In Plain Sight and the FRPS

At the beginning of each year, like many others, I tend to look back over the previous twelve months and set goals for the ones ahead. This usually takes place in that quiet week between Christmas and New Year. However, in December 2024, I set a rather more specific goal a little earlier than usual. I contacted the Royal Photographic Society and applied for a place on the FRPS photo book assessment panel, scheduled for 13 May 2025.

I have always been goal-oriented, perhaps a habit shaped by years in commercial photography, where client deadlines were rarely flexible. That mindset has, over time, found its way into my personal projects too. One such project, a long-running street photography series taken in Valletta, had been evolving over many years. Setting a formal cut-off point not only sharpened my focus, it also gave me a clear target: to finalise the work and submit it for FRPS distinction.

Valletta: Stage, Light, and Change

“It is probably no mere historical accident that the word person, in its first meaning, is a mask... everyone is always and everywhere, more or less consciously, playing a role.” Robert Ezra Park’s words resonate within Valletta’s streets, where light and shadow move across centuries-old façades to shape fleeting impressions. The city’s architecture and atmosphere create a stage for human activity, where gestures and expressions take centre stage. The interplay of harsh Mediterranean light, like masks and roles, reflects the complexity of identity. It reveals certain truths while concealing others. This duality invites us to consider not only what we see, but what lies beneath. It challenges our understanding of what so often goes unnoticed before our eyes.

Every city possesses a distinct character, shaped by its cultural identity, architecture, and rhythms of life. That uniqueness fundamentally alters the dynamics of street photography. Valletta’s intimacy reveals layered interactions, and the city emerges as a singular and irreplaceable stage. Its character is inseparable from the people who animate its spaces.

In recent times, Valletta’s transformation from a bastion of tradition to a bustling hub of tourism has created a tension that mirrors the interplay of performance and authenticity within its streets. Long-established businesses have given way to boutique hotels, restaurants, and cafés, reshaping the urban fabric. Yet it is the dynamic between locals and tourists that consistently holds my gaze. Transient visitors often search for authenticity through their camera phones, yet in doing so, they may overlook the subtler textures of the city. In contrast, locals, absorbed in their routines, may not notice the changing environment until it is too late.

The photographs in this collection are not about Valletta as a static entity, but about the people who inhabit its spaces, however briefly. Each image captures a moment of performance or pause, offering a glimpse into the roles we play and the truths we reveal. As I walked the sun-drenched streets, I watched the quiet theatre of public life unfold before my lens. The unnoticed gestures and unremarkable moments often held the greatest weight.

Shaping the Book

In Plain Sight had always been a body of work with a book in its bones. Now, with a fixed deadline, design took precedence. Editing and sequencing moved to the forefront of my thinking. The challenge was not what to include, but what to leave out. Over the years, I had built up a large archive of photographs taken in Valletta. Sequencing them to create rhythm and momentum meant leaving out personal favourites in order to preserve the visual flow. Each image needed to contribute to a cumulative sense of place.

While the imagery is intentionally varied, this variation reflects the unpredictability and spontaneity at the heart of street photography. Valletta itself provides cohesion. It is both subject and stage, anchoring each fleeting moment within a shared visual atmosphere. Through repeated viewing, the sequencing reveals quiet contrasts and subtle alignments. No captions are provided, encouraging the viewer to interpret freely.

Doubt and Resolution

As the project drew to a close, a shadow of hesitation crept in. A voice in my head began to question the image selection, the layout decisions, and even the rationale for presenting the book to the RPS distinction panel. Although In Plain Sighthad always been a deeply personal project, I began to feel that the work needed to be tested, not for validation, but to understand whether it truly held together on its own terms. The Fellowship with the Royal Photographic Society offered a structure through which that question could be explored. I was less concerned with recognition and more interested in whether the book could communicate its intent clearly and coherently to others beyond myself.

Street photography, by its nature, is subjective. It often resists neat categorisation, favouring the accidental over the arranged, the partial over the resolved. This created a certain tension. I had become so familiar with the imagery that I sometimes questioned whether I could still see it with any degree of objectivity. But if the work in book form could hold its ground, not through spectacle, but through quiet consistency, then perhaps the effort to shape it had been worthwhile.

That evening, on 13 May, I received an email confirming the award of the Fellowship. I was quietly delighted. As a long-standing member of the Royal Photographic Society, I felt grateful that the work had been well received. With In Plain Sight now complete, this chapter quietly closes. What lies ahead is still unfolding. Yet the urge to observe, to explore, and perhaps begin another long-term project remains as strong as ever.