The Milky Way over Filfla

Description

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• Fine Art Paper & Giclée Printing
• Custom Framing & Gallery Blocks
• 3 Month Return Policy
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• 'Special Mention' in the 2016 TWAN International Earth & Sky Photo Contest.
  
  The Milky Way over the iconic Filfla rock.

  Filfla is one of the most famous natural icons of Malta, possibly even worshiped by the neolitic people who built the temples of 'Ħaġar Qim' and 'Mnajdra', both UNESCO World Heritage sites. It was used as a target practice by the British Navy until the 70s, now it is a bird and marine reserve. These islets (Filfla and Filfoletta) are roughly 5 km off the South West coast of Malta.
  
  A 290.8MP Panorama stitch of 16 images in 2 rows.
  Captured on the 20th of July, 2015

  “Against the Lights"
  The overwhelming glow behind Filfla is light pollution from mainland Malta, as captured at ISO 3200. This image clearly shows how terrible the problem of light pollution is in the more industrialised South of the Islands. Although they have a beautiful coastline, I never plan to shoot these locations at night for this reason.
  
  An extract from my blog post about the experience:

  Once settled, I was surprised how close Malta still was, and this made me start thinking about the outcome of the planned panorama. Light pollution from Malta would still be very strong and inevitable. Apart from the mainland as a whole, the biggest issue would be the the Freeport and Ħal-Far Industrial Zone, which although covered and far away, both lie behind Filfla. Another let-down was discovering that the parked offshore oil platform was still visible from my angle of view. Apart for being an eyesore to the spectacular Wied-iż-Żurrieq and Qrendi coastline, I learned also that these parked platforms are also disturbing shearwaters returning to nest. They need the dark, the light makes it hard for them to settle at Ħal-Far cliffs. Also their young get disoriented by the strong light when attempting to leave the nest for their first flight in Summer.

  Read about our Filfoletta experience in our blog post
  
  Please note that the watermark will be removed from your print.
• Our prints are produced on high quality Fine Art Smooth Cotton 300gsm paper. Smooth Cotton is an acid and lignin free paper made of 100% cotton, making it archival and perfect for giclée printing. The paper has a matte, velvet finish and we specifically chose this paper as it yields high saturated colours with no reflections, making it ideal to be displayed behind glass. In fact, matte paper is the easiest to view in all lighting conditions with richer blacks and more vibrant colours.
  
  Giclée printing is the combination of high resolution inkjet printing technology, K3 pigment based inks and archival fine art paper. The result is a superior quality, finer resolution print with more accurate colour reproduction. The combination of pigment based inks and archival paper gives the prints a long life-time. Pigment inks are more stable and thus resist fading much longer than dye-based inks. If properly stored or displayed, a pigment-based print on quality paper can last a 150 years and more.
  
  A 2” (50mm) white border is added to the prints to facilitate handling and framing.
• Please note that we ship unframed fine art prints and gallery blocks worldwide.
  Custom framing is only available for Malta orders.
  
  Custom Framing
  Our frames are custom made for each order and we offer four kinds of frame profiles - a smooth finish and a wood textured finish in black and white. All are deep box frames, helping the overall finished framed fine art print to stand out. Read more about Our Custom Framing here.
  The wood textured box frame is 15mm wider than the clean/smooth finish box frame and is therefore recommended for the larger sized prints.
  
  Gallery Blocks
  For those who want a finish with no glass, a gallery block is a giclée print, mounted inside a 40 mm deep frame with a slim 6 mm border around the photo. A matt lamination film layer is added on top of the print, protecting it from dust and scratches. This enables you to carefully wipe the print with a damp cloth, without damaging the artwork. Read more about Our Gallery Blocks here.
  
• We guarantee that receiving your very own fine art print will make you thrilled!
  The detail, sharpness and wide range of colour of an actual print is not given justice by the digital images displayed on our website. However, we also understand that it is hard to purchase something you have not actually seen or touched. Therefore, we offer our customers a unique warranty: If you are not satisfied with your fine art print, we will gladly help you exchange it for another piece or give you a total refund on your purchase. Take your time, you have up to 3 months to decide!
  
  The print and frame (if framed) must be in a like-new condition. Return shipping will not be included in the refund.
• Maltese deliveries are free of charge.
  We also ship unframed fine art prints and gallery blocks worldwide.
  
  Read about our shipping prices and delivery times here. 
  
  
  

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