PHOTOGRAPHIC PROFILE
Published in The Circle (Summer '90)
By Gillian Camilleri
Name: Darrin Zammit Lupi
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Punch
Give or take a couple of years, "STUDENT" might well read "PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER". The photographs reproduced in this article are the work of this up and coming photographer who has just notched up a Silver Medal for his entry 'Washing Up' in the slide section of the Dunhill Photographic Exhibition.
Darrin Zammit Lupi is a final year student majoring in Communications at University. This includes the study of Mass Media applications as well as individual, group and intra-person relationships.
When given a toy camera at the age of 6 or 7, Darrin, in his own words did "show some sort of vague interest in the thing." Any real attempt at trying to handle photography in any proper form was brought about by a staple diet of National Geographic magazines way back in the late seventies.
"The photographs," recalls Darrin, "mesmerised me just by looking at them - particularly the landscapes." According to Darrin however "The one that did it was a three-page spread carried by the magazine in 1981 - showing Mount St. Helen's as it blew its top. The sequence of the volcanic eruption plus the danger element produced the most stunning pictures." Although just twelve, this started Darrin's foray into photography a year later. "I just picked up a camera, I suppose, and never looked back."
Before winning the Dunhill award, Darrin had done some freelancing and also won a couple of awards which seemed to have been "great morale boosters, if not of much significance at the time." Darrin was also responsible for one or two magazine covers carried by local publications, but this young man's dream is to go into advertising- photography and/or photojournalism - ideally abroad.
"Naturally," smiled Darrin "this particular field is that much harder to break into overseas because of the competition one would come up against. This is a dream and I've got to be practical," he said, ruefully.
But Darrin hasn't spent all his time dreaming. I was shown an impressive collection of colour transparencies that he has shot over the past couple of years. He is also in the process of building up a professional portfolio of his works.
Landscapes have always in his own words "held a particular fascination" for Darrin. I was impressed by his collection of Italian landscapes taken in 1988 - one of which "Sunset Hues" is reproduced in this article.
Sunset Hues
Zammit Lupi particularly admires the work of three professionals, namely Bob Carlos Clarke, the late Ansel Adams and the photojournalist Sebastiao Salgado - currently regarded to be one of the most outstanding in his field. According to Darrin, Salgado's powerful socio-images are "truly amazing!" And the best of Carlos Clarke's works which are in black and white "evoke an aura of mystery and intrigue" whilst Ansel Adams seems to have produced "the most brilliant American landscapes", especially of Yosemite.
Darrin would be quite happy to rattle off a few more photographers who seem to fascinate him but at this stage one thing did cross my mind - "How did a photographer - amateur or professional - fare in Malta?"
Darrin was fast to comment. "Equipment-wise, there's been a complete lack of choice on the local market since the ban on Japanese imports was imposed. As I started taking photography more and more seriously I found a very limited supply of accessories on the Island. Just one brand of this piece of equipment or the other, for instance. Naturally, this was a real nuisance. In fact, most of my equipment was bought second-hand off a professional photographer friend of mine. One of my my favourite cameras - one I seem to use most, is now out of production but any serious firm will always guarantee a minimum of ten years for a continual production of spare parts and accessories after date of manufacture. It's really a matter of not having ready access to them that causes all the hassle."
Washing Up - the slide which won the Dunhill Silver Medal
Darrin also had another axe to grind - and here he felt that he was "voicing the opinion of many serious amateurs and semi-professionals" when he spoke of the attitude taken by a few professional firms and bodies in Malta which "left a lot to be desired." The practice seems to be "engage a photographer, pay his expenses and that's it." Darrin complained that quite often no appreciation - financial or otherwise - is given for the actual time and labour involved. Here I must record Darrin stressed he was not in any way alluding to our particular publication! I asked Darrin what type of equipment he used in his work. Now this is a question that seems to provoke a certain amount of indignance when put to any person who takes pride in his creative work - a person who looks upon the end-product as a direct result of his own creative techniques rather than deliberating upon the merit of the materials used.
Back came the expected reply. "The theory that good materials must produce good results is a bit, I'm afraid, like asking Michelangelo what type of canvas, brush or paints he used. You wouldn't ask Michelangelo that, would you?" I was ever so slightly taken aback but Darrin did finally concede that "good materials do help but they are not the be and end-all of a good image." According to this rather serious young man, total control over the final image can only be achieved by having one's own darkroom. This is unfortunately something - mainly due to lack of space at home - that Zammit Lupi doesn't have at the moment. Therefore he does have to rely "to a certain extent on others" for his finished photographs. "Incidentily," Darrin smiled, "I'm no aspiring Michelangelo either! He's just one great artist who sprang to mind."
Lighting up the Blues
Does Darrin look upon photography as an art? He wasn't sure. "I'd LIKE to think of it an art but the mechanical and chemical sides of it give me nagging doubts. I'd say that photography is rather the technique of an aspiring artist - the better the technique, the better the creativity, and the more original the creativity the more superior the work of the artist - who in this case is the photographer."
I wondered if there had to be any particular subject approach. How does one actually go about taking photographs?
"Well, I find," replied Darrin "that you have to find a compromise when one has any fixed plan. You have an idea - an image of what you want to shoot - but any preplanned composition must be open to suggestion, otherwise the most fantastic shots could be missed."
According to Zammit Lupi, static pictures can be very repetitive and this is where imagination is needed most - "It all depends on the message, the idea you're trying to get across."
There's no doubt that lighting techniques that enable you to create high quality images either in the studio or on location are as important as special methods of print enhancement but basically Darrin feels that the key-word is "creative flexibility, knowing when you've found something different - that certain elusive quality - and more importantly being able to catch it on film. Fundamentally, that's what makes a good photograph."
Copyright Gillian Camilleri 1990
© Darrin J. Zammit Lupi 2000