I use a 400mm telephoto lens to optically shorten the long uphill slope of Merchants Street that rises towards Valletta’s 16th century Fort of St. James Cavalier. By compressing many blocks into one, I make the crowds that throng the streets upscale shops seem even larger than they are. I add three additional contextual dimensions to this image – a large clock advertising a fashion designer, a mass of metal holiday decorations, and a statue of Paul Boffa, Malta’s first prime minister following its independence from Britain. Such context speaks of the nature of the street, the season, and the country.