Photography is no longer the exclusive preserve of those with expensive equipment or a dark room: with phones in our pockets, many of us snap the world around us several times a day without training or expertise.

And so, as the final image is not crafted by hand like a painting or piece of sculpture, often existing merely as pixels in the cloud, is photography truly a form of art, you might ask? An exhibition this month, presented by Malta Photographic Society, puts paid to any doubts.

In Valletta’s Palazzo de La Salle, Malta Photographic Society’s 58th annual exhibition is a striking showcase of the best work entered into an islands-wide competition this autumn (and the society was delighted to see many submissions from women and young photographers both of which have been underrepresented traditionally.)

Bangladeshi Girl by Brian Cassar

From nearly 1000 images in colour and black and white, the judges selected just over 250, and it’s a stunning and diverse collection that ranges from the beauty of the natural world to surprising street photography, from portraiture to the abstracted and the awe-inspiring.

While photography is often used as a tool of record, when it transcends mere documentation, it can turn ordinary scenes into extraordinary expressions; it can freeze time or tell a story.

And here, with startling composition, creative lighting, and unexpected perspective, photographers from across the Maltese islands have combined technical skill with a good eye and artistic intent to convey emotions, evoke specific moods, to capture a fleeting moment, or hint at a narrative. After all, it’s often said, a picture tells a thousand words.

Le Nuits Barbares by Stephen Buhagiar

Take, for example, Le Nuits Barbares by Stephen Buhagiar, winner of the MPS Photographer of the Year Award 2023.  It’s a breathtaking shot, taken at last year’s Malta International Arts Festival, which lifts dance and dramaturgy from the stage. It’s an extraordinary combination of humanity and compositional geometry, its impact heightened by the contrasting light and dark. In a fleeting gravity-defying moment of choreography, this photo talks of strength and athleticism in an atmosphere of gathering storm clouds, evoking the past while feeling entirely contemporary.

Very different in mood, with a summer sky, the charming Corso Pietro Vannucci by Jordan Muscat is a pretty street scene in Umbria, Italy, that at first glance appears to show a lady in sky blue dress and jaunty straw hat strolling between the historic buildings. Look again and the scene unravels:  it shows a reflection in a dressmaker’s shop window and, at the woman’s feet, Lilliputian street vendors get ready for the day.

While photography is often used as a tool of record, when it transcends mere documentation, it can turn ordinary scenes into extraordinary expressions

From further afield, the eyes of Bangladeshi Girl by Brian Cassar (winner of the Silver medal in the Colour Print category) stare directly into the camera from within a loosely-draped red scarf. Evocative of the National Geographic classic photo Afghan Girl, she’s enigmatic: look once and she might be on the cusp of a smile, look again and she’s perhaps wary. Is this innocence, you ask, or experience?

Spiral Staircase by John Cilia

As well as classic views, there are also fresh takes on old Malta – including Reservoir by Emmanuel Cauchi with the reflection of underground arches; a stunning Spiral Staircase by John Cilia in which a snail of gold leads the eye right into the depths of the photograph; and Reflection and Refraction (Celine Farrugia) where the water droplets confound the viewer on the coloured stripes of a traditional boat.

The dgħajsa is also the star of the show in One Fine Morning by Mark Scicluna, emerging from the mist like a ghost from the past.

Like the setting for a gothic novel, Gozo’s small rural San Dimitri chapel is shown in ethereal monochrome, a stark contrast to the popular ‘tourist shot’ of this iconic spot and it serves as an interesting counterpoint to the straight lines, right angles, and bold colour blocks of Entrance by Paul Stanley and Architecture Melange by Pauline Grech.

Reservoir by Emanuel Cauchi

Bike Lane by Joseph Francalanza

Three Cups of Tea by John Cilia

Corso Pietro Vannucci by Jordan Muscat

Love Me Love Me Not by John Cilia

San Dimitri Chapel by Karl Sammut

Red Cabbage Bug by Kurt Caruana

One Fine Morning by Mark Scicluna

Architecture Melange by Pauline Grech

Mekong Gam Gam Style by Stefan Cachia

Look out too for Secure Window by Ian Farrugia, winner of the Best Architecture Award, which is perhaps a commentary on contemporary society, and the wry Bike Lane by Joseph Francalanza which raises a smile.

The exhibition also includes a series of animals from an elephant stampede (Pauline Grech) to a startling Red Cabbage Bug by Kurt Caruana, and, on screen, an unusual perspective on a butterfly by Silvio Pace, which could almost be a still from Star Wars.

There’s even a culinary angle with The God of Basil at a Dionysian feast by Amanda Hsu and a quirky composition by John Cilia, Love Me, Love Me Not, a daisy made up entirely of eggs and coriander! It seems there’s something here to catch everyone’s attention whether you’re simply curious or a fine art aficionado.

This exhibition runs until December 21.