I owe the start of my interest in photography to my secondary school arts and drama teacher Andrew Diedo, at St. Aloysius’ College, Birkirkara in Malta. The Jesuits had long seen the potential of the arts and drama tuition Diedo imparted, which included a ceramics and pottery kiln to our darkroom. That’s where the old school techniques were instilled in me, which years later saw me purchase my own first monochrome Vivitar enlarger, borrowing covertly my Dad’s Praktika SLR, and start shooting snaps of all sorts.
Years later, with my immersion into journalism and several breaking news events related to my military assignments, I found myself picking up a Canon AE1 Programme and using Fuji film rolls like some loyal brand disciple who loved their prints’ blues and greens. The transition to my first DSLR came when I was mentored by the Associated Press local photographer Lino Arrigo Azzopardi, who took me under his wing complete with a Nikon D2X backed up by a Nikon D70.
Several published shots later in local and overseas news print or web news, along with my writing the odd piece or two, I even managed to make it to second place in a Maltese journalists’ institute annual press awards in the news-photography category. Add to that more lenses and a couple more bodies, found myself dibble dabbling in video as well, from production to post editing. That landed me winning as a co-producer a Best Reality Show award in the (then annual) Malta TV Awards, for the hit-series ZERO-91 which was my brainchild to cover the basic military training of some Maltese recruits.
Am still trying to learn more and try my hand at things varied and different in both photography and videography. And that sees me in both the Malta Photgraphic Society (MPS) and the Malta Institute of Professional Photography (MIPP). Here are some very small samples of my modest work:
AT 500px.com: http://500px.com/IvanMConsiglio/flow
AT flickr.com: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13522890@N08
End TV programme credits of TV-production backstage photos: http://youtu.be/b39vQsAiezs
The Cons's Nook: www.ivanmconsiglio.com 
Ivan, I found your site/wordpress whilst looking up Abela connections. A photo posted on pintinterest by an Anthony Abela of the Sunderland on fire in Malta 1941? led me to try and find him but there seem to be many Abelas !! I have an Army friend Herbert Abela who I trained with at RMAS and I have sent him an email in case he knows. My uncle Alexander was on Sunderlands and gave me photos of the one on fire before he died which I still have. I wanted to find out more about it.
the chap you are looking for is retired Major Anthony (a.k.a. Tony!) Abela from the Maltese town of Zejtun. He is retired Armed Forces of Malta, with prior service with the Royal Air Force at Luqa Airport. At his core, a thorough communications boffin tech, with a love for RAF and military radar history in Malta, active stille in the local British Legion’s branch of the RAF EX-Servicemen’s Association, whilst when not researching and writing books and articles to print or publish online on RAF or radar histories. Recently served a stint also by direct appointment of the Maltese government as chairman of the Malta Air Traffic Services, which in the past when still in uniform, was one of his several daily haunts. Send me a private message if requiring further comms details of his.