.  The base concept of the shoot was motion, for which I opted to use a dancer on a local Maltese beach and capture motion of the dancer herself, water and sand.  Below you will find a full image of all the 20 images of the panel together and also a link to the full album for the individual photos on Flickr .  Click on the image below to view album 

I always try to look for simple subject with which I can create a wow factor, or even better an emotion. Here I 'played' around with a fork and the shadows it creates, which I found fascinating in their simplicity.  All photos available on Picfair and on Redbubble .

Being limited with access to models, I resorted to think of some alternative & fun photography ideas using various objects - one of which was : Fruit.  I played around with a cheeky approach to Fetish Photography, which was not entirely easy when you have only a couple of fruits as models, but the results where the following :  Chained Apple : A cheeky play with BDSM, chains & fetish ideas, whilst using water as the dynamic medium to created movement in the photograph. Photograph available on Picfair for licensed use & Red Bubble for framed prints and other various merchandise. Rubbered Apple  : Rubber fetish play with a Green apple and rubber gloves, creating a dark & surreal background for the inconspicuous fruit.   Photograph available on  Picfair  for licensed use &  Red Bubble  for framed prints and other various merchandise. Banana Shower  : Not entirely a 'Fetish' shot, but an inspiration from the extremely ...

Rabat , in Malta, is my birthplace and it does hold a special place in my heart. It's old, very old and it is the town just outside the old capital city of Mdina - that is from where the name "Rabat" (from Arabic to tie) is actually derived.  Unfortunately, Rabat, like any other town, village and city in Malta, is being systematically 'destroyed' for the sake of 'progress'. Old iconic and artistic buildings are destroyed daily to make way for heartless, unimpressive boxes to cram in as many people as possible. The few buildings which escape this onslaught are turned into bed & breakfast or 'boutique' hotels - well as always 'money is king'!! Greed is seriously hindering us Maltese from realizing, that our past, which includes these old roads, old buildings and other items the 'modern' Maltese sees as unpractical and passé, are actually the things tourist come for and we are simply cutting the hand that actually feeds us.   Still...

With all the restrictions of meetup with people due to Covid19, the urge to take photos can only be subdued with a little street photography.  During this day I went for a short walk around the Msida & Floriana areas in Malta and tried to capture some items and places which I normally miss when going at a normal (fast) pace.  All images are available on PicFair Let me know your comments about these photos: 

 So, I thought of trying out some projection photography. Since this was a trial I opted to use a rather docile model, quite and very obedient - basically a mannequin 😊 Also I managed to borrow a projector since a good projector, is not something you buy cheaply and obviously wanted to avoid having to purchase one for just a trial - eventually I will get one since now I have other cool ideas for this style which I would love to try out.  I settled on 3 main trial themes illustrated below - let me know what you think in the comments .  Social Head F*** : Depiction of the fast life we are pushed into by social media.  Head Lines : An abstract rendition of our obsession to chasing news headlines or avoiding them for some! Migraine : Abstraction of the burning sensation brought by constant pressure. View these images and more on my PicFair Store 

Hey now I have a store on Pic f air !  Click here to view and purchase any of the photos listed in my store - which you can choose to print as Wall Art with the great Pic f air options.  Let me know what you think and which photos you would like to have available here.  Thank you for your support!  My Pic f air Store

Here are some chosen photos that you can purchase from my Redbubble Shop .  You can choose to have them framed, printed as Art Board or Wall Art, even on Metal Sheet print and why not some are even on t-shirts and wearables. Click on the photos to go to the specific item page or visit my Shop Here . Calm - Click here to view Pigeons' Morning Flight - Click here to view Splash - Click here to view When Passion Takes Over - Click here to view Cocktail - Click here to view A Splash of Coffee - Click here to view Check these out and my other designs & items and do let me know what you think!    

Sometime ago I had the opportunity to photograph a friend of mine, Dominic, an artist & also a Burlesque performer.  This was such an interesting shoot as I could capture the different sides of his character, the 'shy' and focused artist and then the extrovert Burlesque character.  You can view the full set on Flickr by clicking here  

I decided to use Motion as my theme of choice for the final Panel for the MIPP SIA. The idea was to create photographs which depict motion in dance and water.  Having the right model was crucial and here I would like to thank the amazing Isabel Borg for being my model and help me construct this panel. 

So I tried to do some “levitation” photography with a Broken mug. The concept is very easy but it's quite lengthy and requires a bit of patience to get the things done correctly.  At first my approach was to be as ‘realistic’ as possible, but then I resorted to aim towards a more surrealistic final image, just to add a bit of fun into it.  The setup, was quite simple indeed (2 light stands with a mid support to tie the mug parts) and I used 2 X Speedlight flashes for the background lighting and front highlights. The difficult part comes when ‘hanging’ the pieces of porcelain and here Live View in Capture One really helps, since you can actually see all the composition and arrange stuff as you go along.  Here is the final image:  The Coffee Pour - Wil Camilleri

Some of my Light Painting Photo experiments.... Light Painting Whisky Glass Light Painting Book Alessi Characters - Light Painting Alessi Characters - Light Painting 2

In this shoot , I wanted to introducing a product in splash photography and I chose to go with a cute Gin Mare MINI Bottle. I am including the setup I used below,In which I used 2 speed lights one of which was with a mini soft box to create the foreground light.  Adding splashes is easy, but it doesn’t obey any rules, so you need to try, try & try. Photoshop helps a lot in blending images together to get a more balanced look of the product and the splashes created and this was the post technique I used in this case.  Gin Mare Mini Photo - Wil Camilleri The Setup used

I started experimenting with Splash photography, using water droplets, using flash (in this case speed-lights) to capture the freeze moment. The set up, as shown below, is relatively easy. Although I managed to get some decent images out of it, I want to explore better ways of doing this to maximize the instances of getting the “perfect splash”. Work in Photoshop for this was quite minimal and involved mainly removing stray drops and retouching the ‘horizon’ so its fully level - the rest was all coming directly from the camera. An this is the image achieved. Splash Photo Setup

Earlier this month I did a mini photo shoot with a friend of mine. The motivations were mainly testing some new gear and also get away from the creative 'boredom' brought by partial lock down due to Corona Virus.  So here it is, some simple woodland style shots, shot with a Canon 5D MrkII, with external flash in a soft box.  Look forward to your comments and suggestions below!