Island’s Past Rediscovered In Retouched Vintage Photos Showing What Malta Once Was
It can often feel like Malta nowadays isn’t the same as the island our forefathers knew and loved.
However, one man’s recent project bringing vintage and fragile images from Malta’s past into the present has given us a glimpse into the supreme chillness the island used to enjoy.
“For the last two years I’ve been working with various AI models and one that I really find interesting is the generative model,” James Bonello told Lovin Malta.
Using these techniques, Bonello was able to synthesise realistic images from old photos.
From images of Maltese icons like Manoel Dimech to beaches and bays, the technique brings to life some special Maltese scenes and scenery.
“I’ve always appreciated photography but to see it applied in such a unique way really motivated me to implement and use this model with my own images.”
Bonello has “always been impressed by photographs from Malta during the 60s and 70s, so this eventually turned into an online hunt to find old Maltese photos from such decades and try to give them a new life.”
“The model doesn’t always succeed, but some images really turned out beautiful, and it’s nice to see how different and somewhat tranquil Malta was in that time through a much clearer lens,” he ended.
All photos provided by James Bonello
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