Off the coast of Africa and southwest of Spain are the Canary Islands. Grand Canary Islands is a miniature continent due to the different climates and variety of landscapes found, with long beaches and dunes of white sand, contrasting with green ravines and picturesque villages. I especially love that a third of the island is under protection as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
Grand Canary Island, España
Part of the reason I wanted to visit Grand Canary is its tropical, steady climate all year round. In the winter it’s normally 72 degrees F, and usually 85 degrees F in the summer. It’s sunny in the coast nearly all the time. I loved the feeling of the sea breeze and the trade winds helped when it became too warm. I visited the southern part of the island which is warm and sunny. The north tends to be cooler. The east coast of the island is flat, dotted with beaches while the western coast is rockier and mountainous.
Mogán is a town and a municipality in the southwestern part of the island of Gran Canaria, which is one of the three main islands making up the Province of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, Spain. A network of canals gives the town the nickname of “Little Venice”.
Mogán, SpainMogán, SpainMogán, SpainMogán, SpainSelf portrait – Mogán, SpainMogán, SpainMogån, SpainWho’s your mom?And, who’s your mom?Grand Canary Island
It is a bucolic Málaga afternoon spent wandering through the pedestrianized center filled with restaurants, tapas bars, ice cream shops, hotels, museums. Easily located near the Hotel Molina Lario I walk into the Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica. I am overwhelmed with emotion when I see the beauty of its interior. Sensitive and easily susceptible to emotions and especially tired from traveling, I wonder if I’m experiencing The Stendhal Syndrome. Who knows why but sublime beauty can make me weep. Not only does travel recharge my photographic battery but it always forces me to rethink our place in the world.
Next stop is the vast Alcazaba, a castle built into the ramparts of the Moorish city, built between the 8th and 11th centuries on the site of a Roman fortress. There are massive fortified gates, complete with curtain walls and watchtowers surrounded by patios, gardens and pools. I’m especially drawn to the many variations of tile patterns. After walking through the partially excavated Roman amphitheatre, I sat and felt the stillness on a hot September day.
The yummy Mediterranean gives the area three hundred days of sunshine per year and even when it’s hot, it’s bearable as the winds are refreshing and Málaga enjoys a subtropical-mediterranean climate. Pablo Picasso, a rule breaker I love, was born here in Málaga. Even though Picasso’s relationship with his native city was distant, his nostalgia for his birth place remained. I visited his childhood home as well as the current exhibition.
Picasso in Málaga, SpainNear Picasso’s birthplaceMálaga, SpainWho is your mom? Malaga cat wandering.
I have discovered photography. Now I can kill myself. I have nothing else to learn.
Pablo Picasso
One of the many good things about Málaga, the capital of the Costa del Sol, Spain is that there are lots of towns nearby, full of interesting things. The day after arrival into Málaga, I headed out by bus to Nirja, en route to Frigliana. I heard from a photographer friend that it’s a good place for photographers to wander. Frigliana has received awards for its beauty and conservation.
The ceramic mosaics are dotted around the old part of town. These mosaics were designed by Pilar Garcia Miilan and help to narrate the story of the Moorish uprising in the area.
Shot with Rolleiflex 2.8F and Kodak Portra 400 film
Frigliana is not in my Spain guidebook so I’m convinced it must be special. I lucked out with an overcast day, a perfect umbrella for this all white, quaint town that has the old part of town of Moorish origin and the newer part which is built more in the traditional style of a white Andalucian village. I wandered and enjoyed the contrast from busy Málaga and found magic around every corner.
Frigliana, SpainSelf Portrait – Hannah KozakBoys in Frigliana, SpainFrigliana, SpainFrigliana, SpainWoman in Frigliana, SpainLoved this wine cellar built into the wall.Man in Frigliana, SpainFrigliana, SpainMailboxes outside the road en route to Frigliana, SpainMen in Nirja, SpainSelf portrait – Frigliana, SpainCemetery in Nirja, SpainNirja, SpainChildren – Nirja, SpainMen in Nirja, SpainBread shop – Nirja, SpainMan in Nirja, SpainSelf portrait with Rolleiflex 2.8F – Nirja, Spain
If we are always arriving and departing, it is also true that we are eternally anchored. One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.
