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Panoramic
Imaging - Malta,
March 2008
Golden Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha Bay Rock
Traverse - Exploring Malta With 360
Panoramic Technology
17
March 08 - Mid-way Between Golden Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha Bay An Unintended
Rock
Traverse Adventure and Spectacular 360 View!
Slow
the image rotation by "left clicking" in the picture and then
use "click - hold - drag" to get total control. Use the small
tools located bottom left corner to zoom in or revert to auto rotate. The
image has a large file size and may take a few moments to load. Try
tilting the image down towards the sea to get an idea of how difficult the
traverse started to become. Tilting up on the landward view will show the
shear sandstone cliffs, which might be of interest to experienced rock
climbers planning a holiday in Malta.
The applet shows a 360 degree panoramic image
taken at the mid-point of a difficult rock scrabble traverse around the
headland between Golden Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha Bay located on the north
east coast of Malta. "Ghajn Tuffieha" literally translates into the "Eye of the Apple". There's a lookout tower at the top of the cliffs between the two bays. This is one of the many towers that were build during the times of the Knights of Malta.
My original idea was to try
and capture a "widescreen" panoramic photo of the now famous
Golden Bay Radisson Hotel Complex located on the cliff top overlooking the
glorious sandy beach of Golden Bay. However, the best camera position
seemed to be out along the rocky headland separating the adjacent bay of
Ghajn Tuffieha, named after the tower that dominates the local area.
The Traverse and Rock
Scrabble a Cautionary Tale
At first the going was quite
easy, as many people have trodden a narrow path that traverses the rocky
shoreline at the foot of the shear cliffs. After about 20 minutes scrabble
along the rocks, I found the perfect spot to setup my tripod and take 6
shots to form a 180 degree panoramic view of Golden Bay.
CLICK for larger picture of Golden Bay, Malta Showing Hotels and Sandy
Beach
Click for a Larger Picture of the Centre Image of the Golden Bay 180
Panoramic Photo
Overall, I'm quite pleased
with the series of photos and how easily they stitched together.
I stayed at this spot for a
while experimenting with my Fisheye Lens, but due to sunlight glinting off
the waves and the close proximity of the cliff face these just didn't come
out very well, so I've binned them.
Rock Climbing/Scrabbling
Lesson 101
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Wear sturdy boots - trainers
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Strap down loose
equipment to leave hands free - tripod swinging free
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Take mobile phone and
leave note of where you are going - battery dead, spur of the
moment decision
-
Check weather and tide
levels - nope
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Take plenty of drinking
water - nope
Thinking I might find an even
better photo location I climbed a little higher and went further out along
the headland... breaking every rule in the lone climber's guide to
safety.
The easy path that I had
followed so far quickly ran out, but the scrabble traverse along the
jumbled rocks near the sea line looked fairly straight forward, so I went
for it.
Twenty minutes later; I found
myself clinging on to a very tiny handhold 50 feet up a shear cliff face
with nothing but jagged rocks and pounding waves below me!
I can remember looking around
and thinking, "well, couldn't have picked a more picturesque place to
die".
Fortunately, my right foot
found a toehold to take the strain and I managed to reach around a boulder
and locate a large horizontal crack which made things a lot easier to
descend without snagging my tripod bag on protruding rocks.
About 30 minutes after my
"near death" experience I reached the exact mid point between
the two bays and shot the panoramic now showing in the Applet above. I
used the Fisheye Lens and masked the direct sunlight using my hat (tilt
the image up on the seaward side to see the technique in action). Usually,
I would edit out the "hat" but in this case it's left in to
demonstrate how "hat masking" works.
The views from the very tip of
the headland were fantastic. I stayed there quite awhile taking photos of
unusual rock formations and close up shots of fossils exposed in the
sandstone cliff face. I tried to chip out a big shell like fossil, but is
was just too big, so I left in place undamaged.
Ghajn Tuffieha Bay
After a further 40 minutes of
hard rock scrabbling and careful route selection; I rounded the final
outcrop of rocks to be met with a most welcome sight... a PUB, complete
with smiling barman and very cold drinks... an absolutely perfect end to a
hard days rock scrabbling.
Picture of Ghajn Tuffieha Bay Taken From the Pub Overlooking the Bay
View Larger Map
NOTE: Sometimes the Google Map fails to load;
"right click" inside the box above and select
"refresh" from the shortcut menu and things will work fine. Left
click will zoom in very, very closely. This is a stunning piece of
technology)
New to the Camel Tickler - 360
Web Walks Panoramic Photography
Index
Malta
Nottinghamshire and
Derbyshire
Displayed at
32Corners.co.uk
June - Rufford Country Park Nr.
Kings Clipstone
A Weekend Exploring the History of
the Civil War, Early Summer, 1647
Step Back 360 Years Using 360 degree
Panoramic Technology
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Tel: 0044 7717 500 508
Email: jack@sterling-econsultancy.co.uk
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