Biography

Artist Statement

Charles is a fine art architectural photographer, a self-taught long-exposure guru, a curator, a photo-historian and a quasi-writer. He was born in a place very close to where he grew up and went to university very close to where he now lives, which is fairly close to where he grew up (it’s all in the fabled republic of Gozo, natch). He’s been taking pictures for just a few years now, 10 actually. He really does not care what he makes images with as long as he gets to make images. He likes making imagery. With a Canon. Or a Nikon. But really, neither of them, as he now prefers proper Fuji GFX medium format.

Charles has won a couple of hundred awards (really). Almost none were for his photography (not really). He has won awards in the United States of A, France, the United Kingdom (united, post-Brexit, really?), and several others with equally brobdingnagian names. He has had several magazine articles written about him and his work, several covers, 45 books in his canon, and other narcissistic endeavours. His clients include world-renowned MOMIX, Alvin Ailey, American Ballet Theatre, the Bolshoi, Cirque du Soleil, and others who will be world-renowned. He has had numerous gallery shows of his work, and while less than a hundred, certainly, more than he can count on all his fingers and toes (of which he has, shock and awe, 20). He no longer dances, but buildings still do private dances for him.

His wardrobe of black and/or white clothing is extensive, and he has actually come to prefer Barolo with his fillet mignon. A well-cooked fillet of beef will distract him considerably. He does not like opera. He does, however, like flamenco and jazz. Charles has had a beef fillet in a lot of countries all around the world. He flew to almost all of them, in a plane. Whenever he landed, he usually took a lot of images. When he flies back home (also in a plane), there is a nice room to hold all his cameras, all the images (not pix, not pics, not pictures – images) he has made. He likes making storied images.

Sometimes, though rarely, Charles will write something in the third (or is first?) person. It makes him feel a little like Jane Austen but not so pretentious. But he never uses the Royal “We”. That would just be too high-brow. He has, on occasion, used the French “Oui”. Because, of course, you cannot say no to everything.

Frankly, if there is any more you really want to know about Charles, just look at the images. It is all there.

Bio

Diving and hyperbaric physician, writer and internationally multi-awarded black & white fine art photographer, with high distinctions in the most important photography awards worldwide (IPA, PX3, Monochrome Awards, Stark Awards), Charles is currently based in Malta and is renowned for his black & white signature work in architecture, fine art long exposures and anatomical dance, which all showcase his distinctive style and express his artistic sensibility.

In his energetic and boisterous pictures, Charles Azzopardi captures not just the lissom and lithe forms of dancers performing their art, but the clarity and elation of movement itself. Without ruses or manipulation of any kind, he catches fleeting and impossible moments in a style that is both musical and visually vivid. Beginning his career in 2012, Azzopardi has covered the rising tide of contemporary dance and has created signature images for countless contemporary dance companies as well as commercial clients.  Published internationally in several high-profile magazines and 45 books to date, Charles’ photographic work can also be seen adorning both private and public galleries, as well as having been exhibited locally in Malta as well as internationally in New York and Milan.

Charles is also the immediate Past President of the Malta Institute of Professional Photography, as well as the digitization consultant assisting the Richard Ellis Archive and the National Archives of Malta.

TESTIMONIALS

A few words about me from two artists I highly respect and admire, as visionary minds and the two most important B&W Fine Art photographers worldwide in existence:

... not only is Dr Charles Paul Azzopardi a multiple international award-winning photographer who creates beautiful photographs in black & white of architecture, cityscapes and seascapes that evoke intense and deep emotions, he also manages to capture motion in his striking photos of dancers in a way that reveals his profound sense for light, shape and rhythm

Joel TjintjelaarB&W fine art photographer, international award-winning artist, educator and writer

…. 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. 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 such as landscape and architecture; strong emotions find their best representation through black & white photography and that is why Charles expresses himself so well in this style. I see Charles as one of the most sensitive and interesting black & white artists of the moment, and I can predict a bright future for him in black & white fine art photography.

Julia Anna GospodarouB&W fine art en(Visionographer), international award-winning artist, educator and writer