The Centre for the Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), in collaboration with the University Library, is organising this exhibition featuring photographs taken by eight students who followed the ‘Nature Photography’ (LAS1009) Unit within the University’s Programme in the Liberal Arts and Sciences (PLAS) between October 2016 and January 2017 under the direction of Mr Guido Bonett.
The PLAS Nature Photography Exhibition will be held at the University of Malta Library Foyer from 15 May to 15 June.
Participants visited the Buskett Gardens, a small woodland park in the limits of Rabat, Malta, where the group could note the effect of mist and dew on an early morning, as well as the fauna active at that time of day. At Kennedy Grove, on the outskirts of St Paul’s Bay, the fieldwork concentrated more on the flora and fauna that grows in a marshy landscape, while at the Għadira nature reserve migratory birds were the main interest.
Many of the students also explored outdoor nature photography in other countries, such as in Ireland and India amongst others. Students had the opportunity to photograph endemic Maltese fauna during the local fieldwork opportunities, such as butterflies, snails, chameleons and wall lizards, as well as a host of different flora. Impressive landscapes characterised by salt pans and cliffs were shot locally, while waterfalls, lakes and streams, and a variety of birds and fish dominated the photography shot abroad.
Many of the students also explored outdoor nature photography in other countries, such as in Ireland and India amongst others. Students had the opportunity to photograph endemic Maltese fauna during the local fieldwork opportunities, such as butterflies, snails, chameleons and wall lizards, as well as a host of different flora. Impressive landscapes characterised by salt pans and cliffs were shot locally, while waterfalls, lakes and streams, and a variety of birds and fish dominated the photography shot abroad.
As a nature photographer, Guido Bonett participated in a number of research projects that the University of Malta was involved in in recent years, mainly in Morocco, Tunisia and Italy. Guido has also travelled extensively in South America and the African Continent, from the Galapagos to Madagascar, in pursuit of wildlife photographic subjects. In 2005, he co-authored two volumes entitled 'The Maltese Countryside, a pictorial guide to the flora and fauna of the Maltese Islands'. 2011 saw the publication of his latest work, The Natural History of the Maltese Islands, As Seen Through A Photographer’s Lens, and in 2015 illustrated the book Wild Flowers of the Maltese Islands, authored by Edwin Lanfranco. He was awarded the status of Associateship of The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (ARPS) in 2005. In 2008, he was awarded an Associateship of The Malta Photographic Society (AMPS) and in 2018 was awarded a Fellowship of the Malta Institute of Professional Photography (FMIPP).
The photographs were taken by James Attard, Christopher Busuttil, Karl Carabott, Elvio Cauchi, Elizabeth Micallef, Sara Pace, David Sammut, and James Scerri.