Michael Malandra Fine Art Photography & Positive Vibes Artwork

06/04/2026

Life Between Frames
Random Acts of Kindness

Last night in our adult martial arts class, we spent some time talking about character and the small things that reveal it.

Holding a door for someone.

Returning a shopping cart.

Letting another driver merge in traffic.

Checking in on a friend.

Simple things that most people never think twice about.

The conversation got me thinking.

Most of these moments will never make the news. Nobody is handing out trophies for them. In many cases, no one even notices.

Yet I’ve come to believe these small actions matter more than we realize.

Not because they change the world overnight, but because they reveal something about who we are.

Character isn’t usually built during life’s biggest moments.

It’s revealed in the ordinary ones.

In the choices we make when there’s nothing to gain.

This path reminded me of that.

Life is made up of thousands of small decisions. Most seem insignificant at the time, yet over the years they become the road we travel and the person we become.

A little more patience.

A little more kindness.

A little more understanding.

Small things.

Big character.

06/01/2026

This one is just barely dry. 12x18, watercolor and ink.

The Grand Canyon has been photographed millions of times, including by me. That’s not what interests me when I sit down to paint.

What I’m chasing is the feeling of being there.

The light changing by the minute. The canyon walls catching fire with color. The layers fading into the distance. That moment when you stop talking, stop thinking about cameras and settings, and just take it all in.

The further I get into this painting journey, the more I realize I’m not trying to recreate my photographs. I’m trying to translate the memory of the experience into something different.

This is another piece in the Southwest series I’ve been building. Some of these paintings will remain studies. Others will evolve into larger pieces and different mediums for the Sedona shows this fall.

For now, this one is finished and I’m pretty happy with where it landed.

I’m still waiting for Buddy’s approval before moving on to the next one. He’s a tough critic and spends most of his time asleep on the job.

05/31/2026

Life Between Frames

Where Focus Goes

A funny thing happens when we pay attention to something.

We start seeing more of it.

Beauty
Opportunity
Possibility

The same is true for frustration, negativity, and distraction.

This image started as a few pieces of colored construction paper, some crumpled tin foil, and a little experimentation with light. Nothing extraordinary on its own.

But that’s often how life works.

What we choose to focus on tends to grow.

Maybe that’s what people mean when they say, “Where focus goes, energy flows.”

The challenge isn’t finding something to focus on.

It’s deciding what deserves our attention in the first place.

This image and other abstract, macro, and creative pieces can be found here:

Digital Art & Macro Photography
https://www.michaelmalandra.com/digital-art-macro

05/30/2026

INSIDE THE FRAME

The Thought Process Behind the Image

This image was photographed in Harriman State Park, New York, and recently received First Place in Landscape Photography at the Patron of the Arts Festival in Ringwood, New Jersey.

Most people see a waterfall.

What caught my attention was the swirl in the water.

Using a tripod and a longer exposure, I slowed the water down to create that circular movement and soft flow. The swirl became the visual anchor for the entire image.

From there, the eye follows the water through the falls, into the rocks, and eventually into the light filtering through the trees.

When I’m photographing a landscape, I’m not just looking at the scene itself.

I’m looking at how the eye moves through it.

The first image breaks down the composition. Swipe to see the full photograph.

www.michaelmalandra.com

05/29/2026

Life Between Frames

Nothing to Prove

Some of the most confident people I’ve met rarely felt the need to announce it.

No performance
No constant need for attention
No exhausting effort to make sure everyone notices them

Just comfortable in their own skin

Sadly not everyone finds that kind of comfort. Some spend their lives needing to be seen, validated, or reminding the world they matter.

The older I get, the more I realize real confidence is usually quiet.

This desert has a way of reminding you of that. It doesn’t care who you are, what you own, or how important you think you are.

It just is.

Honestly, there’s something freeing about that.

05/28/2026

Life Between Frames

The Illusion of Arrival

I’ve met people with very little who seemed completely at peace, and I’ve met people with everything who couldn’t sit still for five minutes.

I thought about that while photographing this candle ceremony inside a monastery in Bhutan. The room was completely silent except for chanting and candlelight.

No phones
No noise
No one trying to prove anything

Nobody was chasing anything in that moment

Just presence

Writer and philosopher Alan Watts spoke often about the trap of constantly waiting for life to finally begin or chasing it somewhere down the road, while missing the moment that’s already happening right in front of us.

Inspired by the teachings of Alan Watts.

05/27/2026

Inside the Frame - The thought process behind the Image
A street in Orvieto, Italy.

Most people would see a couple walking by.

I saw layers, leading lines, texture, warm light, cool shadows and one splash of color that changed the entire image.

Photography for me starts long before pressing the shutter.

Swipe through and take a look at the thought process behind the frame.

Observations from the field.

www.michaelmalandra.com

05/26/2026

A lot of people who stopped into my booth this weekend asked about how I shoot, what I’m looking for, and what goes through my head when I’m standing in front of a scene.

So I thought I’d start sharing some of that.

This image was taken during a candle ceremony in Bhutan, a moment that means a lot to me. On paper, some would say this composition breaks the rules. The main subject sits dead center. We’re often told centered compositions feel static, safe, even boring.

But rules are tools, not handcuffs.

In this case the symmetry, repetition, leading lines, rhythm of the candles, and the visual pull toward the altar do the opposite. They create stillness, emotion, balance and movement all at once.

When I’m in the field I’m not only looking at what is in front of me.

I’m looking at how the eye moves.

Where it enters.

Where it rests.

What creates tension.

What creates calm.

Photography for me has never been about owning the newest camera or pointing a phone at something beautiful.

The camera is only part of it.

The image comes from thought, experience, instinct, emotion, and sometimes something harder to explain.

That’s the part of art I love.

The part where light, place, timing and a piece of who you are end up living inside the frame.

This is the first in what I hope becomes a series showing the thought process behind some of my images.

Not rules.

Just observations from the field.
www.michaelmalandra.com

05/24/2026

05/23/2026

Day 2 here at Sedona Vista Village.

After the hiking, off roading, swimming, or chasing the red rocks around the Village of Oak Creek, grab some lunch, have a beer, listen to some live music, and spend a little time walking through the show.

There are a lot of talented artists and photographers out here putting their heart, time, and energy into what they create. Every booth has a story behind it.

I’ll be here all day with my photography, paintings, books, and a few new Buddha pieces that made it into the booth this weekend. Stop by and say hello if you’re in the area.

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