Last Wednesday I had the privilege to start the first official date of production for this exotic project called Forgotten Landscapes.
With the talented photographer and publisher Kristina Quintano we picked up the wonderful painter Marika Borg to make our way to the most northern fortification on Malta, Aħrax Tower.
It was late afternoon, the sun was out and casting a brilliant shadow. As Marika quickly setup her painting equipment. I ran to my tripod and trusty iPhone to capture the time lapse footage of her preparing and developing her painting.
The Time Lapse Experiment
Photography by Mark Magro
Copyright 2016. Wanted Media. All Rights Reserved
With it established I took out my camera and began to film and photograph her. This particular camera, the Panasonic GH4 is new as it replaced my old Panasonic DVX-100B camera and it is the first official Wanted Media project I am working on. What makes the camera extremely personal for me is that It is using my fathers old Canon FD lenses from his illustrious Canon A-1 camera.
Mark Capturing the Past
Photography by Kristina Quintano
Copyright 2016. Wanted Media. All Rights Reserved
I was surprised at how natural everything went and how there was a immediate sense of subconscious communication between all of us on what to do and where to go. These natural instincts began to kick and and here I was again, photographing and taking video of abandoned structures.
Inside the structure I began to investigate. Graffiti and garbage litter the area but the beauty of this place left me breathless. I could only imagine the stories these limestone buildings had and the conversations that occurred as I made my way up a imperious spiral staircase to the second floor that greeted me with an doorway to the Mediterranean.
The sound of the breeze and surprising silence created a haunting atmosphere that provided a melancholic solitude that is hard to find in the modern era. I guess maybe this is why I am drawn to these places.
The Painting
Photography by Mark Magro
Copyright 2016. Wanted Media. All Rights Reserved
The place has a rich history and though I have not gone into the meat and bones of it, I look forward in the coming months of spending the next two months conducing as much research as I can into this forgotten landscape.
As the daylight dwindled. I walked back down to Marika to find her almost done her painting. She shall complete the final touches in her studio and we realize it was her birthday, we celebrated by eating a brownie cake and some wine that Kristina so graciously provided.
It was a beautiful end to the first production day of the Forgotten Landscapes Malta Project.
A Job Well Done
Photography by Mark Magro
Copyright 2016. Wanted Media. All Rights Reserved
Mark M.
Leave a Reply