Into the Music
Piano is a passion and I thought of this one day and quickly took it with my iPhone.
Piano is a passion and I thought of this one day and quickly took it with my iPhone.
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Sep, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo is of my piano at home, one of my other serious passions, and I was learning Liszt's Liebestraum when I noticed that, from a specific angle, the keys would beautifully reflect the notes on the sheet of paper. It looks almost like the notes are printed onto the keys themselves, or perhaps it could be a metaphor for the idea that the music is just waiting to express itself, given proper care and dedication.Time
This was taken in the afternoon, maybe after lunchtime in September 2015. I play piano every day, and this is the first time I noticed something like this.Lighting
This was taken when the Indian sun was at its highest, but indoors it's not so bright. This photo was taken without a flash, and the bright light, with added contrast in post-processing, made it easier to get the desired multi-layered feel of the image; the main in-focus notes, that capture the viewer's attention, and the out of focus keys themselves that provide a canvas to those notes. The black keys also provide more clarity that the white notes, insuring a variety in depths.Equipment
I did not have my usual DSLR with me at the time, and since the lighting was great, and I just had to take it, I used my iPhone 5S for this shot, handheld, with an app that allowed manual settings. Thus the focus, shutter speed and ISO was set by me to take the best picture I could.Inspiration
I have been playing piano for almost a decade now, and so my piano is a very familiar instrument to me. I am also still a teenager with no formal photography training, but I love the idea that you can find new things, or new and interesting ways of looking at the same things, with the most familiar of objects. Thus when I read up about how to notice the small details in everyday life for photographers, I happened to find that one angle where the written music and the instrument lined up perfectly. In music, the instrument itself doesn't play anything. That depends on the musician. Similarly I believe in photography, the image at a scene is already waiting. The photographer uses his instrument-the camera, to express his feelings.Editing
Many people ask me if the notes were edited in on Photoshop of if or used double exposures. I would assume it would indeed be possible with these methods, but this particular image was just taken at the right angle with the right light, and with the best editing I could manage. The post processing here was kept simple, as this image didn't really need much. It was changed to Black and White, and the contrast was amped up, along with a decrease of shadows (to make it darker) and a reduction of highlights to make the subject (the reflection of the notes) stand and pop out from the keys.In my camera bag
Normally my bag just contains my Nikon D3300 with the 18-55mm Kit lens and a 70-300mm Nikkor telephoto lens. I also carry several SD cards for the camera, well protected, and a couple USB drives and often my external hard disk in case I have my computer or laptop on hand to clear the memory cards and back up my photos. I also have my iPhone with me at all times for moments that may be too fast for using a DSLR.Feedback
It is not unusual for an everyday object to surprise you in terms of how it looks from a different perspective. In this particular shot, the angle of the shot is very objective as you need to constantly adjust the position and angle of the page to the key. It may be unsteady, and since it is handheld, will need a slightly faster shutter speed, yet not too much ISO, else it will become too grainy in the black areas, the most important ones. I would also imagine that plastic keys on an electric piano, such as this one, would be easier to shoot as compared to painted wood/ebony keys on an acoustic piano. The focus was kept further out than the keys themselves so as to keep the reflection sharp and clean?.
