Testimonials
“Not only is Charles Azzopardi an international award winning photographer who creates beautiful photographs in black and white of architecture, cityscapes and seascapes that evoke emotions, but he also captures motion in his striking photos of dancers in a way that reveals his profound sense for light, shape and rhythm. I am proud to call him a close collaborator for vision, creative streak and artistic girth”.
Joel Tjintjelaar, B&W fine art photographer, multiple international award winning artist, educator and writer – www.bwvision.com
“I got to know Charles quite recently when he was commissioned as the photographer for the book ‘Portals of Valletta’. Trudging with him through the streets of Valletta during quite a few balmy hot summer days, Charles responded to the subject matter with a determined mind-set and unrelenting commitment. He has developed an acute sense of composition and a deep understanding of the dynamic interplay between light and shade, mass and void. As the writer and photographer Skyler Reid stated, ‘A good photographer records; a great photographer reveals.’ Through the camera lens, Charles suggestively reveals what lies behind tangible matter in the case of the Valletta portals, be it a sense of the grand and rhetorical, to the dignified and noble, to the downright sense of melancholy that pervades some uninhabited and dilapidated tenement. Through his photography Charles invites the viewer to extrapolate his or her own emotions in the process transcending material reality”.
Professor Conrad Thake, Architect & Architectural Historian, Professor, History of Art Department, University of Malta – www.conradthake.com
“I first came across Charles Paul Azzopardi’s work at his solo exhibition entitled “SOAR – Anatomy in Motion”, at St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in March 2016. On viewing his enthralling images of the human body in dance motion, I immediately recognized his artistic and poetic approach to photography. It was later in his joint publication with Professor Conrad Thake, Portals of Valletta (Kite Group, 2017) that I first came across his architectural photography. The doorways of Valletta in the pages of this book are a testament of Azzopardi’s ever discerning clinical eye and his magician’s imagery. In photography, it is not the equipment utilized, but the eye behind the lens that matters and his is an all seeing eye. My own penchant for black and white photography soon enamoured me with his mantled draperies of black and white, with each page revealing lyrical visions of sheer poetry. Only a seer of Azzopardi’s stature could produce idyllic images of this standard. As architect and artist, may I tell you Charles Paul that you have my highest esteem for your elegiac image-making”.
Professor Richard England, pre-eminent architect, visionary, photographer, poet & writer.
“I have found time recently to go over Dr Azzopardi’s first solo publications in detail and must congratulate him and the authors for the magnificent work. The whole book is a credit to the publication sector in general and to Kite Group in particular. The photography is superb from all aspects, especially the photographer’s choice to use solely black & white images. Dr. Azzopardi has, I feel, earned his place among Malta’s leading photographers. I can humbly say he is the modern re-incarnation of my forefather, Richard Ellis”.
Ian Ellis, archivist & curator of Malta’s finest and richest photographic archive, the Ellis collection.
“I have known Charles for a few years now and the first thing I would say about him is that he is a complete artist. His artistic personality is complex and is not limited to the world of photography, but goes well beyond it. Charles is a humanist and this trait and quality comes out through his photography work, as well as through his thoughts and his other activities, like, for instance, his profession of a medical doctor and cancer specialist. He has a particular sensibility that one can see in his black & white work, either when he shoots people and performances, or when he works with subjects as landscape or architecture. Strong emotions find their best representation through black & white photography and this is why Charles expresses himself so well in this style. This is one of the reasons we chose Charles to help with technical proof-reading the book “From Basics to Fine Art”, written by me together with Joel Tjintjelaar, and the foreword he wrote for the book shows his artistic nature in the best way. I see Charles as one of the most sensitive and interesting B&W artists of the moment and I can predict a bright future for him in black & white fine art photography”.
Julia Anna Gospodarou, black & white fine art (en) Visionographer, writer, educator and multiple international award-winning artist – www.juliaannagospodarou.com
Performing arts
“Charles Paul Azzopardi is an exceptional performance photographer, capturing moments that are unique, ephemereal, and filled with beauty. I had the honour of meeting Charles for the 35th Anniversary Gala celebration of MOMIX at Teatro Nazionale, Milan and was greatly impressed with his complete dedication to his work, as well as the results that stemmed from it. We have used Charles’ images already for our promotional pieces, and have also featured them on the homepage of our website. We are thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with such a gifted artist, and are looking forward to working again together in the near future.”
Moses Pendleton, artistic director, MOMIX Inc. https://www.momix.com/
“I have had the pleasure to collaborate with Charles during Cirque du Soleil’s production of Allavita! in 2015 in Italy. He is very approachable, knowledgeable, and driven by a passion for dance & performing arts like no other. He is one of the most talented fine art photographers in the world, confirmed by the level of his output and his incredible resume of international achievements. His artistic style is unique, visionary, creative and stunningly beautiful. He is truly a master photographer. He is very polite and considerate of all that goes on with such a world-class level event; it is easy to feel comfortable with him. His interest in your work is sincere and very apparent the moment you meet him. Very few fine art photographers of his amazing talent offer so much passion coupled with hard work and evanescent achievement. If you need your performance to be captured in the best possible artistic manner, look no further.”
Krista Monson, artistic director, Cirque du Soleil. https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/
“Charles Paul Azzopardi is a phenomenal and unique photographer whose work related to our company Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company’s performance of “If At All” in Malta, without any shadow of a doubt, exemplifies the best work we have ever seen in dance photography in our long track record in the sector.”
Yoni Avital, International Director, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company. www.kcdc.co.il
“To capture dance in live performance requires tremendous sensitivity to movement, emotion and musicality. ZfinMalta is thrilled to have our work captured through the artistic eye of Charles Paul Azzopardi, who consistently and successfully manages to translate live performances into enthralling imagery. His professionalism and collaborative manner enables a genuine partnership to occur between artist, choreography and photographer. We look forward to our continuing collaboration with the artist.”
Mavin Khoo, Artistic Director, ZfinMalta, Malta national dance company ensemble. http://zfinmalta.org/
“The photographic work that Charles Paul Azzopardi has done for Naupaca Dance Factory over the years is simply beautiful. He manages to capture the human body in motion with effectiveness and precision. Whether it is a tour en l’air or a simple hand gesture, Azzopardi is capable of framing it in its fullest force and significance. He understands the theatrical space with both artistic sensibility and professionalism. We are always extremely enthusiastic about his photos and look forward to more collaboration with him in our future projects.”
Maria Theuma, script writer & core team member, Naupaca Dance Factory. www.naupacadancefactory.com