Henry Miller
3rd Binnial at Heritage Municipal Museum in Málaga, Spain. 5th Edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award – Female Photographer of the Year, Hannah Kozak
The Grand opening of the 3rd Biennial at the beautiful Heritage Municipal Museum in Málaga, Spain. This is an international award sponsored by the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards. Five of my photographs from my Pain and Loneliness series were chosen to be on exhibition at the 3rd International Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography. I was also given the honor of 1st prize documentary photo from the series He Threw the Last Punch Too Hard and 1st prize children’s category. Show opened on September 18th – and will run through November 9th, 2014 in the home city of Picasso.
Oliva, just like me, is directionally dysfunctional. Trying to find the Municipal Museum.Walking to the Municipal Museum in Málaga, Spain.I love the light in Málaga, Spain.3rd Bienal Internacional de Fotografía Artística & DocumentalVarious photographers featured in the show.Hannah Kozak & Julio Hardy. Julio was born in Argentina, studied in Berlin and lives in Málaga, Spain http://www.juliohardy.comKarmen Corak from Italy. http://www.facebook.com/karmen.corakMishu Vass http://www.mishuvass.com Romania Safe from HarmBeatrix Jourdan http://www.beatrixjourdan.comElena Retfalvi http://www.retfalvi.com #1 Who’s afraid of Elfriede Jelinek 1 #2 Who’s afraid of Elfriede Jelinet 2 #3 Who’s afraid of Elfriede Jelinet 3Ana Stewart http://www.galeriadagavea.com.br Brazil Cinara da serrinhaHoney Lazar http://www.honeylazar.com United States #1 When I Fall in Love it will be Forever #2
TanyaLinda Wright United States # 1 – # 10 America’s Cup World Series, Naples, ItalyBeatrix Jourdan http://www.beatrixjourdan.com Hannah Kozak & ToryOlivia found her way!3rd Bienal de Fotgrafia Museo Del Patrimonio MunicipalPain and Loneliness from Hannah Kozak- Female Photographer of the Year for Nudes
3rd Binnial at Heritage Municipal Museum in Málaga, Spain. 5th Edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award – Female Photographer of the Year, Hannah Kozak
5th Edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award – Female Photographer of the Year, Hannah Kozak
I have been given the humbling honor and exciting news that I have been chosen as the recipient of the Female Photographer of the Year for the 5th Edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award for nudes. This is an international award sponsored by the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards. Five of my photographs from my Pain and Loneliness series were chosen to be on exhibition at the 3rd International Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography. Show to open on September 18th – November 9th, 2014 at the Municipal Museum of Malaga, Spain; the home city of Picasso.
3rd Biennial Invitation
Julia Margaret Cameron was one of the greatest portraitists in the history of photography. She received her first camera as a gift from her only daughter, one of her six children and began making photos when she was forty-eight years old. Her photos combined an unorthodox technique, a deeply spiritual sensibility and a Pre-Raphaelite-inflected aesthetic.”From the first moment I handled my lens with a tender ardour,” she wrote, “and it has become to me as a living thing, with voice and memory and creative vigour.” Julia Margaret Cameron was self-assured in her art, she didn’t waiver even when she was condemned by some of her contemporaries for not following rules, even when her photographs were not universally admired, especially by fellow photographers. Cameron dismissed the condemnation of the photographic establishment. She is proof that it is never too late to find a passion, pursue it without fear and not concentrate on what others think about your art. I love how she purposely choose soft focus and long exposures that allowed the subjects’ slight movement to register in her pictures, truly giving the photos more breath, more life. She also loved literature and poetry.
My father, who survived the Holocaust by not following rules and getting in line with all the other camp inmates who walked down a road and were machine gunned down, gave me his Hawkeye Brownie camera when I was ten years old. I discovered one of my greatest passions and have always believed rules were made to be broken especially in art. These particular images are from my Pain and Loneliness series. If you’d like to see more of this series, please see this link.
